The pandemic has fueled greater social media usage worldwide and prompted revisions to our earlier forecasts. We now expect the total number of social network users to rise 8.1% in 2020, to 3.23 billion—equivalent to 80.7% of all internet users.

As with other social networks, Twitter’s user base grew unexpectedly this year as pandemic-driven stay-at-home orders drove up social media usage overall.

Social network ad spending has substantially rebounded since the early days of the pandemic. In 2021, the biggest issues social media marketers will face are in the areas of brand safety, ethics, and privacy.

Today marks a big milestone at Insider Intelligence: We launched our new platform, unifying our two brands (eMarketer and Business Insider Intelligence) into a single online experience and expanded our Financial Services coverage. We also just published a report that’s been long in the making--and it happens to be our very first under the new brand.

The COVID-19 outbreak undermined many of our pre-pandemic US forecasts. Insight can now be gleaned by examining the difference between what we thought would happen as of February 2020 vs. what our forecasts now show.

FreshDirect, like nearly all brands, has had to listen, test, learn, and pivot amid the pandemic.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss how Twitter's Q3 earnings should be evaluated. They then talk about whether social audio will be the next big thing, TikTok's new partnership with Shopify, and if 2020 has been the year of live shopping.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss Snapchat's surprising Q3 earnings. They then talk about the current TikTok debacle, how Facebook is monetizing WhatsApp, and the development of Facebook Gaming.

Earlier this month, Mucinex unveiled Sickwear, a six-piece fashion collection that aims to help consumers get through the cold and flu season in style. While it may not be the typical route for a healthcare brand, its parent company RB has been leveraging different channels, including TikTok and now social commerce, to reach consumers—particularly those who may not be aware of its direct-to-consumer (D2C) business.

In recent months, both Instagram and Snapchat have made several changes to their products that are reminiscent of growing contender TikTok. Instagram launched its highly-anticipated feature Reels, which allows users to create short videos set to music, and Snapchat introduced a slew of new features, including adding music and a test for vertical navigation.

TikTok’s future in the US is still uncertain, but any decision will affect a significant number of US consumers. We forecast that TikTok will have 65.9 million monthly US users in 2020, up from 35.6 million in 2019.

This report explores the latest developments in the social media landscape, including a look at TikTok Global, Instagram’s launch of Reels, and new election-related moves from Facebook and Twitter.

eMarketer vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna speaks with Business Insider Intelligence senior research analyst Audrey Schomer and research associate at Insider Intelligence Daniel Carnahan about a recent report titled "Digital Trust Report 2020: How US social media users rank 9 major social platforms on privacy, safety, misinformation, ad annoyance and ad relevance." They break down the report into easy-to-understand bits and examine how users are helping to shape the popularity of the platforms examined in the report, available on eMarketer PRO.

LinkedIn is the modern professional’s digital Rolodex. Since launching in 2003, it has afforded its users professional network continuity in an era of fluid career movement. In fact, it’s LinkedIn that has helped facilitate greater career mobility from company to company, and even industry to industry.

eMarketer vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna steps in as host of this week's "The Weekly Listen," where he and eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Debra Aho Williamson, and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss the latest updates on the TikTok saga, Quibi's unique predicament, Roku and NBCUniversal's buried hatchet, new game consoles from Sony and Microsoft, the Emmys' declining viewership, and how a home-field advantage influences soccer (or football, if you're European) referees.

When it comes to protecting users’ personal information and providing a safe online environment, social network users in the US give lower marks to Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.

While it’s too soon to bid adieu to the aspirational influencer, it’s clear that the pandemic has humbled many of even the most polished creators.

eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson, junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss Oracle winning the TikTok bid, the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo definitely happening next year, CBS All Access being rebranded to "Paramount+," "YouTube Shorts" being tested in India, Americans' 2020 travel plans, what living creature is technically immortal, and more.

TikTok’s future may be uncertain in the US, but its UK operations continue to grow robustly despite security concerns. According to our latest UK social network forecast, the Chinese-owned video platform will have several milestone moments this year and next.

Business Insider Intelligence research analyst Daniel Keyes, eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu discuss how a staggered back-to-school shopping season is changing consumer spending and advertising. They then talk about why Walmart has teamed up with Microsoft to bid for TikTok, and what Walmart's membership program launch means for Amazon Prime.