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While still speculative, OpenAI could employ a similar strategy for its social offering: For OpenAI to capitalize on first-party data from a social network, it will need content and a reason for consumers to use it. All AI-driven social platforms will also still need to balance content from AI agents with a human touch.

In this report, CMOs share how they鈥檙e transforming influencer strategies to deliver business impact鈥攁nd what solution providers can do to help.

AI is transforming B2B content marketing, but trust and differentiation remain critical. Buyers seek authenticity from peers, influencers, and industry experts. Marketers must balance AI, human expertise, and bold strategies to drive engagement and growth in 2025.

Basing influencer partnerships on follower counts doesn鈥檛 make much sense when marketers leverage paid media鈥攁n effective tactic for every brand, said Nikki Bock, senior manager of influencer marketing and social engagement at Newell Brands. 鈥淚f you can put some paid spend behind your content, you can control where it's living and how it鈥檚 showing up to a degree,鈥� she said.

The news: Influencer marketing is leading the way in attention metrics, with viewers in India spending 2.2 times longer viewing ads with influencers before skipping, per Kantar research. The average skip time for traditional branded content is 7.9 seconds鈥攂ut for ads with influencer content, that number jumps to 17.8 seconds. Our take: While a necessary part of the media mix, traditional ads are not enough to drive consistent growth鈥攁nd partnering with reliable influencers will prove valuable as social media represents a critical path to purchase. Influencer voices are able to cut through the noise of social media.

B2B social media has evolved from an awareness tool into a central part of how brands build trust, influence buying decisions, and drive business growth. AI, video, and influencer marketing are reshaping strategies and raising expectations for measurable impact.

Beyond the chart:. 66% of social media marketers worldwide use influencer marketing to support brand awareness, per January data from Sprout Social. Over half (59%) of creators and influencers use AI tools for content creation or business operations, according to April data from URLgenius.

Brands are increasing investments in influencer marketing, and placing a greater emphasis on measuring ROI as a result. Measurement remains a challenge, but there are steps marketers can take to ensure campaigns align with business goals.

India鈥檚 fast-evolving social and quick-commerce landscape offers growth opportunities for brands, agencies, and retailers.鈥� This deck covers:鈥�. India鈥檚 ecommerce growth trajectory, platform dynamics, and mobile commerce expansion鈥�. The influence of social media and influencers on product discovery and purchases鈥�. The rise of quick commerce and its role in reshaping retail delivery expectations鈥�.

Meanwhile, influencer marketing spending growth will outpace that of nearly every other digital channel in the US through at least 2027. US social commerce sales, which are largely driven by creators, will also rise by 19.5% this year. Click here to view our full US ad spending forecasts for social, search, influencer marketing, programmatic display, and retail media.

As consumers trade traditional search engines for social feeds, brands are approaching these platforms as drivers of brand awareness and conversion. TikTok Shop has rapidly become the eighth-largest beauty retailer in the United States, according to a February report from NielsenIQ. 41% of Gen Z turns to social platforms first for finding information, ahead of search engines (32%), AI chatbots (11%), and friends and family (9%), according to a May Sprout Social survey.

US social ad spend will grow YoY in 2025, even as platforms grapple with tariff-related budget cuts from industries that spend heavily on social channels, like CPG and retail.

The trend: Most consumers are skeptical of the health information they see on social media, according to a new KFF survey. The big takeaway: Even as social media increasingly becomes a health information tool, consumers know there is plenty of medical misinformation and influencer self-promotion flooding the internet. But these survey findings also present an opportunity for healthcare brands and marketers to stand out from the crowd with platform-specific strategies that can help build customer relationships.

Influencer scale vs. authenticity gap: Trust in people over brands is reshaping enterprise marketing. HubSpot data shows 43% of influencer marketers worldwide saw the most B2B success with micro-influencers (10,000鈥�99,999 followers), compared with just 6% for mega influencers.

AI is upending every aspect of marketing, from neuro-contextual ads that read emotions to autonomous shopping agents that make purchasing decisions. As tech giants consolidate control of the sector, six pivotal trends are reshaping advertising, search, and commerce.

TikTok will see healthy user growth this year in the US, even as its future remains unclear. User time spent on the app is falling YoY, but it still leads other social networks. However, it鈥檚 facing more competition from Instagram and YouTube.

Instagram鈥檚 latest linked Reels feature seeks to close that gap, giving short-form the same potential for emotional engagement and serialized storytelling (Interest in storytelling for social ads is also growing).

Despite brands increasing influencer marketing spending, creators are struggling to grow their content business and earn more from sponsorship deals, per Digiday. And while holiday season typically provides a boom, 70% of creators expect traditional sponsored posts to account for under a quarter of their holiday content as focus shifts to performance-driven efforts, according to Collective Voice. Influencer marketing continues its growth trajectory, and the future of the sector relies on how creators adapt to the rise of third-party inventory solutions that divert brand spend away from traditional sponsorships.

Why it matters: While some social platforms struggle with shifting algorithms and advertiser skepticism, LinkedIn is proving to be a steady performer with a clearly differentiated value proposition. In an era of heightened scrutiny around user identity, LinkedIn鈥檚 verified, business-first audience gives it an advantage in trust and targeting鈥攅specially for B2B campaigns.

Unilever, meanwhile, has lifted marketing spending to 15.5% of revenues as part of a turnaround strategy that includes leaning heavily into social media, scaling influencer partnerships, and using AI to speed up content production for its biggest brands.

That dependence has brought renewed attention to how social platforms handle any content that nudges users away. Why it matters: Instagram鈥檚 control over visibility affets the livelihood of creators who depend on consistent reach to grow businesses across multiple platforms.

The influencers who rely on the app and the more than 7 million businesses with a TikTok presence鈥攏early three-quarters of which state TikTok has helped improve sales鈥攚ill likely take a major hit. And even as some advertisers shift budgets, many still rely on the platform鈥檚 massive reach across key demographics driving digital buyer growth.

The finding: Engagement with financial content on YouTube rose in Q1 2025, according to our industry KPI data provided by Pixability. What it means for banks: Not all financial YouTube content is created equal, and as people engage with it more, financial institutions (FIs) must step up their own social media game to combat potential misinformation. Content that educates, reassures, and empowers consumers to make smart financial decisions is more important than ever. FIs have different pathways to creating this content. Besides in-house production or working with a third-party agency, it鈥檚 a good time to consider a finfluencer partnership. They can help FIs tap new audiences who already trust those influencers鈥攊n turn driving traffic and engagement for the FI.