As social messaging takes off, marketers are trying to figure out how to show up within that context, whether through advertising, shareable posts, or customer service.

Social media dominates teen lives: Balancing screen time, mental health, and meaningful digital engagement becomes increasingly urgent for parents and educators.

2025 vision: Social platforms expect creators, Gen Z, and older users to wield more influence as a TikTok ban looms.

Automated ad systems, boosted video ad spending, and platforms leaning into their unique qualities led to a bounce-back year in 2024 for social networks overall.

TikTok is driving social commerce sales and buyer growth: The platform’s popularity and influence with Gen Zers contributed to its 2024 successes. We look at how that could change in 2025.

2024 was a year of legitimacy for the creator economy. 2025 will be a year of professionalization, as creator content scales beyond social media and marketers focus on proving the ROI of their growing influencer marketing investments.

Snap’s play for adrift creators: A simplified payment program could entice creators who are left stranded by a TikTok ban.

This year, most buyer and sales growth will be driven by TikTok Shop, which will convert over 40% of TikTok users into buyers. Social commerce and retail media will converge as Amazon’s ad partnerships with the social platforms start to pack a punch.

What will the reaction to Sponsored Snaps be? The new ad type’s first partner is “Wicked,” but users may not like the aggressive format.

Gen Z leads in digital usage by most proportional measures. However, social network use cuts across categories, influencing video viewing and digital buying.

After experiencing downturns in recent years, social CPMs are on the rise again in the US, per our forecasts. That’s a sign that brands could invest more in social media ads amid optimism about the economy.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what could help Snapchat add users in North American again, what a “Simple Snapchat” app could do, and the potential impact of a new “Sponsored Snaps” ad format. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson and Vice President and Principal Analyst Jasmine Enberg.

Trump skips Snapchat ads: Harris invests $5.3M to engage younger voters, capitalizing on key demographics ahead of US president election.

Millennials outpace Gen Z on eight of the 12 digital platforms EMARKETER tracks.

Snap introduces Sponsored Snaps: Full-screen vertical ads now appear in users' chat inboxes as part of Snap’s efforts to grow its ad business.

Influencer marketing is a booming industry. But accessing the opportunity requires navigating a complex web of consumer preferences and platforms, and growing pressure to prove ROI.​

Gen Zers are on a path to take the lead on most platforms, while millennials remain a stable digital population and other generations pick up new habits.

Marketers should play to social media’s positive traits: Gen Z adults have mixed feelings about social media use that can inform marketing strategies.

A third (33%) of US influencers believe that if TikTok is sold or banned in the US next year, Facebook Reels will become the next major player in short-form video, per August 2024 data by First Insight. Instagram Reels is close, at 32%.

Facebook and YouTube dominate, but the rise of unverified stories poses a challenge to credible reporting.