LinkedIn tops B2B campaign results, posting 121% ROAS—outpacing Google and Meta and capturing 41% of paid social budgets.

After multiple false starts, Musk is hoping high APRs and app stickiness gives X a shot at superapp status

Uneven engagement and time spent on social platforms forces marketers to rethink scale-first social campaigns.

US adults will spend slightly more time on social networks this year, but social’s share of digital media time is slipping as streaming video surges.

Healthcare and pharma marketers should ramp up social listening and host expert Ask Me Anything sessions to drive engagement without feeling intrusive.

Snapchat+ hits 25 million subscribers as its ad growth stalls.

Media habits keep evolving as digital gains ground faster than traditional declines. Video is absorbing more attention, screens are doing more of the work, and the central battle is for a share of limited consumer time.

Instagram is reportedly expanding Meta's ecosystem with Instants, a Snapchat-style app that would add inventory and reach, reinforcing Meta’s ad dominance.

Automation is now table stakes in social advertising. Platforms are pushing AI-driven campaigns at scale. But advertisers still demand control, transparency, and brand safety—and it’s all reshaping how performance media gets bought.

Bluesky prioritizes live conversation over scale: The platform is leaning into real-time events to differentiate from X and Threads.

AI platforms’ long-held anti-advertising stance changed in January 2026. The rising cost of competing in AI has forced OpenAI and Google to launch AI ad pilots, and other platforms will likely follow suit. But advertisers may not be the winners in this gold rush.

Regulatory pressure and political alignment are now influencing programming stability, deal viability, and advertiser confidence one year into Trump's second presidency.

Threads beats X in daily active users on mobile as Meta’s established ad stack makes Threads a safer long-term bet for community-driven social ads.

AI deepfakes are sparking a global crackdown after Grok’s explicit content scandal triggered UK probes and stricter safeguards--raising governance stakes for AI tools.

Reddit ad spend is growing 46.3% YoY, more than double Instagram's growth rate and five times TikTok's, according to a November report from Sensor Tower.

This report presents five of the most intriguing and/or under-the-radar forecasts for 2026 that businesses should be aware of, as compiled by our forecasting team.

Generational splits shape how consumers find, research, and trust banks. Younger adults move through digital channels with ease, while older adults rely on branches, human support, and established institutions.

Social networks will claim close to 32% of US digital ad spending in 2026, as powerful AI systems and improved video monetization help push social past a plateau in time spent among US consumers.

Attention metrics (AUs) in the social media video landscape are gradually fragmenting as audiences shift to platforms with interest-driven feeds, per our industry KPI data provided by Adelaide. Consumer attention fragmenting across platforms means that advertisers who are already struggling to reach target audiences on social media are facing an uphill battle. Focusing on interest-driven platforms like Reddit and Pinterest as they gain AUs can help drive stronger results, while maintaining investment in leaders like YouTube will remain essential.

This is the second installment of our “UK Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.