AI and video are taking over paid social | The Paid Social Marketer Newsletter

PLUS: Retail media CTV is a tracking nightmare

Author

Zihan Lyu
March 13, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

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Welcome to The Paid Social Marketer, your essential newsletter for social media marketers and eCommerce professionals.

Live From SXSW 🎤

🎯 What Every eCommerce Marketer Was Talking About at SXSW

ClickZ has been on the ground at SXSW, reporting from exclusive interviews, panels, and sessions. Here are some standout takeaways for eCommerce marketers — and how to turn them into actionable growth opportunities:

✅ Audio Meets Video: Over 270M people now watch video podcasts on Spotify — but ad spend hasn’t caught up yet. The rise of multi-format content presents a major opportunity for brand engagement. Understanding cross-platform performance will be key to capitalizing on this shift.

✅ AI-Driven Personalization: AI is driving consumer expectations — with users engaging across 13+ platforms daily, they now expect hyper-personalized, native ad experiences. Real-time insights into which platforms are driving true impact will allow you to fine-tune your strategy.

✅ Authenticity Is Driving Performance: Authenticity and storytelling took center stage at SXSW, with brands and creators emphasizing genuine connections over technological spectacle. Marketing experts noted a shift away from "purpose fatigue," highlighting the importance of meaningful engagements that feel real.

📊 Understanding these shifts requires smarter measurement. That’s why leading brands are turning to Fospha to track cross-platform performance and uncover the true impact of brand engagement across channels.

Expert View 💡

TikTok’s Uncertainty and What It Means for Paid Social Campaigns

The potential sale of TikTok is already impacting paid social performance, forcing marketers to adjust budgets and strategies in real time. As acquisition news circulates, prompting a shift toward multi-platform diversification rather than reliance on a single channel.

These shifts demand faster, data-driven responses. A spike in engagement might signal the right moment to ramp up A/B testing or test new ad placements. A decline could mean reallocating spend to platforms with more stability. Cross-platform attribution strategies help maintain performance through these swings.

For eCommerce and social marketers, this is about refining audience segmentation, lowering CPA, and improving ROI.

🎯 Exclusive: Get 10% Off Shoptalk Registration

ClickZ is thrilled to offer our readers an exclusive 10% discount on Shoptalk—where the future of retail takes shape.

Shoptalk brings together the biggest names in eCommerce and retail to explore the latest trends and challenges—from AI-driven personalization to shifting consumer behavior.

ClickZ will be on the ground at Shoptalk, sharing exclusive insights with our readers. Fospha will be attending too—book a meeting to discover how performance-driven measurement can transform your strategy.

👉 Register now using the code RBCLICK269.
👉 Book a Meeting with Fospha

Sector Spotlight 🎥

ECOMMERCE MARKETING TRENDS

AI, integrated marketing, and video are driving major shifts in retail marketing strategies. AI leverages personalization to optimize campaign performance. Seamless omnichannel experiences elevate consumer engagement across platforms. Video content boosts retention, offering rich opportunities for paid social marketing. Retail media networks face attribution challenges, while maintaining human connection strengthens brand loyalty.

RAMADAN MARKETING INSIGHTS

TikTok's 2025 Ramadan Marketing Guide reveals strategic insights for eCommerce marketers, focusing on religious, cooking and shopping content trends. It details innovative ad formats and case studies, offering actionable strategies to enhance consumer engagement during Ramadan, aligning with the latest in paid social marketing trends.

ECOMMERCE INNOVATION

AI's transformative power in advertising is particularly relevant for eCommerce marketers focused on paid social. Innovations like Google's Display Ads leverages AI technology for optimized targeting and engagement. Such platforms promise improved ROI by aligning ads with cultural nuances, enhancing performance while maintaining privacy compliance, offering innovative digital marketing solutions.

ECOMMERCE PERFORMANCE TACTICS

Performance advertising elevates paid social marketing by centering on authentic user interaction and impactful ad experiences. By correlating expenses with actual engagements, this strategy refines budget utilization. Strategic success hinges on leveraging cutting-edge technologies and superior ad placements, enabling eCommerce marketers to effectively engage audiences and boost platform performance.

RETAIL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

Tracking retail media CTV campaigns is challenging due to fragmented platforms, inconsistent measurement standards, and unclear attribution. Effective collaboration, like Walmart's and Best Buy's partnerships with streaming platforms, can enhance targeting and measurement. Strategic standardization is crucial for optimizing campaign performance and ensuring continued advertising investment growth.

Influencer Corner 📣

Sam Carter on LinkedIn: We've partnered with Snap Inc. for an exclusive SXSW masterclass

Snapchat has emerged as a critical channel for diversification and new customer acquisition, across its 453M daily active users.

Brands are catching on to the opportunity here, as seen in Snapchat’s latest earnings report on advertising revenue growth.

But most are only scratching the surface: Snapchat consistently shows up as one of the channels most underreported by click-based attribution. Our latest benchmarking report identified an average of +78% headroom for brands to profitably scale the channel.

Optimization Hub ⚙️

RETAIL MEDIA AND CREATOR PARTNERSHIPS

Retailers are selling influence now. As Retail Media Networks transform into full-scale media businesses, brands are turning to creators to drive real revenue, not just awareness.

But throwing money at influencers is not enough. The smartest brands are integrating creators into data-driven, performance marketing strategies that actually move the needle. This is where first-party data meets real consumer trust.

AI-ENHANCED MARKETING

Google's AI Mode reshapes search landscapes, presenting unique opportunities to boost product visibility, engagement, and precise targeting. With shifts from traditional search, carefully optimizing content for AI-generated summaries is key. Embracing this transformation can enhance strategies in competitive, data-driven eCommerce channels.

AD TECH EVOLUTION

In 2025, ad tech advances through AI solutions, programmatic strategies, and privacy-focused methods. Leaders highlight AI's potential in optimizing consumer engagement and the value of direct partnerships within CTV's evolving landscape.

ClickZ is a Contentive publication in the DTC eCommerce division