Marketers within the insurance industry will zero in on how to best utilize digital ad budgets, as spending growth settles at more modest levels.

Facebook was projected to pass 2 billion users worldwide in 2021 and poised to hit 2.10 billion by the end of this year. But despite boasting a massive user base, growth on the platform declined dramatically in 2021 and will slow to a trickle in years to come.

In Southeast Asia, total media ad spending snapped back to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 and will continue rising strongly this year. The growth in digital ad spending, though tamer in 2022, will again outpace that of the overall ad market.

AR, VR, and video games present opportunities that marketers can tap into right now.

TikTok takes up more of its users’ time than any other social media platform in the US. This year, adult TikTok users will spend an average of 38 minutes per day on the short-video app. Twitter ranks second, with a daily average of 35 minutes, while third-place Facebook will see 31 minutes per day from the average adult user.

Creator funds see mixed success: Social platforms offer more monetization tools than ever, but many content providers still struggle to get paid.

US Instagram ad impressions are split mostly between two formats. For the US clients of performance marketing firm Tinuiti, 47.0% of impressions came from the feed and 42.0% from Stories in Q4 2021.

Fueled by connected TV, programmatic video has expanded significantly. However, there remain concerns over difficulties with cross-platform measurement, ad fraud, and the lack of uniform standards.

Teens continue to leave Facebook, and the platform won’t be able to reverse that trend in 2022 or beyond. But in a surprising twist, the average age of a Facebook user is also starting to decrease.

Instagram introduces subscriptions as it vies for control of the creator economy: As Instagram’s cachet diminishes among younger audiences, it hopes monetization tools will keep creators from turning to other platforms.

Snapchat’s user base in the region grew almost 70% in 2021, to 107 million, compared with just 3.4% in North America.

Close to 75% US marketers will tap influencers for campaigns this year, up about 5 percentage points from 2021.

US marketers' interest in TikTok for influencer marketing has skyrocketed since early 2020, as the app has transformed from a novelty to a social media mainstay. Nearly two-thirds of US influencer marketers plan to use the video sharing app in 2022.

Asia-Pacific will no longer produce huge increases in new social network users, but the sheer scale of the region means it should remain front and center for social media marketers. Facebook will remain on top, but TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are making waves.

The number of social network users in Canada continues to climb, as a wider variety of platforms become available that can satisfy user appetites for information, entertainment, and personal expression.

Over 500 million people in Europe will use social networks monthly in 2022—with more than half hailing from Central and Eastern Europe. Facebook will remain the largest platform, but its lead is shrinking as Instagram and TikTok expand.

TikTok is now the third-largest worldwide social network, according to our inaugural forecast. It will have 60% more users than Snapchat and twice as many as Twitter this year.

Google buys UK offices for $1B: As the rest of the world works remotely, Big Tech continues buying up real estate in preparation for growth and expansion.

Nearly 400 million people in Latin America will use social networks in 2022. Facebook remains the region's biggest platform, but it will experience its slowest user growth on record this year as TikTok and Instagram make gains.

TikTok is the fastest-growing social platform amid slow overall social network user gains in the UK. Facebook remains the dominant force, but as its user base ages, its grip will begin to slip.