Older generations rely more heavily on family, friends, and TV ads to learn about new products. Personal recommendations are the most powerful purchase drivers for Gen Z as well, but social media—which includes ads, videos, and online influencers—is increasingly important to product discovery.

On today's episode, we discuss how Americans feel about the different social media platforms and the extent to which trust affects usage and attitudes toward advertising. We then talk about Facebook scrapping certain kinds of ad targeting and some rather lofty expectations for TikTok. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Audrey Schomer.

The past two pandemic-driven years have accelerated digital transformation and consumer behavior. Here are our top 10 trends to watch in 2022.

TikTok’s new report on teen safety is part of an ongoing effort by the app to ease scrutiny: After Instagram’s bombshell report about teen health earlier this year, platforms like TikTok and Snap are racing to show regulators, users, and advertisers that they don’t share the same issues.

Gen Zers make heavy use of many social networks to create connections, consume multimedia, play games, and share content.

TikTok will surpass 1.5 billion users in 2022: Despite challenges, TikTok has proven resilient and will likely command marketers’ attention and ad spend.

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, owns the top four mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram seeing the most cumulative downloads between Q1 2014 and Q3 2021.

It’s not alone in the race. An influx of new BaaS entrants indicates the emergence of an industry to underpin embedded banking.

Our fifth annual primary research survey reveals the level of trust US social media users have in nine major social platforms, and the role trust plays in the willingness to engage with advertising on those platforms.

Even amid swirling controversies, Facebook is the single most popular US social network, with 83% of adult social media users in the US reporting that they visit the platform in a typical week.

YouTube is carving into social commerce and TV measurement: The platform is leveraging both its deep pool of creators and large TV-based audience to get a leg up on competitors.

YouTube videos are the most popular media among US children online, with 85% of those surveyed watching that content recently.

Is TikTok ready to take on Amazon? ByteDance wants to launch an international ecommerce platform; whether it rolls out as a TikTok integration, or as a standalone app, will be a litmus test for the strength of the US social commerce market.

Singles’ Day, the online shopping festival invented by Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba and held on November 11, is widely known in the West. Now, a series of similar “double-digit” shopping festivals from digital powerhouses Lazada and Shopee are driving ecommerce growth in Southeast Asia.

YouTube Shorts is bringing its Shorts Fund to over 30 new countries: The platform is stressing the importance of original content as it goes up against TikTok for creators.

Every quarter, we compile the most important product, commerce, and monetization developments for the major social platforms and explain what they mean for marketers.

On today's episode, we discuss whether TV can produce an event that gathers a mass audience without relying on sports or news, why Warby Parker is eyeing brick and mortar, why advertising's future is in 3D, how folks find things to stream, what to make of TikTok's 1 billion users milestone, the new corporate dress code and greeting etiquette, where the football huddle came from, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

Square sellers can set up dedicated shopping tabs on TikTok, include product links on videos, and run ads using TikTok Ads Manager.

TikTok’s new marketing tools focus on customization and commerce: It’s taking steps to make advertisers feel comfortable on the platform and heavily push social commerce.

Instagram Kids is on pause in the wake of critical reporting from The Wall Street Journal: The move suggests that Facebook hasn’t put in the necessary effort to prove that such an app is useful or important.