Facing similar challenges in rekindling user growth, Snapchat and Twitter seem to be at a crossroads. In the new episode of “Behind the Numbers,” analyst Debra Aho Williamson digs into the companies’ latest results, and looks ahead to what she expects their Q4 to look like.

Every week on eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, we take a few minutes to discuss some of the most intriguing headlines of the past seven days. This week, we're chatting about politics (it's that time of year) and the ways that social and traditional are media mixing things up in the political sphere. Plus, would you target advertising based on smart thermometer data?

This year, 84.8 million people in the US—or roughly a quarter of the population—will use Snapchat, a 7.1% increase from 2017, according to eMarketer estimates.

Heather Watson, consulting and behavioral insights lead at research and solutions firm CGK, discusses how to market to teens on YouTube and the importance of having an authentic brand personality across platforms.

Daily time spent with digital media will surpass traditional media in 2018. Increased time with digital video, which will reach 1 hour, 26 minutes, is a main driver of the increase of time spent with digital media.

Our updated US ad spending forecast shows digital ad spending outpacing expectations. Digital media will capture $111.14 billion in ad dollars in 2018 and surpass traditional media ad spending by 2019, according to our latest estimates.

For the first time, we have created estimates for social network video ad spending, including Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter. In 2018, the segment will total $7.85 billion in ad spending.

Social media is hardly synonymous with shopping, but that hasn't stopped social platforms from positioning themselves as pseudo-retailers.

Today, more than four of every five US digital display ad dollars transact programmatically. This report looks at the trends driving programmatic ad spending to $68.87 billion by 2020, breaking it down by transaction type, format and device.

This year will mark a milestone for digital video advertising in the US, according to eMarketer’s latest ad spending forecast. In 2018, video will grow nearly 30% to $27.82 billion. That means video ad spending will make up 25% of US digital ad spending.

Based on consumer surveys, the holiday season is shaping up to be more mobile-driven and social media-influenced than in years past. According to PwC, the 2018 holiday shopping period is on track to be one of the strongest since 2005.

Snapchat and Twitter are very different properties, but they have one thing in common: Both remain in the shadow of Facebook and Instagram.

In the latest episode of "Behind the Numbers," eMarketer's Bill Fisher and Showmik Podder discuss the current state of advertising spending in the UK.

Usage and ad revenues have taken hits in recent months, but both companies are moving forward with new ad products—and they offer unique features that are causing some marketers to give them a second look.

Simon Lejeune, head of user acquisition at travel app Hopper, discusses the success of its direct-response Snapchat ad campaigns.

Nancy Inouye, national media manager at Toyota Motor North America, explains why Twitter and Snapchat advertising remain beneficial for the brand.

Arielle Vogelstein, growth principal at Via, talks about Snapchat's advertising potential.

While augmented reality is still in the early adoption phase, usage is growing quickly. Recent hardware and software advancements—and backing from big tech companies—are spurring advertisers and marketers to create engaging new experiences for their customers.

eMarketer expects the social network to generate more than $500 million in US ad revenues this year, a 43.8% change from last year.