social media marketing

Surprise! Platforms ignore users opting out of ad tracking; the marketing machine claims credit for Geese’s popularity; and Meta’s MAGA-friendly moderation makes an unforced error.

Meet Clamor, a new social listening product that pulls cultural insights from online conversations in real time. Clamor helped Manscaped freshen up its marketing, including for this year’s Super Bowl.

Brands allocating a sizable chunk of their marketing budgets outside of Google and Meta achieve the best customer acquisition costs, proving that diversification is a performance strategy.

Big Tech seems overconfident their ad revenue growth isn’t tied to the economy; Microsoft AI launches a publisher licensing program; and the unique security vulnerabilities of Moltbook’s social media for AI bots.

The generative AI trend generated endless hot takes this year, but the ad industry also had plenty to say about growing competition between DSPs and SSPs. Here are AdExchanger’s top 10 most popular guest columns of 2025 and why they resonated.

Inside Coca-Cola’s pivot from TV advertising to influencer marketing; Netflix inks another exclusive video podcast deal with iHeartMedia; and Madison & Wall predicts slow US ad spend growth in 2026.

Publisher comment sections remain an untapped source of intent-based data, according to Kelly Andresen, who recently left USA Today to head up comment monetization platform OpenWeb’s direct sales efforts.

For years, MFA was a mostly web-based problem. Now, generative AI has supercharged the made-for-advertising model, and it’s infecting social media feeds and vertical video platforms.

Traffic-starved publishers are hopeful that their long-undervalued audience data will fuel advertising’s automated future – if only they can finally wrest control of the industry narrative away from ad tech middlemen.

Social CPMs have risen. The ability to find incremental audiences on social platforms has declined. Add the growing brand-safety concerns, and the equation looks even worse.

Alvaro Bedoya shared his qualms with digital advertising’s more controversial targeting tactics and how kids use gen AI and social media.

CAPI integrations have moved from a nice-to-have to a necessity for anyone operating within walled garden environments. Now they’re laying the groundwork for an outcomes-driven ad ecosystem.

Straddling the line between content creator and content-conscious mother offers a fresh perspective on the importance of media literacy and advertisers’ role in the online ecosystem. 

The IAB Tech Lab video classification updates introduced much-needed clarity. But valuable inventory, now categorized differently, is being deprioritized or rejected, even though its performance hasn’t changed.

The Trade Desk has won the battle for supremacy on the open internet, says Needham & Company’s Laura Martin. But it might just be losing the war for the future of the web to walled gardens and AI search.

Agentio’s AI connects advertisers with relevant content creators through an automated bidding process, similar to the programmatic system.

Reddit COO Jen Wong shares how the company is banking on AI to push its conversation-driven performance marketing platform forward.

Success with Gen Z isn’t about the stories brands want to tell – it’s about tapping into their stories and aligning with how they live and express themselves. That’s where the PPCCs framework comes in.

Here are four common errors that can curtail the success of any influencer campaign – and advice for getting it right.

Local advertisers are spending more on social media platforms today than three years ago, despite being unconvinced social media is the best place to reach their customers. What gives? Corey Elliott, Borrell’s EVP of local marketing intelligence, explains the story behind the numbers.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Why Social Is Unaffiliated TikTok is beginning to cut US creators in on sales – aka affiliate commissions – through its on-platform shopping service, Shops.  The product is being tested by pilot brand advertisers and creators, Insider reports. Posts with the affiliate tag […]

Bud Light first contacted Doing Things Media through a DM on Instagram – a fitting introduction for a partnership that revolves around creating and distributing memes on social media. Doing Things Media owns and operates 20 popular meme and viral video accounts across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, including @AnimalsDoingThings, @NoChaser, @AllGasNoBrakesShow and @neatdad. It […]

When Emily Giannusa watches television or streams something, it’s research. As VP of digital marketing at HBO, Emily has worked on campaigns for “Game of Thrones,” “Westworld,” “True Detective,” “Veep” and, most recently, “Euphoria,” an Emmy-nominated series for the Gen Z audience. The word authenticity gets tossed around a lot, but marketing “Euphoria” really did […]

Mark Jenkins spent his first two weeks as the new senior director of marketing at Roy Rogers Restaurants, manning the drive-thru window, making gravy, frying chicken and prepping salads. “As a marketing guy, I need to really understand the ops platforms inside the restaurant, the experience and the way things are built,” said Jenkins, who […]

As consumers increase time spent on social channels, the data on those platforms is becoming increasingly valuable to advertisers. In its 2014 year-end report, Pew Research found that 52% of adults in the US use two or more social media sites, up from 42% in 2013. And though user growth on the leading social platform, […]

Cision, largely known as a purveyor of PR software, has acquired enterprise social media and content marketing platform Viralheat. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cision has been on an acquisition streak over the past year, merging with media intelligence tool Vocus, acquiring UK-based Gorkana Group and snapping up social analytics platform Visible Technologies. […]

Pinterest has finally launched the beta version of the Promoted Pins ad product it first promised last September. As flashy as a Pinterest-related ad unit might seem, however, brands still need results. As if on cue, social media marketing company Ahalogy, working with AcuPOLL Precision Research, conducted a study showing that Pinterest users tend to […]