蘑菇AV

Threads turns one week old today, and the platform already has 100 million users, making it the fastest-growing platform ever. Instagram鈥檚 new venture looks just like Twitter but feels kind of like Facebook, and its first few days have been a wild west for marketers. Here鈥檚 what marketers should consider in their Threads strategy.

It will overtake Facebook as Latin America鈥檚 most popular digital platform by the end of 2025. In Brazil, YouTube will reclaim its lead over Facebook this year, while the same occurred in Argentina in 2021. Mexico will be the only country where YouTube will trail Facebook beyond 2026. Mexico is YouTube鈥檚 third-most-penetrated market among internet users worldwide.

Time spent on Facebook has declined across most age groups since 2021, according to our January forecast. This year, we forecast Facebook users aged 24 and under will spend less than half the time on the social network as users aged 35-64. The state of play: While Facebook remains relevant with its gargantuan user base, Invites' main competition for cultural cachet is the upstart app Partiful.

鈥淚f you want to dominate the digital landscape, you鈥檝e got to win or be a clear leader on the three core pillars: media, advertising, and commerce,鈥� our analyst Andrew Lipsman said during our recent 鈥淎ttention!鈥� summit.

Meta is still bigger than everyone else. Facebook is in slight decline, but its dominance remains unrivaled. And Instagram鈥檚 user base is still larger than those of Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr combined. Though size isn鈥檛 everything in social media, Meta has played an enormous role in social surpassing linear TV. Our Take: Marketers clinging to TV should shift their attention to social.

Meta closed 2023 by testing over 20 new uses of generative AI across its platforms, enhancing search, business messaging, and more. Its October 2023 release includes features that generate different backgrounds for product images and copy variations. TikTok鈥檚 Creative Assistant uses AI to analyze top-performing ads for inspiration and best practices, brainstorm video concepts, and refine scripts.

On the other hand, total shoppers (or at least those that do discover new products through social media) prefer Facebook. Brands that want to boost discoverability of their products on social media need to know where their target audiences are spending their time and tailor their messaging to that platform. 3. CPG digital ad spend is expected to bounce back next year.

Content creation is changing as platforms share ad revenues with creators and all content becomes monetizable. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to send a wave of quick-hit, low-value content across social media as creators scramble to get more content out,鈥� said our analyst Jasmine Enberg. Enberg predicts smaller creators will shift strategies as they try to earn more from their content.

Gen Z shoppers diverge from the general population in terms of where they find and buy products, consumers are still into influencer-driven ads, and live shopping hasn鈥檛 taken off yet. Here are five charts to help elevate your social commerce strategy.

Figures exclude noncash payments and creator content amplified as paid advertising.

It鈥檚 the same with Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat. AI can help make small changes, like size and formatting, or even adjust captions to sound more 鈥淚nstagram-y鈥� (geared toward Instagram鈥檚 core audience of millennials) versus 鈥淭ikTok-y鈥� (aimed at Gen Z, TikTok鈥檚 biggest user base).

Influencer marketing once referred to an Instagram power user featuring products in posts resulting in native promotional content. It was a cheaper and more authentic-feeling alternative to celebrity endorsements and paid social ads.

Social shopping skepticism: Despite Meta and TikTok鈥檚 best efforts, many prefer to focus on the "social" and the "media" instead.

Meta's strong earnings boost stock by 6%, owing to efficient cost-cutting measures, rebounding online ads, increased Reels engagement, and successful AI integrations.

Meta posted Q1 earnings that beat estimates on Wednesday, but its shares slumped on disappointing Q2 guidance as it outlined plans for heavy AI investments.

TikTok鈥檚 future is anything but guaranteed: While the app remains king of video for now, Meta and Google are making strides to steal market share.

Meta brings generative AI to Instagram users: Popular instances of consumers using AI for amusement make the app the perfect testing ground.

Meta is way ahead of competitors in US video ad spend, with 30.1% share this year compared with YouTube鈥檚 8.3% and TikTok鈥檚 6.5%, according to our forecast. TikTok is on YouTube鈥檚 tail as it gains share, but the short video newcomer won鈥檛 surpass YouTube before the end of our forecast period in 2025.

Amazon sits at the top of US ecommerce, accounting for 37.6% of sales this year, according to our forecast. In addition to generating billions of dollars in sales, Amazon鈥檚 ecommerce business propels its other ventures, including retail media and B2B ecommerce. By harnessing the power of generative AI, Amazon could leave its retail competition even further in the dust, and possibly catch up to the Google and Meta duopoly.

Meta made only two acquisitions in 2023, while Alphabet (parent company of Google and YouTube) made none, per Luma Partners data provided to 蘑菇AV.

IRI woos shopper marketers: Its new platform should give advertisers greater visibility into retailer and SKU-level results.

Overly complicated ideas don鈥檛 go viral on Reels. 鈥淏e brutal in the simplicity of your idea,鈥� Rory McClenaghan, group strategy director at Molson Coors鈥� internal agency, Volt, said at Advertising Week New York 2023. If you can鈥檛 explain the Reels idea in four frames or fewer, it鈥檚 probably too complicated.

TikTok and Meta still struggle with content moderation: Threads has blocked search terms related to COVID-19, while TikTok cast too wide a net reining in Qanon.

While Google and Meta race ahead on generative AI, agencies slam the breaks: Major agency BBDO warned employees against using generative AI for client work.

Advertisers are also pulling back due to signal loss brought on by Apple鈥檚 AppTrackingTransparency, as well as macroeconomic conditions. Use this chart:. Caution against overinvesting in social ads. Align your social media ad budget with industry trends. Assess your overall media mix. More like this:. May ad updates from Google, YouTube, Meta highlight AI, social media, and retail media opportunities.