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The news: Small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners are preparing for a recession鈥攁nd marketing is first on the chopping block, per a report from Clarify Capital. 28% of SMB owners say cutting marketing or ad spending is the first action they鈥檒l take in the event of a recession鈥攈igher than any other category. Our take: Preparing for a recession is a necessity for SMBs that will be hit the hardest, but for those that deem reduced marketing budgets as a core strategy, it鈥檚 critical to take an approach that will save costs without sacrificing reach.

Collaborate with community clinicians and relatable medical influencers to share vetted information via neighborhood social groups and local media outlets, reducing reliance on polarizing national institutions. For younger consumers who are highly influenced by social media and more regretful, corrective messaging should be brief and not overly complex to capture short attention spans.

鈥淭he platform is delivering to the right people on Instagram, and we鈥檙e able to withstand that higher cost because the return is better,鈥� said Shuree Jones, group director of paid social and influencer media at Rain the Growth Agency. Facebook is still a crucial part of the mix. The platform鈥檚 scale remains unmatched.

Gen Zers are purportedly breathing new life into Tumblr as they seek platforms that aren鈥檛 dominated by influencers and algorithms. Earlier this year, Tumblr told Business Insider that 60% of new users signing up are Gen Z. But the platform remains small with only 17.3 million US users, a 3.4% dip YoY, per our estimates.

Data revealed Beauty and Technology CTRs increased, possibly due to trends and high-engagement influencer-driven content. Style & Fashion and Food & Drink declined鈥攕urprising due to the visual nature of these categories鈥攊ndicating possible poor ad placement and missed targeting opportunities.

Number two, we have Unilever, which claims to be investing half of its ad budget in an influencer-first strategy is what they're calling it. Unilever's investment in influencer marketing will rise from about 30% of that ad budget to about 50% of their total ad spend. A quote from their CEO Fernando Fernandez said, "There are 19,000 zip codes in India. There are 5,764 municipalities in Brazil.

"A theme that I think we are going to see surge in 2025 is more in-person events and activations that include your average consumer, not just influencers," said Ivy Everitt, supervisor of social at VML Connections. "Word-of-mouth is still the top converter.

That鈥檚 especially true among right-leaning influencers, who make up the majority of content creators on Facebook and Instagram.

TikTok is ByteDance鈥檚 global engine: Despite slowing growth in China, the platform continues to expand monetization and user base worldwide.

Meanwhile, Gen Z overindexes compared with other generations in terms of watching influencer videos, with YouTube as the predominant platform, per Ampere Analysis as cited by The Media Leader. But Gen Zers are always looking for the next big thing. From media consumption to social networking to digital buying, video is a core element of most Gen Zers鈥� digital experiences.

Meta is also trying to pull influencers back to Facebook with financial bonuses and support for newer creators. A secondary app, Edits鈥攁 near copycat of TikTok鈥檚 CapCut鈥攚ill launch March 15 with Reels editing tools and the ability to share on Instagram.

layers browse, click, and buy real merch inside their favorite games, ushering in a new era of immersive ecommerce.

Influencers overwhelmingly agree that Meta platforms like Instagram and Facebook will be the next big player in short-form video content if TikTok exits the market. Reels are Meta鈥檚 fastest-growing content type with over 200 billion cumulative views daily, per a Meta report. A standalone app could potentially increase that number, cementing Meta as a short-form video leader.

TikTok debuts AI Alive, an image-to-video generation tool: The feature is part of TikTok鈥檚 push to maintain dominance in a competitive short-form market.

The catch: Measurement challenges hinder influencer marketing adoption as marketers face pressure from leadership to show business results. 鈥淟agging measurement is the single biggest threat to influencer marketing budgets,鈥� said Enberg, who estimates that 20% of US marketers are being held back from influencer marketing due to measurement issues.

TikTok brings DMs directly to livestreams: The update is part of TikTok鈥檚 broader livestream push, designed to keep brands and creators around.

Retailers looking to capitalize on retail media鈥檚 growth opportunities need to understand the market developments, formats, and challenges shaping ad spending in Latin America.