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- Gen Z isn’t where you think | The Paid Social Marketer Newsletter
Gen Z isn’t where you think | The Paid Social Marketer Newsletter
Fresh data on X, TikTok, and Instagram reveals surprising ad trends.
Zihan Lyu
March 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
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Welcome to The Paid Social Marketer, your essential newsletter for social media marketers and eCommerce professionals.
Retail Rewired 🔥
The Fospha team had an amazing time at eTail West last week, connecting with eCommerce leaders and diving into the biggest challenges and opportunities shaping the industry. Here are the top trends we saw dominating the conversation.
📈 Brands Are Navigating Rising Ad Costs & Complexity
With CPCs on the rise, brands are doubling down on efficiency— looking for opportunities to optimize their marketing mix and making the most owned channels like email, SMS, and loyalty programs.
🤖 AI-Driven Personalization Is Scaling Up
AI is transforming customer interactions in real time. Hanky Panky shared how AI powers their acquisition, site experience, and retention efforts—including automating 50% of customer service interactions to free up human agents for high-value customers.
💡 The Halo Effect Is Real
At Fospha, we're always talking about the impact of TikTok, YouTube, and Meta ads on third-party sales channels like Amazon. At eTail West, Ross Wakeham from TikTok reinforced that this ‘spillover’ effect is a huge measurement opportunity for brands.
If you’re interested in learning more about the halo effect, you can lead our latest research here. 🔗
Attending SXSW?
Sector Spotlight 🎥
ECOMMERCE MARKETING EVOLUTION
February 2025 reveals key advances in paid media as Google enhances ad quality by focusing on page relevance and user experience, and expands Performance Max capabilities. Transitioning to Demand Gen campaigns showcases potential. Meta's Threads ad trials and AI innovations, alongside TikTok's automotive ads, highlight transformative opportunities for marketers in paid social marketing.
ECOMMERCE INNOVATION
In 2025, marketing strategies will leverage authenticity, AI, and social commerce, pivotal for eCommerce. Embracing AI and personalization enhances consumer engagement, demanding demographic-specific, visually engaging content. Platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok require innovative strategies for superior ad targeting.
AD MEASUREMENT INSIGHTS
In eCommerce marketing, prioritizing performance and measurement over brand safety in YouTube and connected TV ads signals a strategic evolution. Pixability's study reveals a confident shift towards leveraging ad efficiency and consumer engagement, underlining the industry's pivot to harness innovative strategies for optimizing business outcomes and digital platform performance.
SNAP MAP STRATEGY
Snapchat's Snap Map leverages human and automated moderation, geographical context, recency, and user engagement for content ranking. With 350 million users monthly, it offers prime opportunities for paid social marketing strategies. Enhancing visibility involves tagging locations in Snaps and exploring Promoted Places, fostering engagement for improved platform performance.
GEN Z INSIGHTS
X Shares New Data on Gen Z Users
X emerges as a strategic platform for engaging Gen Z, with an 8% growth in U.S. users. While it claims distinct reach, data indicates TikTok and Instagram have broader appeal. However, X offers potential for innovative eCommerce engagement strategies within a unique Gen Z segment, aligning with paid social marketing goals.
Optimization Hub ⚙️
FASHION-FORWARD INNOVATION
Generative AI unease, eCommerce tactics, and AI-driven job insecurity shape consumer views, with most wary of AI's expanding influence. These realities offer an opportunity to innovate. Despite concerns, the thriving $38.07bn digital advertising sphere presents untapped paths for market expansion and strategic integration.
ECOMMERCE VISIONARIES
In 2025, digital marketing will pivot toward AI advancements, first-party data utilization, and niche specialization. Embracing AI enhances customer personalization, while prioritizing data privacy ensures compliance. These strategies, alongside leveraging emerging fields like Web3, offer competitive edge and measurable ROI.
AI IN MARKETING
Personalization at scale used to be a pipe dream—now, it’s a competitive necessity. AI is making hyper-targeted content, promotions, and customer interactions effortless, but the real challenge is earning trust and staying relevant without crossing the line.
Brands like leading retailers are ditching blanket discounts for AI-driven precision offers. But as personalization gets smarter, consumers are setting the terms—they’ll trade data for relevance, but only if brands play fair.
How do you personalize without alienating? How do you scale without losing authenticity? The brands that master this balance will dominate.
Social Media Marketing | 📍 Seattle, Washington, USA |
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