The Social Quarterly is a series of presentations by Econsultancy that curate the latest trends, developments and statistics in social media.
Each instalment acts as a guide to what’s happening now in social media and what you should be keeping an eye on. This edition covers:
- Social studies: New research from Walmart has revealed that social media is playing an increasingly key role in product discovery, particularly among Gen Z – a finding further supported by a GWI study that showed a narrowing lead for search dominance over social when it comes to shopping. But what do the reports reveal about how social media factors into the buyer journey?
- Platform news: X’s woes continue as it faces legal action over a default opt-in allowing its AI bot to train on user data without consent, meanwhile the New York Times has reported on its struggles with profitability as ad revenue dwindles. But it is not the only platform navigating legal challenges. Both Meta and TikTok have had to bow to regulatory pressure in recent months, with the former being forced to pause its European rollout of Meta AI, and the latter having to withdraw a ‘task and reward’ feature from its TikTok Lite app.
- Generative AI: The ‘AI space race’ continues among the platforms this quarter as a whole host of GenAI features are released, from Meta’s now ‘more creative’ AI to Snapchat’s ‘breakthrough’ real-time AI lenses and TikTok’s new licensable digital avatars. How can marketers separate the gimmicks from those with real utility?
- Social advertising: New formats and features abound for advertisers across the social platforms – Instagram is testing unskippable ads, while LinkedIn continues to experiment with video and Pinterest rolls out a new ‘Ads Lab’ offering personalised Product Pins. Often positioned as the natural home for product discovery, Pinterest’s new ‘innovation programme’ could be one to watch.