Features & insight
Features and insight
Expert analysis, reporting and long reads on the platforms, people and strategies shaping social media.
Meta Creator Marketplace now surfaces intent over follower count, reshaping how brands should brief influencer campaigns
Meta's Creator Marketing Hub prioritises creators who have already tagged brands or expressed partnership interest, shifting discovery away from audience scale. For marketers planning Q4 campaigns, that changes who gets found and how briefs should be structured.
Instagram's 2x Reels speed, launched 18 months ago, signals what YouTube and TikTok already know: audiences want control, not shorter videos
Double-speed playback has rolled out across every major short-form platform since early 2025. The shift isn't about shrinking attention spans, it's about letting viewers decide their own pace, and that changes what social marketers need to optimise for.
Half of US Halloween shoppers bought by early September, forcing brands to rewrite the campaign calendar
US Halloween spending hits $13.5bn in 2026, but NRF data shows 49% of consumers started shopping in September or earlier. For brands still running discovery ads in mid-October, the window where purchase intent was highest has already closed.
Social Media Marketing Awards 2026: all the winners, highly commended and finalists
SocialDay's Social Media Marketing Awards brought the industry together on the Thames to celebrate the people, teams and campaigns making an impact across social. Here are the winners, highly commended entries, every finalist and the judges' comments.