This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their social media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.

This benchmark covers how ad buyers can calibrate their total media ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how publishers and solution providers can assess whether their ad revenues align with industry trends.

Meta’s internal documents show it knowingly earned up to 10% of its annual revenues in 2024—around $16 billion—from scam and banned product ads, per Reuters. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, reportedly served 15 billion high-risk scam ads daily, often letting them run unless 95% fraud certainty was detected. Brands should audit ad placements to see if scam ads dilute their impact. Seek platforms guaranteeing ad integrity, and require clear enforcement and accountability from ad platforms.

Canada’s mediascape continues to change as new formats attract younger and older users alike. The GMI report for Canada is a deep dive into the country’s shifting habits relating to time spent with media, media adoption, and device ownership.

Meta posted $51.24 billion in Q3 revenue, up 24% YoY, with Instagram driving the bulk of growth as Reels, AI discovery, and cross-device formats redefine engagement. Reels now account for half of all Instagram time spent, while Meta’s upcoming CTV app positions it to compete directly with YouTube. Facebook’s US user base remains stable near 181 million, but Instagram’s will climb to nearly 170 million by 2029. For advertisers, Meta’s evolution marks a shift from scale to yield—emphasizing creative iteration, storytelling, and AI-powered optimization across its maturing social and video platforms.

From short-form videos to AI-driven targeting, this report reveals how each generation assesses digital ads and whether they act upon them.

68% of US ad spending by microdrama apps went to social networks from January to September 2025, according to US ad spend reports from ReelShort, DramaBox, GoodShort, NetShort, and ShortMax, compiled by Sensor Tower.

Influencer marketing is no longer optional—it’s a performance-driven growth engine. As consumer trust and expectations reshape engagement, brands must adapt their strategies to sustain returns in a fast-moving yet maturing channel.

Meta withdrew from Media Rating Council (MRC) brand safety audits last week, just months after its accreditation was officially issued, per Adweek. Despite its other brand safety moves, Meta’s step away from the MRC indicates that advertisers are now navigating a digital ad landscape that necessitates investment in platforms without stringent brand safety protocols—requiring marketers to strengthen their own brand safety monitoring and verification processes.

A Yext analysis of 6.8 million citations across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity found that 86% of AI-generated answers rely on brand-managed content—from official websites and listings to reviews. First-party sites led with 44% of citations, followed by listings (42%) and reviews (8%). The findings suggest AI models increasingly trust structured, authoritative data over publisher or community sources. But fewer users click through—only 8% from AI summaries versus 15% from standard search—indicating that generative platforms are capturing more engagement directly. To stay discoverable, marketers must pair clean, structured first-party data with strong social visibility as AI search reshapes traffic flows.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping marketing, from how content is created to how advertisers evaluate transparency and trust on digital platforms. Marketers can harness AI to streamline operations, enabling more campaigns more quickly by analyzing large data sets—but do so thoughtfully—avoid using AI for entire ad creation, as consumers still respond negatively to this. Brands must operate with an eye toward maintaining trust and authenticity.

Video is now core to B2B marketing. This report shows how trust-building through creators, as well as increased AI use, are supporting video’s rise—and how to link performance to pipeline despite rising costs and resource gaps.

Meta will begin using conversations with its AI assistant to personalize ads and feeds across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp starting December 16. The change represents Meta’s most aggressive AI monetization effort to date, moving beyond likes and follows to conversational intent—a richer, real-time signal of consumer interest. Regulators are already raising alarms about surveillance and privacy. With 98% of Meta’s revenues tied to ads, even small gains could shift billions.

B2B digital ad spending is rising as marketers lean into formats that build visibility and engagement. Video and display are growing faster than search, reshaping strategies to reach decision-makers.

Meta is planning on offering UK users paid, ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in the coming weeks. Privacy transforming into a priced option implies a growing consumer awareness of data use. Advertisers who make privacy a positive part of their brand messaging will better match emerging consumer mindsets.

Digital markets are being reshaped by genAI search and shifting platform and monetization dynamics. These 10 charts reveal the forces that will define 2025 and beyond.

While social media drives discovery, it serves primarily as a path to purchase—not as the final destination. Over three-quarters (78%) of US consumers say their purchases are influenced by brands on social media, per Clutch’s From Scroll to Sale report. However, only 15% use social media platforms or apps to make direct purchases. The opportunity in social media commerce lies not just in driving discovery, but closing the gap between interest and action. Brands can earn trust by setting up mechanics like secure checkout to promote cybersecurity and maintaining consistency between marketing voice and website appearance to avoid confusing customers.

Social media is intertwined into Gen Zers’ day-to-day lives, used for everything from entertainment to messaging to searching. But they’re posting less than older generations and want to spend less time on it, though that’s easier said than done.

Meta is back in licensing talks with publishers like Axel Springer, Fox Corp., and News Corp., marking a reversal from its 2022 exit from news payments. The move comes as AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews cut publisher traffic, pushing outlets to secure compensation. Meanwhile, Reddit is pressing Google for richer terms, citing undervaluation of its human-authored content under existing $203 million contracts. For publishers, licensing deals provide revenue but risk cementing dependence on platforms that control discovery. For marketers, the shift highlights how AI-driven answers—rather than search results or feeds—are becoming the gateways to consumer attention and content discovery.