Social Media

TikTok gives brands even more resources: The platform rolled out two key features that help businesses better engage with consumers and understand what performs well on the app.

Kidstagram is coming: Instagram’s new, 13-and-under app will help protect kids—and protect the company from legal peril. It could also be a way for the app to attract younger users, especially since it’s losing ground to TikTok and Snapchat among Gen Zers and younger.

Do deepfake ads cross the line? Lay’s is the latest brand to use the technology to personalize campaigns. But advertisers that want in must contend with deepfakes’ increasingly sour reputation.

Social networks will reach almost full penetration among adult Gen Zers this year, or 99.0% of users ages 18 to 24. The next-highest penetration rate will be among the 25-to-34 age bracket, younger millennials, at 90.9%.

YouTube Shorts debuts in the US: The feature may just be another TikTok clone for now, but if YouTube can successfully harness its existing base of video content creators, it could set Shorts apart.

The newsletter opportunity: Facebook confirmed that it will release newsletter publishing tools—its reach and lack of fees could be appealing to some creators.

Better data, better campaigns: In a natural progression of its paid advertising capabilities, TikTok will begin personalizing ads based on in-app activity.

Clubhouse hopes to foster community: The social audio app is banking on its new creator program to draw in more users and breathe life into the platform.

Livestreaming is a small but growing part of creator culture. Much like Stories, livestreaming is a way for creators and other influential figures on social media to present content that is often less polished than photos or recorded video. Livestreams also give influencers a way to interact with their audience in real time through live chat.

Facebook competes for creators: The platform is appealing to creators who specialize in short videos and livestreams by introducing new monetization options.

On today's episode, we discuss Google's recent announcement not to build alternative user-level identifiers or support them in their ad stack. How does this change the upcoming cookieless landscape, how does FloC fit in, and how might these changes affect consumer privacy? We then talk about whether The Trade Desk's investments may help it better compete with Google, Facebook lifting its political ad ban, engagement with misinformation on social media, and what to make of The Walt Disney Co.'s new ad exchange. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin.

In the lead-up to the election, many social media users expressed growing exhaustion with the user experience due to the influx of political content. But those feelings of “election fatigue” didn’t cause most users to decrease their engagement on social.

Diet Instagram: The new, less data-intensive version of Instagram will help Facebook penetrate developing markets, where consumers are more sensitive to mobile data costs.

Twitter puts control in brands' hands: The company extended access to the reply control settings it rolled out to users last summer, which could boost brand engagement on the platform.

The adoption of social commerce—the ability to shop and buy, directly or indirectly, via social media platforms—accelerated during the pandemic. The vast majority of social commerce today is within the discovery and consideration stages. However, checkout capabilities are not available from the leading social networks in Canada.

US tech company issues in India: The Indian government's threat to arrest employees of WhatsApp and Twitter spells trouble for US companies looking to enforce a globally accepted set of content moderation stances.

The IDFA question: Snap announced it would continue to collect IDFA data on iOS 14 as many companies grapple with whether to pursue a similar course of action.

Instagram is moving away from the popularity contest: The platform wants to generate more interest and engagement with the elimination of public like counts.

On today's episode, we discuss Twitter's "Super Follows" and "Communities" features, what annoys online shoppers, whether a foldable iPhone is coming, if Paramount+ can fit into people's media diets, Instagram's new Live Rooms offering, where to find a true wonder of the world, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Jillian Ryan and Yoram Wurmser, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.