蘑菇AV

YouTube is doubling down on social connectivity and AI tools to stay competitive with rivals like TikTok and Meta. The platform鈥檚 new suite of features introduced last week include Communities, a fan鈥檚 ability to boost creators鈥� videos, generative AI (genAI) video tools, and gifting. These innovations mimic what鈥檚 working on other social media platforms as YouTube seeks to remain social even as it builds out its connected TV business.

Bluesky mulls a future with ads: CEO Jay Graber said the platform could put ads in search results as it searches for revenues.

Reddit debuts conversational AI: Reddit answers provides fast, intelligent search, enhancing the platform's navigation and user experience.

TikTok eclipsed Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat in US users within just a few years, according to our estimates, and now it鈥檚 chasing Instagram. After years of exceptional growth, TikTok will boast more than 100 million US monthly users in 2023鈥攗nless lawmakers stand in its way.

TikTok鈥檚 group messaging feature aims to capture more of Gen Z鈥檚 attention from Instagram and Snap. But TikTok will need to find a way to attract users from those platforms.

Brands invest record amounts in creator partnerships as industry matures: Strategy evolves toward long-term relationships and multi-platform campaigns.

In March, 37% of US teens called TikTok their favorite social media app, up from 30% the same month two years ago, according to Piper Sandler. Snapchat dropped to second place, falling to 27% from 31% during that period. In the No. 3 spot is Instagram, which 23% of teens named their top choice.

Meta rolls out paid verification subscription in the US: Meta Verified has perks that could appeal to creators, but regular users aren鈥檛 likely to pay.

New app makes a play for Gen Z: As TikTok teeters on the verge of a ban in the US, Zigazoo is one social media app that is vying for market share.

Leading social networks like Facebook and TikTok are evolving due to increased social buying, user bases approaching adolescence, and a greater desire for connection

TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are where Gen Zers spend most of their daily time. Across the US population ages 18 to 24, time spent on TikTok will average 58 minutes per day in 2023, compared with 38 minutes for Instagram and 30 minutes for Snapchat.

Musk gave advertisers a reason to leave Twitter. He exacerbated long-standing issues and created new ones. Six months into Musk-era Twitter, most brands aren鈥檛 ready to resume spending, largely because they don鈥檛 trust the man in charge.

After Elon Musk took over Twitter and rebranded the platform to X, worldwide ad revenues were slashed in half, from $4.14 billion the year Musk took over in 2022 to $2.00 billion in 2023. 蘑菇AV forecasts those declines to continue through 2026, the end of our forecast period. But the reelection of Musk鈥檚 close ally, President Donald Trump, could change how some marketers think about the platform.

Of US Gen Zers on Threads, 40.1% downloaded the platform because it looked fun, while 38.7% wanted to try something new, according to our survey data.

Political campaigns embrace the creator economy: It's a recognition of creators' ability to influence voters and drive engagement.

Is social media dead? Not exactly. But it has become 鈥渓ess social and more media,鈥� as Insider reported.

With divestiture unlikely, TikTok faces removal from US app stores, sparking uncertainty for creators, advertisers, and global regulation in an increasingly tense US-China standoff

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss which group of folks ChatGPT will affect the most next year, a social media ban for young people in Australia, how the 鈥渟nippet generation鈥� are influencing our world, what to make of this new group of 鈥渟ubscription pausers,鈥� movie theatre etiquette around throwing popcorn, and more. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Senior Analysts Ross Benes and Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, and Vice President of Content Paul Verna.

And we couple that with the survey itself as we're asking questions about their social media usage. So this will help us to include social as part of our brand lift measurement and show the more holistic view of how a campaign performed across digital, linear TV and also social. Paul Verna:. Well, thank you so much, Steph. We really appreciate your joining us today. Stephanie Gall:.

The old form of social networking may be dying. But our forecast shows people spend more time on social platforms, so marketers need to be aware of what the new era of social media looks like. Gen Z and TikTok certainly dominate social media headlines, but Meta maintains a stronghold, even as it struggles to make new endeavors like Threads take off.

Sales are quickly approaching $100 billion. Gen Z鈥檚 influence on social media habits, new commerce technologies from TikTok, and rising annual spending by buyers are the main factors driving growth. And with users now spending just shy of 2 hours on social media per day, there is plenty of room for brands and users to squeeze more sales.

Streaming video and music top Gen Z adults鈥� media activities, but their digital lives aren't just about entertainment. The multitasking, multidevice cohort treats the intersection of media and technology as a lifeline for socializing and staying informed.