Some social media platforms are groeing as brand engagement destinations, and research from Hootsuite finds that this can be of great value to brands, as the decision to follow a brand on social media can have an impact on purchase behaviors. In surveying more than 6,000 adults ages 18-64 across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia who follow brands on social media and say social media has at least some influence on their purchase decisions, the report reveals that for 58%, following a brand ha...

Instagram has officially launched a new 'Ads with Promo Codes' option for all brands using Meta's photo-sharing platform across the globe. The new ad product aims to provide marketers with a more visible way to highlight promotions and automatically apply them for interested consumers. Instagram advertisers will now be able to give users promo codes listed directly in the caption of an ad. When the user opens the ad, the format reminds them that the promo code will be automatically appli...

US digital media consumption and consumer spending growth are at a standstill. 'It's just getting really competitive to reach today's consumers,' our analyst Jeremy Goldman said on an episode of the "Behind the Numbers: The Daily" podcast. 1. Flattening media usage means fiercer ad competition Time spent on media plateaued in the US, with only a 3-minute YoY growth in 2024, for a total of 12 hours and 14 minutes per day, according to our forecast. Next year will see a 2-minute YoY growth. '...

Looking at thousands of video posts from branded accounts on leading social-media platforms in 2023, social media-management company Emplifi has released a video performance analysis that puts Instagram Reels on top. In terms of driving views for brands over the past year, Instagram Reels -- the platform's short-form video feature -- outperformed TikTok clips, Facebook Reels and all other branded video content on Instagram, according to the report. For the first time, Emplifi also found tha...

Creator content isn't an experimental area for advertisers anymore. It's an established, full-funnel channel that can deliver measurable results. Why is the channel so important right now? Advertisers take creators seriously. Some 44% of advertisers plan to increase investment in creator content in 2024, with an average increase of 25%, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB's) recent Creator Economy Opportunity : Where Authenticity Meets Impact report. More than 90% of adver...

Consumers are increasingly engaging with brands on social media across various platforms, making social media one of marketing's top responsibilities. There are some behaviors on social media that brands should avoid, though, according to a report from Hootsuite. In asking more than 4,500 consumers across 3 countries which behaviors that brands they follow on social media engage in that have a negative impact on how they view them, a leading 34% of respondents cited brands being too focuse...

Today Meta rolled out brand safety and creative tools for Reels advertisers, expanding the brand suitability controls it released for Facebook and Instagram feeds in March. Meta's inventory filter uses AI to help sort organic content into categories aligned with Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) suitability standards, a framework that helps identify content related to topics some marketers may not consider brand safe, such as 'arms and ammunition,' 'spam or harmful content,' and 'adu...

Social media marketers sharing photos of people vacationing in exotic locales or attending events at exclusive venues may actually be driving new customers away, according to a recently published Tulane University study. The study analyzed more than 14,000 Instagram travel photos from a top influencer and conducted a series of experiments that asked viewers to choose between venues with or without another person in the photo. Across a diverse range of destination venues, the authors consiste...

Marketers may be obsessed with reaching younger consumers, but that doesn't mean that baby boomers aren't worth their time. Next year, 11.3 million consumers ages 55 to 64 and 10.8 million consumers 65 and older will make a purchase via social media, per our forecast. Boomers are a valuable consumer base for marketers to target. Some 63% report having a credit card, per GWI's Q2 2023 report. In addition, 39% have purchased a product or service online within the last week, and 30% are in a hi...

While the importance of creating content and building an audience is well understood, many organizations are lacking when it comes to another key strength of social media: social listening. Social listening is a strategic approach that can help your brand tap into the incredible breadth and depth of social media to hone in on what your target audience is saying and feeling – and why. By investing in social listening, you can gain a deeper understanding of conversations happening a...