More than a quarter (26%) of marketers worldwide use YouTube for influencer marketing strategies, according to a September 2024 report by the Influencer Marketing Hub. Another 25% uses the platform for organic content marketing.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how organic social is having a resurgence, what brands are building communities around, and how brands are embracing ad-free features like the comments section and direct messaging. "In Other News," we talk why the ad market still feels so bleak and what X can do to turn the ship around. Tune in to the discussion with our director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

Social media is crucial for B2B marketing success. In 2024, B2B marketers are embracing influencer marketing and video, integrating AI, and focusing on the importance of authenticity. B2B marketers can gain insights for enhancing brand awareness, optimizing campaigns, and building meaningful connections with target audiences.

TikTok proves social search is here to stay: Its new image search function capitalizes on a shift from traditional discovery methods.

Influencer marketing once referred to an Instagram power user featuring products in posts resulting in native promotional content. It was a cheaper and more authentic-feeling alternative to celebrity endorsements and paid social ads.

Key stat: $6.19 billion (9.0% of US social media ad spend) will go to TikTok this year, according to our forecast. Marketers need to make sure they’re putting their TikTok budget to good use by choosing the right ad types for the right activations. Here’s an overview of in-feed versus Spark Ads on TikTok.

Whether you’re an established brand like Wendy’s or a young D2C building an audience, understanding the right mix between organic and paid social is key, especially as the line between the two blurs. “I think paid is planned paid, and organic has opportunistic pay that could go along with it,” said Jimmy Bennett, vice president and global head of brand engagements and partnerships at Wendy’s.

Consumers want to buy sustainable products: But inflation is driving them to trade down, which may slow sales of products made from recycled materials as well as organic foods.

Instagram's new Explore page ads will bring more opportunities for marketers—but they also raise concerns about the limit of organic reach, which some claim has already happened in the Instagram feed. Savvy marketers have established best practices to get their content featured on Explore, but when ads are introduced, it could become more challenging to appear there organically.

Stories are hot in social media, and the ad opportunities are growing fast. How are consumers using stories, and how do they respond to marketing in stories?

Mobile apps are eating the world, and marketers need to get on board. This report provides an overview of paid and organic app user acquisition strategies, as well as some problems related to attribution and ad fraud.