Content creators offer brands the opportunity to advertise in an inexpensive, targeted, and authentic way on social media. In order to focus on authenticity, US social media marketers are most inclined to hire creators for educational content, testimonials, and product unboxings, which allow followers to learn and discover alongside their favorite influencers.

The TikTok train continues to gather steam, with growing user numbers, engagement rates, and ad revenues. But UK marketers have a lot to consider when marketing on TikTok—where catching the eye of users is an entirely different proposition than it is on other social platforms.

TikTok’s highly engaged and ever-growing user base is more attractive than ever to UK marketers. To resonate with their audiences on the platform, brands’ marketing strategies should consider content first and foremost.

On today's episode, we discuss Netflix choosing Microsoft to help with the streaming service's upcoming ad-supported tier, the need for a chief media officer, what to make of inflation still not slowing down, whether YouTube is the future of cable, whether customers will buy into in-car subscription services, an unpopular opinion about the term "influencer," what exactly a "black box" really is, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Dave Frankland, Evelyn Mitchell, and Max Willens.

TikTok’s recent advances in its ad technology are making it easier for advertisers to plug into the platform and make buys. Since launching its self-serve ad platform in July 2020, TikTok has greatly expanded its targeting, custom content creation, and bidding capabilities.

For many content creators, Instagram isn’t everything. In the US, 41.0% of creators run websites or blogs to reach their audiences outside of social media. Newsletters and podcasts are also tools they use to staying connected. But perhaps most notably, 43.3% do not use anything other than social platforms.

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.

Move over, celebrities and mega-influencers. Creators with smaller followings will be the strategic play in the influencer marketing world in 2022.

Faze Clan's public offering will be a proving ground for public creator economy companies: The organization started in 2010—before influencers and creators were the norm—and its market performance could foreshadow similar moves from newer companies.

Three in five US internet users said that discounts are what influence them to buy a product through social media ads, far more than the 44% who cited the brand’s trustworthiness and customer data practices.

YouTube Shorts is bringing its Shorts Fund to over 30 new countries: The platform is stressing the importance of original content as it goes up against TikTok for creators.

The influencer marketing industry is changing, and the pandemic is propelling many of the major shifts in the market.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst Blake Droesch discuss how brands are changing their approach to influencer marketing, the main challenges influencers are struggling with and what influencer marketing might look like going forward. They then talk about TikTok's call-to-action button, how platforms are dealing with misinformation and Twitter's purchase of a mobile-focused demand-side platform.

Influencer marketing remains both fascinating and frustrating for marketers. In this report, 16 creators share how they work with brands and how they view their role in the path to purchase.

TikTok, the Chinese short-video app, is taking off in the US, India and elsewhere. It offers many unique marketing opportunities, such as the Hashtag Challenge, but marketers should take note of some risks.

YouTube has been the OG for video creators for years, but now the social properties are making bigger inroads into this popular content format. That’s bringing new ways for marketers to work with creators on Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and more.

This report covers key events in the global social media market, new data, trends and business activity in Q2 2019. It also includes our updated forecasts for social network users in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and worldwide.

Facebook’s annual f8 conference is aimed at developers, but it included a range of announcements that will impact marketers as well. In this report, we go beyond the news and unpack what those announcements mean.