LinkedIn is the social platform most regularly used by B2B marketers and their clients worldwide. YouTube is the runner-up, followed by Facebook and Instagram, According to an Ipsos report.

According to Insider Intelligence/eMarketer, almost 76 million American adults will use Linkedin this year, or around 22.3% of the population.

LinkedIn ad sales per user will increase 4.5% to $54.81 in 2023, trailing YouTube (a gross total of $64.69 per user), Facebook ($157.56 per user), and Instagram ($174.74 per user).

B2B audiences use YouTube to learn about everything from emerging tech to what it’s like to work at a particular company, said John Chleborad, global head of advertising and social media at Accenture, according to a report by Insider Intelligence.

The first day of Amazon.com’s Prime Day, a two-day shopping event, saw U.S. online sales increase by nearly 6% to $6.4 billion, compared to the same day last year, according to data released by Adobe Analytics on Wednesday.

Customers in the United States have been waiting for the greatest possible offers and discounts as rising interest rates and food prices have caused them to postpone large-ticket purchases in recent months, reported Reuters.

Online appliance sales increased 37% compared to normal daily sales in June, while toy sales increased 27% on the first day of the sales event.

According to Numerator, the average Prime Day spend per order increased to $56.64 from $53.14 a year before.

During Prime Day week, other shops such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are also giving significant discounts. Walmart is also taking advantage of the week to entice more customers to join its subscription service Walmart+ by offering a 50% discount on annual membership sign-ups.

Gen Z buyers of beauty and skincare products are particularly drawn to brands because of their cost (48%), samples (46%), and sustainability (44%), according to Bolt.

Pricing has a greater influence on older consumers, as stated by 61% of those aged 18 and over.

According to Bolt, Gen Z will make up 20% of the US population this year, accounting for 35% of US purchasing power.

According to a report by Insider Intelligence/eMarketer, although they are typically regarded as a socially conscious generation with a preference for ethical, environmental, and diverse companies, Gen Zers are also frugal.

As living expenses rise and federal student loan payments resume, Gen Zers may adopt more conservative buying habits and gravitate toward discount and value-oriented stores.

According to Insider Intelligence, US cosmetics, and beauty sales will climb 10.1% this year, more than tripling the 2.9% growth rate of the larger retail sector.

YouTube is testing a new feature that could assist marketers and creators in engaging with viewers while creating the least interruption.

For the first time, YouTube will allow hyperlinking over specific words or phrases in the comments section, reported Search Engine Land on Friday.

Viewers will be directed to a YouTube search results page while the video they were watching is still playing.

Viewers are likelier to click on a link if their feed is not interrupted. This means that marketers may have a better chance of reaching more people and engaging with potential customers more effectively.

While this may be beneficial, noted the report, other marketers are concerned that steering users away from videos may cause more harm than good. Search from the comments may drive viewers to a YouTube search results page, directing them to competing brands and competitor videos.

In the comments area, phrases or single words that stimulate exploration will be hyperlinked. When users click on a link, a new YouTube search with that term is launched, taking them to the search results page.

The words that are linked will be decided by YouTube.

A survey conducted by CivicScience found that fewer adults in the United States are beginning their product searches on TikTok than a year ago.

Overall, Amazon is where internet shoppers start their product searches (49%, up from 46% in 2022), followed by Google (34%, down from 35% in 2022).

Amazon has also grown in popularity among younger age groups since last year:

18- to 24-year-olds: 45% increase
25- to 34-year-olds: 44% increase

Data clearly indicate that TikTok is not currently being utilized much as a search engine by these younger generations. From August 2022 to June 2023, usage among Gen Z (18-24) declined from 18% to 11%, and among young Millennials (25-34) fell from 10% to 5%.

Meta Platforms is to debut Threads, a Twitter-rivalling microblogging app, only days after Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew flak for placing a temporary limit on how many messages users may view on the social networking platform.

According to Reuters, Threads is set to be issued on Thursday and will allow users to keep their Instagram followers while keeping the same username, according to a listing on Apple’s App Store.

The launch is an immediate challenge to Twitter, which has been embroiled in multiple issues since Musk purchased the company for $44 billion in 2022.

“Threads is going to pose a huge threat to Twitter because it’s coming from the Meta and Instagram family of apps,” said Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall, reported Reuters.

YouTube confirmed to The Verge that it is testing its ability to disable ad blockers on videos.

The company runs “a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium.”

The statement comes after some users noticed a new popup warning that video playback may be interrupted if YouTube detects repeated usage of ad-blocking software.

The tests, which limit viewers from watching more than three videos when an ad blocker is installed, were previously reported by Android Authority.

“Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers,” Google spokesperson Oluwa Falodun told The Verge.

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By 2023, Gen Z will account for 20% of the US population, with approximately 40 million adults.

According to Insider Intelligence/eMarketer data, Gen Z adults comprise 58% of the demographic, while 42% are younger.

Genz Z refers to those born from 1997 to 2012, millennials from 1981 to 1996, and Gen X from 1965 to 1980.

By 2025, Gen Z will have more online buyers than Gen X, which makes up 19% of the population.

According to a new study, Google may have misled dozens of business and government advertisers about the viewership of ads running on third-party websites and apps.

Advertising research organization Adalytics reported many advertisers that pay for TrueView skippable in-stream video ads on websites outside of YouTube could have been misled.

“TrueView asks users if they want to skip the video ad after 5 seconds with a visual prompt. Google’s policies state that TrueView ads must be skippable, audible, and playing of the video (and ad) cannot be solely initiated by passive user scrolling,” stated Adalytics.

However, according to this research report, significant amounts of TrueView skippable in-stream ads purchased by various brands and media agencies appear to have been served on hundreds of thousands of websites and apps where the consumer experience did not meet Google’s stated quality standards for years.

“For example, many TrueView in-stream ads were served muted and auto-playing as out-stream video or as obscured video players on independent sites. Often, there was little to no organic video media content between ads, the video units simply played ads only,” said Adalytics.

A media buyer told Adalytics: “Nobody goes to walled gardens like YouTube to run on audience networks which all have the same crappy inventory. This is a method for YouTube and Google to extract more budget and manufacture scale in a way that is palatable to the advertiser because they don’t fully understand it.”

The organization added, “Google was observed delivering thousands of TrueView ads to declared bots running out of Google Cloud data center servers.”

Meta announced Tuesday that WhatsApp Business, its service for small businesses, has reached 200 million monthly active users, up from 50 million in 2020.

The company has also announced services such as more straightforward ad creation and tailored message service for WhatsApp Business subscribers, reported TechCrunch.

Users of WhatsApp Business will be able to develop “click-to-WhatsApp” ads without requiring a Facebook account. The business stated that sellers can create, buy, and publish Facebook and Instagram ads directly from the app.

WhatsApp Business is also introducing a paid feature that will allow retailers to automate the process of sending tailored messages to their clients. WhatsApp did not provide pricing information, only stating that the service will be tested “soon.”

According to the screenshots provided by the company, businesses would be able to deliver different messages to different customer lists. For example, a vendor with a purchase button can give a discount code to new consumers.