Meta monetizes Messenger: Brands can now send messages to consumers who opt in, encroaching on SMS messaging platforms' value proposition.

Social media is crucial for B2B marketing success. In 2024, B2B marketers are embracing influencer marketing and video, integrating AI, and focusing on the importance of authenticity. B2B marketers can gain insights for enhancing brand awareness, optimizing campaigns, and building meaningful connections with target audiences.

Our user forecasts for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and Pinterest in Canada highlight an expanding platform mix increasingly divided by age demographics.

The smartphone remains Gen Z’s favorite device, as it’s the quickest way to access digital video and social media. But adoption of CTV and VR continues to rise.

Social network user growth is stalling in Western Europe. Marketers should look toward changing platform dynamics, particularly among generational cohorts, to best manage their social media strategies.

Organic marketing is experiencing a comeback on social media. The resurgence is due to trends like community-building and social search that are helping brands resonate with audiences.

Younger generations have embraced TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as search engines. Although TikTok’s future in the US is uncertain, the social search opportunity remains robust.

Digital, traditional, and total media ad spending growth will all accelerate in 2024, although only modestly. The outlook has stabilized for most countries and regions, even if spectacular growth is harder than ever to find.

The creator economy is maturing. While brand deals are still the No. 1 revenue stream for creators, more are going directly to consumers to monetize.

In the last of five reports in our “Payments Ecosystem” collection, we look at what’s influencing retail sales growth across in-store, online, and social commerce channels—and what it means for payment providers.

Brazil is Latin America’s largest retail ecommerce market by total sales volume and will be this year’s third-fastest-growing digital economy worldwide. Understanding the nuances of how and where Brazil’s diverse consumer base spends its money online is key for brands and retailers to thrive in this highly competitive ecommerce market.

Total media ad spending growth has stabilized, and digital ad spending is set for an extended period of low double-digit annual increases. Amazon, TikTok, and Instagram will be the main growth drivers this year.

Meta’s latest AI advertising rollout reveals a significant shift: Free, broad access to AI creative will help win favor with brands, but ethical quandaries are unresolved.

LinkedIn is at a turning point: Users are more engaged than ever, ad revenues are rising, and creators are inking deals on the platform. And LinkedIn’s appeal among both B2B and B2C marketers is growing.

Social video is getting an additional boost in daily time spent this year. It’s mostly coming from a less expected place—Meta—even as TikTok continues to dominate in total time spent.

“What will happen next?” That’s the big question marketers have following the signing of a potential TikTok ban into law, according to Liz Cole, chief social officer at VML. While marketers don’t know if parent company ByteDance will sell TikTok, shut the platform down in the US, or find a way to fend off the legislation in court, they can prepare now for what’s to come.

US social media ad spending will ride the momentum platforms built in H2 2023 thanks to AI, social video advertising growth, and a fixation on bottom-funnel outcomes.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what happens now that the TikTok ban bill has been signed into law, whether AI is ready to significantly change search, the likelihood that Threads ads will be a hit, what social commerce's ceiling will be, the WNBA and the sports gender pay gap, and more. Tune into the discussion with analysts Jasmine Enberg, Minda Smiley, and Max Willens.

Meta posted Q1 earnings that beat estimates on Wednesday, but its shares slumped on disappointing Q2 guidance as it outlined plans for heavy AI investments.

Ad spending will rebound in 2024, as mobile formats continue to dominate and areas like connected TV and retail media drive renewed growth.