SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS

TikTok banned in Montana: is this the beginning?

Having launched brands and influencers to fame, the first state ban causes divisive opinion amongst marketers, as one in three Americans support the ban.

Deinfluencing, authenticity and the future of creator partnerships

A decline in consumers’ trust in and respect for influencer content has created a huge opportunity for marketers willing to risk potential criticism by embracing greater authenticity and ‘editorial balance’ from creator channels.

Is Snapchat having a creator comeback?

Ex-Meta head explains why Snapchat is more ‘fulfilling’ for creators and its monetization opportunities. But does a shift towards creators mean that it will finally compete with the big dogs?

“The ethos throughout 2023 is spend smarter, not harder”: 15 marketers on the AA/WARC adspend growth predictions

What should marketers be doing to reinforce value? What are the opportunities ahead? Our expert panel dissect the latest AA/WARC results and the implications for performance marketers in 2023 and 2024.

China’s answer to ChatGPT? Alibaba refuses to be left behind in the global AI development race

Tech giant produces a generative AI chatbot of its own - will China have the edge on more regulated Western markets? We spoke to AI experts for the implications…

Media inflation and Meta: what are your adspend alternatives?

Advertisers need to stay agile as they seek alternatives to Facebook and to optimise their digital media buying as audience behaviour and media prices constantly change.

Will TikTok revolutionise the search ad market?

TikTok is preparing to allow businesses to bid on specific keywords and phrases related to their products or services, and compete in the visual search space - what will this mean for the market?

On the house: ‘premiumising’ brands through sampling

In a tempting cocktail of marketing know-how, smart data usage and tech, the DUSK app shows how to reduce price sensitivity and ‘premiumise’ brand in a short and sweet apéritif.

Why and how dating apps can solve your data challenges

With dating app use soaring among younger users, marketers have a new platform to engage with relevant users in the data-rich environment found there

Wasted creative: 55% of media budgets were misspent on suboptimal ads in 2022

Some of the world’s largest brands are significantly undermining their ad spend budgets by developing below par creative for online ads, new analysis reveals.

Twitter inflates its API prices amid tanking ad revenue

Musk’s platform is currently valued at half the price he paid for it, and with ad spend plumenting the billionaire tech ‘genius’ has reframed Twitter’s API pricing model into two tiers separated by $41,900 per month.

The power of experience: proving effectiveness with measurement

Imagination’s Chief Strategy Officer Tom Gray discusses the theory and practice behind the debunked myth that you can’t measure the effectiveness of experience – and why experiential marketing is a “priceless” tool in a brand’s armour.

“Creators are completely essential to brand marketing strategies” but, there’s a measurement gap

Influencer marketing is taking up an increasing portion of the marketing spend, but much of its influence still remains immeasurable.

Six things performance marketers need to know about Australia

Australia is now the world’s 12th largest economy with just 0.3% of the global population. But a thriving digital (and DOOH) economy is about to face a new set of stricter data privacy laws. Read PMW’s bluffer’s guide to the region from our experts inside the country.

TikTok takes on Google and Microsoft in the search ads game

Does Google have cause for concern as TikTok aims to provide the answer to effectively targeting younger generations, or are the brand safety risks warning advertisers off?

Weaning insurance marketers off their TV addiction: insights from Ifty Kerzner, Kissterra

Insurers still top the list for linear TV ad spend, despite a high level of personalisation required for each customer. But with State Farm recently ditching a Super Bowl commercial for TikTok, is this rather slow-moving industry ready for a performance marketing revolution?

Are you a performance marketer… or a ‘Chief Dot Connector’?

Last week, an 800-strong audience at PM Unlocked welcomed a new type of event for London – with a rallying cry that performance marketing is breaking out from the bottom of the funnel.

Why Hilton’s 10 minute TikTok went viral

‘10 minutes on TikTok is like three years in the real world’. What made this trend-bucking ad hit marketing gold?

“You can’t get away from the power of TikTok – it would be ridiculous to not test and learn in that environment”: finance marketing that’s showing its Mettle

The CMO of the free digital business banking service backed by Natwest Group talks ‘different’ voices in finance, how digital makes sense for financial services and what a growth strategy looks like.

Trusting consumers over influencers: what trends will shape brand marketing in 2023?

With the economy's tight grip on marketing budgets, what can marketers do to reach new and loyal customers?

Super Bowl LVII review: Disney dominates, co-branding needs tinkering and M&M’s recovers a near disastrous fumble

One for the animal lovers and the nostalgia-seekers, Super Bowl LVII saw a seemingly endless stream of adverts and PMW has put together a recap of everything you need to know.

Go a la carte: how independent partnerships reinforce consumer trust and encourage advertiser freedom

Independent partnerships uphold the positive values of advertising and can protect from conflict of interests, while helping to safeguard brand safety and suitability, says Channel Factory’s Rob Blake.

Super Bowl LVII predictions: crypto sacked, big tech fumbles and brand partnership power plays

The potential end of crypto adverts, tech falling a yard short and brands partnering to split crazy costs - get all the expert analysis of the state of play ahead the Super Bowl’s famous advertising frenzy.

The Surreal deal: how a plucky new cereal brand is eating its rivals for breakfast

Cereal startup Surreal knows exactly what it's doing. With KPIs for humour and subverting Black Friday, the brand is all about maximum impact with minimum spend.

“Staying safe isn’t going to cut the recessionary mustard”: 15 marketers on the latest AA/WARC 2023 adspend projections

The experts’ take on real-term decline for adspend this year amid some optimism, the pursuit of digital channels to optimise budgets and why privacy needs to be front and centre of 2023 plans.

Six things performance marketers need to know about India

Set to become the world’s most populated country in 2023, India has a growing middle class and strong smartphone and CTV adoption. Read PMW’s bluffer’s guide to the region from our experts inside the country.

Question for ChatGPT: are you the future of customer service?

ChatGPT was 2022’s biggest tech story. Millions of people have already asked the AI bot millions of questions. Now, the customer service industry wants to know if ChatGPT can revolutionise the contact centre.

“Media efficiency will be a greater topic of conversation”: 50 marketers’ IPA reactions on first-party forward, optimising and the move to ‘brandformance’

With reported optimism for marketing spend playing out against downbeat views of prospects across UK industry, we ask our panel of marketing experts for their insights behind IPA’s latest figures.

Employees are your secret weapon for increasing reach and engagement

Social media driven employee advocacy can supercharge your brand’s organic reach. Keeping your staff happy is the real challenge...

The tech stack massacre, programmatic posters and 18 other marketing predictions for 2023

PMW’s panel of experts delve into what will happen in this year’s primary channels, and the tech and data moves marketers need to make to stay ahead of the curve.

Is it too late to save Twitter?

Elon Musk has left it to his Twitter followers to decide if he should step down as CEO, as advertisers are wary about returning to the turbulent platform.

The Meta and Google duopoly: will it collapse in 2023?

What are the ongoing – and upcoming trends – that could shift which platforms sit at the top of the pile, and make 2023 a year of change from the ‘status quo’?

Conversational marketing: the best asset for business visibility

Move over chatbots. Enter conversational marketing - a personable approach that creates a dialogue rather than the usual AI question and answer method.

Unlocking performance techniques in broadcast media – without being creepy

The biggest opportunities for media planners and buyers comes from borrowing techniques that performance experts have been using for years – and cross over into broadcast, video on demand or digital out-of-home.

Doin’ Good and disrupting the fizzy drink industry: Q&A with Alessandra Zehnder at Soulfresh

Soulfresh is a brand on a mission to change the food and drink industry, one category at a time. How can performance channels help the Australian brand repeat its success story in European markets?

Why consumers are turning to influencers during the cost of living crisis

Social media is becoming the favoured source of news information. How can brands use influencers to get the tone right during crises?

Four marketing trends for the holiday season

A look at what retail brands can expect from their shoppers over the festive season, and how they can get ahead of their competitors with smart shopping offers.

Four ways to beat blanket B2B comms

Customers expect sleek digital experiences and customer-centric buying journeys and B2B brands must find relevant and meaningful ways to connect with buyers. To propel growth, they need to harness the latest expertise to attract, engage and convert business audiences.

Six things performance marketers need to know about Japan

A bigger economy than Germany, but a shrinking population makes Japan a unique market - but one full of opportunities. Read the PMW bluffer’s guide to the country from our marketing experts working in the region.

Why brands should invest in influencer marketing during the downturn

With the prospect of a recession looming, businesses will be looking at how to operate smarter and scale growth without increasing spend. Robin Ward, Head of Sales at LTK Europe, explains why influencer marketing will be pivotal.

Under the influence: the impact of failure to disclose as watchdogs continue clampdowns

Myleene Klass’ Instagram hiccups once again put social posts under the microscope, but she is not alone in the roll-call of high-profile influencers attracting attention. Can influencer marketing rise above the noise – and consumer scepticism?

Meta 1 year on: has it gone as planned?

Zuckerberg’s rebranded business has said to have lost “focus” by shareholders. Let’s take a look into Meta at its first birthday.

Why it’s time to enhance dynamic ads on social networks with product data

Social commerce is on the up and marketers are allocating budget to respond. It’s likely dynamic ads will be the ones leveraged, but these can often lack visibility and control – so how do marketers ensure that their investment reaches its true potential?

“Chief Twit”: 10 things performance marketers need to know about Musk’s Twitter purchase

After months of u-turns and legal rows, Elon Musk finally completed his $44bn acquisition last week, tweeting “The bird is freed”. From a new landing page to resurrecting Vine, PMW charts the future of the embattled social network…

The devil’s in the data: 5 best Halloween marketing campaigns of all time

Roll over big data, it's time to do the monster maths. PMW creaks open the vaults to resurrect some of the best data-driven marketing campaigns from spooky seasons past…

“Brands can’t afford the risk of a spray and pray approach to campaigns”: 25 marketers on the outlook for adspend

After the news that adspend forecasts are downgraded for this year and next, marketers reflect on the need to embrace emerging technologies and measure and account for every penny of spend, while making sure they don’t blink in the face of uncertainty.

“This isn’t the time for business as usual”: 50 marketers and their insights on the latest outlook for marketing spend and direction

After the Bellwether report confirms a slowdown in marketing budget growth and a stagnant forecast for next year, marketers name possible green shoots still available and advise on how to make every bit of your spend count.

What do you meme? Monetising the creator economy

"Almost half of all Millennials and Gen Z's use memes on a daily basis". Funcorp's Group CEO talks to PMW about monetising memes, growing the creator economy and how marketers can use the humorous images.

Six things performance marketers need to know about China

China will generate over one quarter of all global consumption growth during the next decade. But access to this lucrative audience doesn’t come cheap. Read PMW’s bluffer’s guide to the region from our experts inside the country.

TikTok – the unexpected social media channel for B2B brands?

Is there space for B2B brands on the platform that is dominated by Gen Z? Here are four ways TikTok can add a powerful new dimension to any B2B marketing campaign.

Riding the TikTok algorithm: with great power comes great responsibility

Fast becoming the go-to search engine for youth ahead of Google, TikTok’s role in shaping modern society is stronger than ever. But is the ‘democratised discovery’ algorithm a true force for good?

The devil wears Prada: an influencer’s story

“This is an industry dominated by women and essentially created by women yet women are still massively disrespected and underpaid, compared to men.”

Online hate speech: if you're not part of the solution you must be part of the problem

Hate speech and trolling have become synonymous with social media – and this can have a knock-on effect on brand reputation. So how can organisations turn this around, safeguard their social spaces and start using their platforms for good?

Ditch the pitch: 7 tips for marketing to Generation Z

They want businesses to help solve their problems, not try to sell them stuff. So how can marketers ensure this huge segment of the population is included in their sales strategies?

3 lessons in charity loyalty that marketers can tap into

Why do charities have a higher degree of loyalty from their supporters? The magic of a personal connection, seeing your customer as an individual and being able to build a 'community' should not be taken for granted.

Buckle up: how TikTok is keeping brands safe online

Businesses are increasingly launching out into the turbulent world of social media advertising. But how can you protect brand reputation while ensuring your message takes flight?

How to 'be more Aldi' – and ride out the recession on social

Since Cuthbert the caterpillar cake made his triumphant return to UK supermarkets in June, more brands have become wise to the power of entertaining content. But how can marketers ensure engagement leads to a purchase?

The search is on: why Gen Z is ditching Google for TikTok and Instagram

It stands to reason that social app users accustomed to a particular platform will conduct their searches in the same space. So how can marketers ensure their message is reaching the right audience?

Finding insights in the ‘Feedback Fire Hose’

Relying on manual analysis and human tagging, can’t keep pace with the current customer feedback surge. Here’s how machine learning can help identify human subtle nuances such as sarcasm at scale…

Standing out from the crowd: what makes a winning performance marketing awards entry?

With just two weeks until the entry deadline for the PMW Awards UK 2022, judges from Samsung, Tails.com, RNLI and Reddit reveal what they’ll be looking for in a winning entry, and how the industry’s needs are evolving.

“Companies are going to have to be progressive with working practices”

The pandemic has obviously changed how we work, but what do performance marketers – and the industry’s leaders think about the shift? We find out what’s here to stay and what’s around the corner.

“We've woven learning and development into the performance management process”

More than four in ten marketers in PMW’s Workforce survey are considering a new job because they want better training and development. Investment in learning is clearly pivotal to employers’ retention armour – but how are employers approaching it?

The role and the company: the main reasons marketers aren’t looking for a new job right now

Despite many of our respondents feeling happy where they work, their heads could be turned as fewer cite salary satisfaction and a good work/life balance as reasons to stay.

Pay v culture: Is there really a contest?

What’s really important to you as a performance marketer when it comes to your job, and indeed your career? Find out what our respondents think – and if this chimes with your thinking.

Where is performance marketing falling through the skills – and experience – gap?

The skills shortage in the industry – exacerbated by the level of digital and data expertise the world needs now – has been long recognised. But which disciplines are proving the most difficult to source talent for?

Salary tops the reasons for wanting to jump jobs, but only goes so far

Higher pay may seem an obvious reason to think about making a move, but many marketers are searching for a better work/life balance and training and development.

Authenticity and UGC – it’s a crowd mentality

Building and protecting consumer trust is essential in today’s marketplace. It’s time for brands to embrace the crowd in the age of authenticity… and user reviews offer a fast-track way to achieve this.

“Marketers should take note”: BeReal, the ‘anti-Instagram’ app

BeReal or TikTok: who really wins the authenticity war and what does it mean for social media marketers?

The video era of social media: how influencer marketing is shaping the landscape

Watch episode two of our IG live series on influencer marketing with LTK’s India Sehmi and business influencer Emily Valentine. We talk invisible influence, creators in the metaverse, and why Instagram is fan-girling TikTok.

“CMOs need a clear line of sight on their global media data for informed decisions on cuts” :10 marketing leaders talk possible adspend contraction

Despite an encouraging start to 2022, adspend faces scrutiny with the bite of the cost of living crisis. Industry commentators give their take on the latest AA/WARC figures.

Paid social strategy: 6 ways to ensure your creative stays ahead of the trends

Good ad creative improves click-through rates, reduces CPM [cost per thousand impressions] and improves awareness. So how can you make sure yours always hits the mark?

“Tough conversations in the boardroom as CMOs fight to hang on to their marketing budgets”: 25 marketers on the state of the industry ahead

From concerns about slowing consumer spend, marketing budget cuts, and confidence in first-party data strategies and attention seeking to weather the storm, we speak to industry leaders about the latest IPA Bellwether findings.

5 things you need to hear right now about conversational commerce

With the market set to grow rapidly as more businesses register the benefits, here’s how to get ahead of the game to help your business grow.

Performance marketing people: eBay Ads gets new GM and Innocent’s social media manager moves on

Promotions at Interbrand and independent podcast agency Acast and a new office for Tug leads to new hires feature in our latest round of performance marketing movers.

Why your campaign should start and finish with social media insight

With spending on market research at its highest level for years, are marketers missing a trick?

3 reasons why listening to customers makes you a better marketer

Customer feedback has been widely discussed over the past few years, but how might it shape the roles of marketers?

Tank cakes and tax evasion: the rise and fall of Chinese influencers

China’s influencer economy is booming, but strict new regulations mean your time as a top ‘Key Opinion Leader’ can be short-lived. Here’s what performance marketers need to know …

The open web strikes back: why brands need to nurture first-party audiences

Walled gardens have gained an unmerited ad-spend advantage on the back of privacy concerns – but now it’s time for brands to take action

The savvy marketers’ toolkit: 3 tips to help supercharge success

Whether you’re dealing with the challenges thrown up by walled gardens, data fragmentation or cookie deprecation, here’s what you need to know to help you thrive.

Find the right people at the right time: 3 steps to engaging with your intended audience online

The good news is there are more spaces than ever where advertisers can get in front of consumers; but the big question is, how do you find your particular audience and engage with it?

4 priorities for better targeting: why long-term value trumps quick conversions

ROI Genome Report shows that contextual targeting is 1.2 to 2.5 times more effective than other forms of targeting.

Going live: the growing power of influencer marketing on Twitch

Until recently Twitch was known as the place to watch gamers in action – but the high levels of engagement makes its influencers extra-effective for brands.

“Digital is now as vital as oxygen”: 20 industry views on UK ad spend record and the outlook for 2022

AA/WARC research recorded a landmark £31.9bn worth of the UK ad market in 2021 - industry commentators give their take on the significant bounceback last year and what lies in store for marketers in 2022 and beyond.

Does free speech equal an ad-free Twitter?

Musk’s pledge to reduce censorship on the platform could spell trouble for Twitter's advertising business model.

The B2B alternative to influencer marketing

With traditional ads beyond the budget of the average SME, it’s worth considering an area more commonly associated with B2C. And you don’t need to hire a Kardashian.

5 best Easter campaigns (from brands that have nothing to do with Easter)

Many brands have been hunting for a tenuous link between their product and Easter. The ‘unsexiest holiday of the year’ provides another delight for marketers with an opportunity to humour their audiences and increase engagement.

In it for the long term: how brands can build successful influencer partnerships

As social begins to replace more traditional advertising, finding creators with real brand affinity is an effective way to drive authentic, inclusive customer interactions.

“Think like creators, not advertisers”: what makes performance marketing on TikTok different?

From zombie survival games to delivery apps, TikTok is growing ROAS across industries and taking a bigger slice of brand budgets. Stephen Carroll, Growth Brand Partnerships Lead, UK, TikTok, highlights four key marketing lessons from those already winning on the platform.

What can food brands learn about consumers from social data?

People’s conversations on social media can shine a valuable light on the latest trends – not least the country’s relationship with food; helping food brands create informed strategies.

The ROI of LOLs: Innocent and Monzo reveal their formula for funny social posts

What did the social media manager say to the CFO? Performance Marketing World delved into the comedic brains at Innocent Drinks, Monzo Bank and Sprout Social to get the punchline.

Social commerce: why Beauty is sleeping on the job no longer

With increasingly advanced shopping capabilities appearing on the likes of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, brands have been tapping into this e-commerce opportunity.

The future of social: 4 marketing trends you'll want to be on top of

From the make-up of social media teams to the role of audiences and influencers, the world of social is set to be shaped by a host of emerging and advancing trends this year.

Making your social work: right channel, right message, right time

Social media is great at getting your customers’ attention, but does it actually influence purchasing behaviour? And how might it do that better?

Ad battle: social is catching up fast with web-page display for engagement

Two-fifths of UK consumers are now more likely to engage with an in-feed ad on their social than on an online webpage, says new report.

In today’s distraction economy, we can only measure video’s value through attention

If you’re not an attention seeker, you’re not doing it right. Performance marketers need to grasp behavioural nuances to ensure video is having an impact.

Is the Facebook user dip a blip or the acceleration of an ongoing trend?

For the first time in reported history, Facebook has seen a dip in eyeballs as daily active user numbers drop. What does this mean for the platform’s relevance and position in the future?

What the cool kids think about your ads may surprise you

Pimple-popping and mukbang videos may be popular, but are they the sort of places your brand should be hanging around?

Beijing Winter Oympics: there’s (almost) no business like snow business

Watched by more people than any other event bar its summer sibling, the Winter Games are sure to grab headlines one way or another.

Nearly half of Instagram influencers were impacted by fraud last year

…but the good news is things used to be much worse, according to a new report.

Video as a Service (VaaS): the secret superpower your marketing might be missing

Often overlooked but growing fast, discover how video can give a big boost to your SEO and social engagement.

“Learning our way out of a crisis”: 30 performance marketers’ views on the year ahead

This week’s IPA Bellwether report revealed an industry jaded by a stop-start economy but optimistic about future growth. We quizzed 30 leaders from the performance marketing sector to get their biggest bets on the year ahead…

5 ways to boost your business: what you need to know about influencer marketing in 2022

With the influencer marketing industry growing fast – forecasted to reach $24.1billion by 2025 from $6billion in 2020 – here's how to make sure you don't miss the (virtual?) boat.

The omnichannel approach: the key to campaign success

The new landscape and circumstances entailed by the pandemic have dramatically reshaped marketing, meaning brands may need to take a broader approach than ever.

Social champions or woke washers? Putting a price on brand purpose

In the age of the socially conscious consumer, do brand purpose campaigns really perform better than the average ad?

Beauty is in the eye of the in-person sales

Despite the growth of influencers and AR, in-store is beating social for beauty and personal care. Here’s what performance marketers need to know about shifting consumer habits in a post-lockdown world.

Seven out of 10 marketers more likely to use influencers in campaigns since pandemic

TikTok beat Google as the most popular web domain in 2021 as influencer marketing proved its worth to brands. What can performance marketers learn from next-gen content creation?

Influencer marketing in 2022: the five trends that will define it

The past year has illustrated the resilience and adaptability of content creators and the growing willingness of platforms and brands to support them. But what’s next?

The year in TikTok: insights from the brands getting a billion views

From Peugeot and Old Spice to Little Moons and JD, TikTok has proved its worth to major brands in a stop-start year. We round-up some of the biggest social success stories from 2021.

TikTok demonstrates Acceptable Ads at scale is viable

With ad-blockers disrupting the user experience on social media, one platform is demonstrating a possible route to bringing users and advertisers together.

4 things Spotify Wrapped can teach performance marketers

It’s the most successful influencer campaign in the world… with you as the star. Spotify turned user data into a marketing gift that keeps on giving. Can other brands do the same?

DAM you look good: creative automation technology is now a marketer’s best friend

How you can use Digital Asset Management to optimise the creative process, not kill it.

Breaking into APAC: how performance marketing can unlock local regions... fast

Brand giants from the West are changing their approach to the APAC market: to grow in the region they must focus on local nuance in the data.

Influencer marketing trends from 2021 you need to watch

With the pandemic having accelerated the rise of the influencer, what have we learnt that’s worth taking into 2022?

Has the pandemic consigned seasonal shopping to the bargain bin?

How to make sure your Christmas campaign doesn’t get stuffed like a (hard-to-find) turkey.

Why video won’t reach its full potential until we get our standards straight

A suitable, agreed common framework is needed now to ensure robust, effective brand protection is in place by the time of the anticipated video boom.

From dresses to frying pans: how influencer marketing proved its value to brands

With sponsored posts starting to outperform paid social, do we need expensive studio production in the age of the ‘Instagram famous’?

Singles’ Day marketing in Asia: winning strategies from 8 major agencies

With Singles' Day just around the corner, we asked performance marketers from leading agencies in Asia-Pacific how they are preparing for the world's largest online shopping frenzy, from discovery-led KPIs to 3D livestreaming...

Working with influencers: the 4 most common myths debunked

With social media use accelerating fast, influencer marketing has really taken off. Here’s how not to get it wrong or get left behind.

20 performance marketer’s views for 2022

This week’s IPA Bellwether report confirmed that marketing budgets are soaring post lockdown, propelled by online video. Amid this renewed optimism, the PMW team assembled 20 leaders in the UK performance marketing industry to hear their take on the year ahead.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN DEPTH