Day-to-day marketing no longer exists outside of social media. Campaigns, conversations, collaborations, memes, and milestones – every touchpoint now traces back to where audiences already spend their time online. 

Whether it’s podcasts shared on YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, or Shorts, or global brand campaigns launching on social first, platforms have become the heartbeat of modern marketing. 

Three new studies from Metricool reveal just how much social media has moved from being part of strategy to being the strategy.

AI’s Growing Role in Social Media

The State of AI in Social Media 2025 report highlights the scale of AI’s impact: a striking 96% of social media professionals now use AI in their workflows. 

The most common applications are in content ideation, post writing, and caption generation. However, newer innovations like video creation, measurement, and automation remain underutilised – suggesting these “deeper” AI tools are still in early stages of adoption.

Perhaps most tellingly, six out of ten marketers say AI-generated content now matches or even outperforms human-created posts. ChatGPT, Canva, and Gemini emerged as the three most-used tools, powering faster production and fresher ideas. 

Yet, despite this heavy reliance on Artificial Intelligence, more than a third of respondents admitted they don’t track the performance of AI-created content. This leaves a striking gap between creation and measurement.

Importantly, 73% of marketers say AI enables them to experiment with new formats and strategies, underscoring its role as a creative accelerator rather than a full replacement. While AI has transformed workflows and speed, the findings suggest marketers must move beyond the hype and think critically about how to preserve unique online voices.

Podcasting in the Social Era

Another study, Podcasting and Social Media, shines a spotlight on how podcasts have shifted from being purely an audio format to thriving as a social-first medium. 

Among the top 100 US podcasts analysed, YouTube emerged as the undisputed leader, with 87% of podcasts publishing on the platform. Engagement figures tell the story – YouTube podcasts generate an impressive average engagement rate of 3.13%.

Instagram takes the runner-up spot with a 2.08% average engagement rate and 5,517 interactions per post – an eye-catching 724% above platform averages. The key driver is Reels, which account for nearly 80% of podcast content shared on Instagram. 

The contrast between the platforms is clear: YouTube builds loyal viewership through long-form content, while Instagram fuels discovery with short, shareable snippets.

The takeaway? Podcasts no longer thrive on audio alone. They grow through visual, interactive formats on social platforms. Short-form clips create buzz, while long-form episodes cement audience loyalty.

Social Ads: The New Digital Billboards

The third study, The 2025 Social Ads Study, positions social advertising as today’s equivalent of billboard marketing – except more intelligent, faster, and measurable. 

Here, TikTok dominates the top of the funnel. Brands have invested 85% more in TikTok reach campaigns, drawn by its power to drive discovery among Gen Z and younger audiences.

TikTok’s strengths continue into the mid-funnel, where its traffic campaigns deliver a 94% higher click-through rate than Meta. In fact, nearly three-quarters of TikTok’s conversions come from traffic campaigns alone. Yet when it comes to closing sales, Meta remains unmatched. The platform drives 61.3% of total conversions, with cost-per-action up to seven times lower than TikTok.

This evolving split is clear: TikTok has become the platform for discovery and traffic, while Meta continues to dominate when it comes to conversions and sales. 

The rise of influencer and user-generated content campaigns only strengthens TikTok’s appeal. But rather than pitting the two platforms against one another, the data highlights the importance of understanding the distinct role each plays in the customer journey.

Meeting Audiences Where They Are

Across these three studies, one message is consistent: in 2025, success depends on meeting audiences where they are – and where they are is online, on social platforms, and increasingly in video-first formats. 

AI is speeding up content production, podcasts are thriving through visual and social expansion, and advertising is evolving into a smarter version of the traditional billboard.

For marketers, the task is not about choosing one platform or one format, but about blending them into strategies that resonate with audiences in the right place, at the right time. 

As the digital landscape continues to accelerate, the most successful brands will be those that harness AI intelligently, create content that moves seamlessly across formats, and understand the unique roles each social channel plays in guiding the customer journey.