Most influencers consider brand awareness to be their primary role when collaborating with marketers. But in the past year, social networks like Instagram have slowly begun opening commerce features to creators, indicating that influencer marketing could soon play a larger part in driving purchases on social media.

The wave of coronavirus (COVID-19)-related content has become a high-stakes test for social media platforms’ abilities to fight misinformation. False recommendations about how to avoid contracting the virus or what measures infected people should take to avoid spreading it have the potential to cause more sickness and death from a pandemic that has already taken thousands of lives worldwide.

The influx of political content and ad dollars for the upcoming US presidential election will inevitably impact commercial advertisers on social media. Understanding the political ad cycle and consumer attitudes toward political content can help brands better reach their audiences.

Since launching in the US in 2017, social video app TikTok has exploded in popularity. But after nearly doubling its US user base last year, growth for the Chinese-owned app will slow in the coming years as competition heats up and concerns grow among marketers.

In-person events are a cornerstone touchpoint for many B2B companies, but as the coronavirus outbreak progresses globally, major business events have been cancelled or postponed. This will come at great cost to marketing budgets and can have a lasting impact on revenue and sales.

The media’s obsession with Gen Z and TikTok is ever-present, but whether or not penetration levels are as high as the frenzy would indicate is debatable. Three charts paint a clearer picture of what usage and popularity currently looks like among Gen Zers.

Influencer marketing remains both fascinating and frustrating for marketers. In this report, 16 creators share how they work with brands and how they view their role in the path to purchase.

eMarketer vice president of forecasting Monica Peart hosts senior analyst Jasmine Enberg and junior analyst Blake Droesch in a discussion of TikTok's user forecasts, business model and place in the social media spectrum.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst Blake Droesch recount their experiences interviewing 16 social media creators about how they approach brand partnerships, which platforms are working for them and influencers' role in the purchase process.

eMarketer junior analyst Blake Droesch and principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson discuss how TikTok will handle the many hurdles it faces in 2020. They then talk about the "Off-Facebook Activity" tool, Facebook's first Super Bowl commercial and the plan for WhatsApp ads.

The Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape worldwide in 2019, but roadblocks could keep it from rapidly expanding its user base in 2020.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio Paul Verna talk about what people are watching on Disney+, TikTok's latest "curated content" idea, Hulu's new ad formats, box office records, kids' allowances and more.

How will social network ad spending and social usage change in 2020? And what will happen in hot-button areas, such as privacy, ad targeting and political advertising in social media? Here’s what we think lies ahead.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and vice president of research Jennifer Pearson discuss children's behavior online, the screen time stigma and YouTube child policy changes. Then, junior analyst Blake Droesch addresses questions about a TikTok sale, Facebook's stance on political ads and a new way to limit who can reply to your tweets.

This report looks at how digital technology fits into the daily lives of US kids—digital natives who, compared with teens and young adults, aren’t really all that digital.

Douyin, TikTok’s equivalent in China, will grow 27.8% to 442.58 million users this year, which means that more than half of China’s internet users will use the short-form video app, according to eMarketer’s new estimates. Growth will slow to 7.3% in 2020 and continue to drop in the next few years.

In 2019, Instagram's US user growth rate will have dropped to single digits for the first time to 6.7%, down from 10.1% in 2018. Starting in 2020, and through the end of our forecast period in 2023, we estimate that the social media platform will grow slower than previously expected.

Social networks are no longer what they used to be. Case in point: The rise of short video-app TikTok in 2019 is a sure sign that what defines a social network will be very different in 2020.

eMarketer global director of public relations Douglas Clark compares our latest US adoption figures for young adults on Facebook against those of its sister platform Instagram and fierce competitor Snapchat.

eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco breaks down our adoption estimates for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and reasons behind its popularity.