February 26, 2025
TikTok’s ROI boom, AI-powered ads, and brand safety in the spotlight
TikTok is delivering serious ROI, AI is running the ad game, and brands are tightening control over where their content appears. Meanwhile, X is pushing deeper into AI-driven advertising, and Snapchat is refining brand safety measures to keep advertisers comfortable.
If your marketing strategy hasn’t evolved this year, it’s time to rethink. Here’s what’s shaping social right now:
TikTok isn’t just for awareness, it’s a conversion machine.
A new study from Dentsu confirms what we’ve suspected – TikTok is one of the most effective sales channels available. (TikTok)
- Short-term ROI? A massive 11.8x return, outperforming most media platforms.
- Long-term impact? An additional 4.5x ROI proving TikTok isn’t just a quick-win platform.
- The best-performing content? Storytelling-driven UGC – ads that feel native and authentic beat promotional content by 70%.
- Always-on strategies win. Brands that maintain a consistent presence see better results than those who rely on bursts.
If your TikTok strategy isn’t built around creators and storytelling, you’re leaving money on the table.
Snapchat tightens brand safety controls.
Snapchat is rolling out a Brand Suitability Suite, giving advertisers better control over where their ads appear (Snapchat)
- New content tiers allow brands to choose their comfort level for ad placement.
- Machine learning tech ensures ads don’t appear next to risky content in real-time.
- Third-party verification (Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify, Zefr) means more transparency and measurement options.
Takeaway: Advertisers who care about brand safety have more control than ever, but they’ll need to pay attention to suitability settings.
X (Twitter) is going all-in on AI-powered ads
Elon’s AI, Grok, is now doing the heavy lifting for advertisers (X)
- Prefill with Grok generates ad copy, images, and CTAs with minimal input—just drop in a URL.
- Analyse Campaign with Grok delivers instant, AI-driven performance insights so brands can optimise on the fly.
- Shopify integration and Quick Promote make it easier than ever to push content fast.
For brands advertising on X, AI is now an essential part of campaign strategy. If you’re not using it, your competitors are.
Community control is the new normal
Social platforms are shifting power to users, whether brands like it or not. (Threads)
- X is rolling out Community Notes, allowing users to flag misleading content.
- TikTok’s dislike button and ranking system mean bad content disappears faster than ever.
- Instagram grid editing lets users (and brands) control the narrative on their profile.
Brands that embrace transparency, authenticity, and user participation will thrive. Those that resist? Good luck.
The takeaway? Adapt or be ignored.
- TikTok is a must-have for performance marketing. If you’re not running storytelling-driven UGC, start now.
- Brand safety matters. Snapchat’s new controls give brands more choice, but advertisers must manage settings wisely.
- Users own the narrative. Platforms are handing more control to their communities, brands that lean into this will win.
That’s it for this week. Need help keeping up? Let’s talk.