Threads engagement unspools: Despite a promising start, Meta's new app faces a dip, potentially dimming ad potential.

In Threads’ first week, 33.5% of app downloads came from India, followed by Brazil (22.5%) and the US (16.1%), according to data.ai.

This first-of-its-kind report compares and contrasts our US ad spending forecast with our US time spent with media forecast. It identifies unexpected incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

Ad spend across digital channels has been mixed so far this year, with spend on social networks slowing and connected TV spend boosted by new ad-supported subscription tiers. Meanwhile, retail media is diversifying at a rapid rate as nonendemic retailers get in the game

Threads turns one week old today, and the platform already has 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing platform ever. Instagram’s new venture looks just like Twitter but feels kind of like Facebook, and its first few days have been a wild west for marketers. Here’s what marketers should consider in their Threads strategy.

We have upped our social user forecast since our last revision in December 2022. And next year, there will be nearly the same number of social users in the US as there are TV viewers, a historic audience shift. If there’s any medium that’s “dying,” it’s linear TV.

US adults will spend 1 minute less with media this year than in 2022, although the longer-term topline trend is stable. Among formats and platforms, CTV is grabbing share, mobile is approaching a plateau, and Netflix and TikTok reign supreme.

Gen Z shoppers diverge from the general population in terms of where they find and buy products, consumers are still into influencer-driven ads, and live shopping hasn’t taken off yet. Here are five charts to help elevate your social commerce strategy.

Will Threads run into the same problems as Twitter? Even before Musk, Twitter was struggling. But Meta has advantages that make Threads more stable.

Google continues to lose ground to Amazon: Amazon is holding steady as shoppers’ search engine of choice for products, even as TikTok and other social platforms attract Gen Z consumers.

This year, TikTok will ride the social video wave to become the third social platform with more than 100 million users in the US. But text-based platforms are also set for a revival thanks to Instagram Threads, Bluesky, and even Meta’s Messenger.

There will be 3.86 billion monthly social network users this year, equal to almost half (48.3%) of the world’s population. Despite concerns about content moderation and data privacy that have plagued Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok—to name just a few—the social audience is still on the rise.

On today's episode, we discuss the implications of the Federal Trade Commission thinking Amazon tricked customers into signing up for automatically renewing Prime subscriptions, whether it makes sense for companies to force livestream shopping on Americans, if speciality stores really work, the impact of Facebook and Instagram restricting news access in Canada, whether reduced inflation can save the day, what a real work-life balance looks like, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian, vice president of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, and analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf.

The B2B social media landscape is rapidly evolving thanks to younger buyers and AI. To adapt, marketers need to lean into influencer marketing, have a multichannel approach, and embrace generative AI.

Our latest forecast for social network users around the world highlights the top platforms and key regional distinctions.

Social platforms are already great vehicles for introducing consumers to products and brands they may want to purchase. Advertisers should lean into that strength and:

Key stat: In the US, 71% of Gen Z adults say they are likely to make a purchase directly via Instagram, according to Jungle Scout. Just 40% of adults overall say the same, with the caveat that older generations are less likely to buy from social networks in general.

TikTok doggedly pursues ecommerce expansion: The platform inked several deals to help grow its merchant base, but it faces significant obstacles in its path to growth.

Reels revolution: Meta doubles down on short-form video to better compete with TikTok.

Social search is growing, fueled by consumer behavior and AI—and so are the search ad opportunities on TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. But search on social media isn’t the same as traditional search. Here’s what advertisers should know.