Despite how consumers feel about it, politics remains a core part of the social media experience. This report explores how marketers should navigate social in the aftermath of the 2020 US presidential election.

On today's episode, we discuss Twitter's post-election malaise, Reddit's growth engine, and LinkedIn's and Pinterest's pandemic pivots. We then talk about Nextdoor's ceiling, TikTok being allowed to stay in the US, and the implications of young creator burnout. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Debra Aho Williamson.

The upcoming US election will determine the direction for technology policies that will have a profound impact for marketers. This report will lay out scenarios for what marketers can expect in several key policy areas in 2021 and beyond.

TV ad spending in the US reached its highest point ever in 2018, a year that featured the Winter Olympics and a midterm congressional election—except no one realized it was a peak at the time. Linear TV had been stagnating for several years, though in early March 2020, the combo of the Summer Olympics and a big presidential campaign season looked set to generate a record $72.00 billion in US TV ad spending that year.

This report explores the latest developments in the social media landscape, including a look at TikTok Global, Instagram’s launch of Reels, and new election-related moves from Facebook and Twitter.

Social media usage gains from 2020 have largely ended. Facebook will have its lowest growth rate ever, Instagram’s user base is getting older, and Twitter is coming down with a case of post-election malaise. However, TikTok and Reddit are still attracting users at an accelerated pace.

The influx of political content and ad dollars for the upcoming US presidential election will inevitably impact commercial advertisers on social media. Understanding the political ad cycle and consumer attitudes toward political content can help brands better reach their audiences.

Digital political ad spending broke records in the 2020 election cycle. Grace Briscoe, senior vice president of candidates and causes at programmatic media firm Centro, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss what, when, and where political advertisers bought digital ads last year, how much attention they paid to connected TV (CTV), and why they love digital video ads so much.

The US will likely remember 2020 as a year of uncertainty, characterized by political and social division and the pandemic. With the election in the rearview mirror, the pandemic’s strain on the economy remains, leaving behind a softened advertising marketplace. In March, the pandemic triggered marketers to drastically cut ad spend.

The US election on Tuesday pits fundamentally different visions of the US against each other. It might seem trivial to look at how the election could affect the marketing world—but the impacts will be real.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom joins principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Mark Dolliver, Jeremy Goldman, and Nicole Perrin to discuss the US presidential election: media usage, effective advertising, and how big tech protected its integrity. They then talk about Apple's new privacy "nutrition labels," how a virtual reality headset can tell who you are from your movements within 5 minutes, and why The Trade Desk had such a good Q3.

eMarketer junior analyst Blake Droesch and principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Debra Aho Williamson, Mark Dolliver, and Jeremy Goldman discuss how social media might change as a result of the continued spread of misinformation on the platforms and general negative sentiment surrounding them. They then talk about the best way to use Stories, influencer ad disclosure, and which consumer group has increased its social media usage the most during the pandemic.

eMarketer principal analysts Debra Aho Williamson and Mark Dolliver, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss Facebook's recent decision on political ads and how brands can reach social users over the coming months. They then talk about Facebook's plans to limit ads on pages, how this year's events have changed Gen Z's relationship with brands, and why Americans still pay for live TV.

Last year, the average US adult spent more time per day with most media formats and devices, including TV. Although adults will spend nearly as much time with media this year, their TV viewing time will drop below pre-pandemic levels.

Amid disinformation campaigns over the coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming presidential election, most US buy-side decision-makers are concerned about their ads potentially running up against controversial content on social media.

US TV ad spending will drop almost 3% this year, and a 1.0% bump in 2020 from the presidential election and Summer Olympics will not stave off a long-term decline for ad spending on the biggest traditional channel. According to eMarketer’s latest US ad forecast, TV ad spending peaked in 2018 at $72.40 billion.

Growth in political ad spending is expected to slow dramatically during the 2019-2020 election cycle, according to Kantar Media, which predicts political campaigns for US federal office will spend $6 billion on paid media placements this year. But a greater share than ever will be directed toward digital channels.

With a presidential election and expected record spending on voter persuasion in 2020, there’s no doubt political polarization will be a prominent feature of US culture this year. According to two recent pieces of research, this polarization extends to digital media habits, meaning marketers who know their audience spans the political spectrum will have their work cut out for them.

Google and Facebook already control 60.8% of the total US digital ad market. And when it comes to the duopoly's share of digital political ad revenues, it has an even tighter grip, with a combined 77.6% this election cycle.

In the lead-up to the election, many social media users expressed growing exhaustion with the user experience due to the influx of political content. But those feelings of “election fatigue” didn’t cause most users to decrease their engagement on social.

This report explores our Q1 2021 estimates of time spent with media in the US and analyzes which behaviors will stick in 2021.