It’s easy to be pessimistic about the state of social media in 2023. But while challenges will persist, the shifting landscape will also give rise to more opportunities for marketers to reach social audiences.

Facing signal loss and challenging macroeconomic conditions, advertisers are pumping the brakes on social network ad spending. But social video is shining through the gloom.

Elon Musk’s reign over Twitter stirs chaos and user losses in Asia-Pacific. The region is propping up Facebook user growth that is flagging in most of the world. And TikTok is looming large among marketers as its popularity skyrockets.

Instagram’s new Quiet mode offers an olive branch to parents and regulators as the Biden administration vows to go after Big Tech for “put[ting] our children at risk.” All social platforms can sense a new era of accountability, and they’re making active moves to stay on regulators’ good side.

It will be another turbulent year for social media in Latin America. As the number of users nears 400 million, declines at Facebook and Twitter will have profound, long-lasting implications for the region’s two biggest markets: Brazil and Mexico.

Gen Z will represent 20% of the US population in 2023, and nearly 40 million of these Gen Zers are adults. This is the data you need to understand how to reach them—and tap their growing buying power.

Pinterest was seen as the safest social media platform in the US last year, though the percentage of users who held that view declined from 2020 (51% versus 41%), according to our “US Digital Trust Benchmark 2022” report. Meanwhile, Facebook was where the lowest percentage of users felt safe, down to just 26% in 2022.

Content creation is changing as platforms share ad revenues with creators and all content becomes monetizable. “That’s going to send a wave of quick-hit, low-value content across social media as creators scramble to get more content out,” said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. Enberg predicts smaller creators will shift strategies as they try to earn more from their content.

Though Meta’s sheer size makes it a platform that advertisers can’t afford to ignore, the titan of advertising’s throne has never sat on shakier ground.

Amid global economic gloom, Asia-Pacific remains a region of digital opportunities in 2023, highlighted by the increasing momentum of the metaverse in China, surging retail sales in India, and burgeoning livestream commerce in Indonesia.

This week, Meta announced its Variance Reduction System, which it says will equitably distribute ads via census data and machine learning. The new tech was created in partnership with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), representing the first instance of direct court oversight for Meta’s ad targeting and delivery, according to a DOJ statement.

CES delves into the creator economy: Sessions included topics such as data accessibility and influence of AI, underscoring the rising power of the booming creative class.

A jarring deceleration in ad spending growth has shaken the advertising industry in many parts of the world. However, this softness is not universal, and it is likely to be short-lived.

Meta’s latest EU fine is more than a minor shakeup: The ruling, which Meta will appeal, could markedly limit its ability to target advertisements.

Can a new service help Shopify attract more enterprise retailers? Commerce Components by Shopify allows large retailers to integrate Shopify’s tools and services into their online platforms.

Social buyer penetration is climbing rapidly at TikTok. In the US, the app has already outpaced Pinterest by this metric, per our forecast. By the end of 2023, it will beat Instagram and tie with Facebook.

Despite inflation continuing into the new year, we believe that influencer marketing will endure. Why? Trust may have a little something to do with it.

Q4 was another turbulent quarter for social media: Support for a US ban on TikTok grew; Elon Musk announced he would step down from Twitter once he finds a replacement; and Meta suffered its first-ever major round of layoffs. But there were still bright spots for marketers.

Social commerce sales will reach $107.17 billion by 2025: While Facebook and Instagram will still attract the most buyers, it’s TikTok that’s making the most aggressive moves.

In 2023, 58.5% of Meta’s $121.90 billion of ad revenues worldwide will come from Facebook, per our forecast. The remaining 41.5% will come from Instagram, whose ad revenues are growing faster than Facebook’s, which will decline in 2022. For the next two years, Instagram will continue to outpace Facebook by this measure.