WELCOME
It’s noisy out there, and it’s only getting louder.
In this edition, we’re breaking down how the attention economy has turned attention into currency. Meta’s asking questions through user surveys, LinkedIn is shaping credibility with AI summaries, and X is offering a cash prize for substance over speed.
The platforms may be evolving, but one message stays the same… the brands, campaigns, and messages that are winning are the ones that listen before they lead.
Let’s dive in.
Inside the 2025 Attention Economy
If it felt like everything was advertising in 2025, that’s because it was. Search behavior, creator content, government messaging, and political-style persuasion all competed in the same feeds, auctions, and streaming environments, turning the U.S. media market into a single, high-velocity attention economy. 2025 made one thing clear: advertising, public affairs, and reputation management are now fully sharing the same marketplace of influence.
And the proof is in where attention and dollars actually went.
Let’s look back at some of 2025’s most telling data points in advertising and digital media.
🔍 Google’s Top Searches
Topping Google search terms of 2025 – “Charlie Kirk”, followed by ”Labubu”, “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”, and “iPhone 17”
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+ an honorable mention of Google’s top “Hum to Search” result – “Golden” by HUNTR/X
💰[RS1] Creator’s Big Bucks
The creator economy’s share of the funnel pie is growing: IAB estimates $37B in U.S. creator ad spend in 2026.
🏛️ And the Biggest Spender Is…
Uncle Sam! Commercial brands (like Amazon, top ad spender) still spend the most, but government ad spending boomed last year. Reports indicate at least $51M in ads in 2025, dominating the year’s political-style messaging footprint. [LL2] [RS3] [LL4] Across many federal agencies, advertising spend in 2025 reflected a noticeable shift: public policy now competes in the same attention marketplace as brands, creators, and political campaigns.
🚨 Bad Ads
Fraud rode the same big spending wave in 2025. A Tech Transparency Project investigation found scammers ran large volumes of political ads on Meta, totaling $49M in spend across identified advertisers. If you thought disclaimer verification on Meta was tedious, you may want to brace yourself for greater scrutiny and hurdles during setup.
No Ads for You (EU)
Meta stopped political and social issue ads in the EU starting October 2025, citing new EU political ad rules. This shut-off serves as a reminder for U.S. political advertisers ahead of 2026 primaries. Be prepared for Meta to restrict new ads ahead of key election dates. Organic, earned, and creator channels matter more when paid shuts off.
For 2026, Be S.M.A.R.T
S – Scan the auction: You’re not just choosing platforms — you’re entering competitive message environments where brands, creators, governments, and advocacy groups all bid for the same attention. Know who else is shaping the conversation around your issue.
M – Monitor for risk as much as you monitor performance: Brand safety, misinformation, and policy-driven pivots can shift overnight. Monitoring and rapid response now belong in the same bucket as CPMs and CTRs.
A – Allocate with agility: Search trends, creator ecosystems, and CTV inventory change faster than annual plans. Build in budget flexibility so you can move dollars in weeks, not quarters.
R – Reinforce earned with paid: Earned media still drives credibility, but paid media increasingly determines reach and narrative velocity. Smart comms plans treat amplification and protection as part of PR, not separate from it.
T – Track outcomes that reflect influence, not just impressions: Pair delivery metrics with sentiment and search lift to understand whether your message is landing and not just loading.[LL5]
As we head into 2026, the message is simple: attention is scarce, competition is crowded, and influence now moves through paid systems whether the messenger is a brand, a creator, or a government agency. The teams that win won’t just buy media better; they’ll understand the full environment their messages live in.
Meta’s Asking Questions
Meta has a new strategy for making Reels feel more relevant. They’ve acknowledged that assumption-based algorithms have limits in a crowded attention economy, so instead of assuming what users want, they’re simply asking. And, so far, it’s working.
Meta says that by using this approach, feed accuracy has jumped from 48 percent to 70 percent. Not bad for a platform that once thought our old high school friend’s latte art counted as “engaging content.” Short in-feed surveys are now helping Meta understand which videos actually connect and engage.
So, what’s the key takeaway?
Curiosity fuels connection. The more questions we ask, the better we understand what truly resonates with our audience and, in turn, drives them to act.
In public affairs, communications, and marketing, everything comes back to resonance. Where do we align with our audience? Do we know what resonates beyond clicks and impressions? Are we confident we’re listening as much as we’re speaking?
The best connections begin with the right questions. If one of the biggest players in the digital world is investing in listening more carefully, maybe that’s the signal we all need to do the same.
From Clicks to Citations – How LinkedIn is Driving AI Summaries
Increasingly, Google’s AI‑generated summaries are satisfying user intent before a click ever happens. Fewer people are scrolling to blue links, let alone visiting websites. At the same time, recent reports show that LinkedIn is among the most frequently cited sources by AI chatbots.
That shift changes the value equation. A LinkedIn post no longer lives only in the feed. It can surface in AI‑powered search results, shaping public understanding of your perspective, expertise, or product well beyond the original audience.
To maximize content for AI, a few rules of the road matter:
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Keep content structured, logical, and easy to parse
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Prioritize credibility and relevance, grounded in real expertise
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Include timely context (dates and references)
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Write in a clear, conversational tone
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Build credibility over time with thoughtful, authoritative content.
Make sure your work doesn’t just get posted; it gets indexed, referenced, and trusted. More from SocialMediaToday here.
Prove That You Truly Know AI
We all know AI is the talk of the town – and in this job market, you have to do more than talk the talk. You have to prove you can walk the AI walk. LinkedIn is shifting from self-reported skills to verified AI proficiency to let professionals show what they can really do based on real tool usage. This competitive advantage is resulting from key partnerships between LinkedIn and companies like Gamma, GitHub, and Zapier, to validate knowledge on real usage patterns and product outcomes. Proof isn’t optional. Be sure to set yourself apart. More from LinkedIn on this shift.
X’s $1M Long-Form Article Offering
X is awarding a $1 million prize for the top long-form article published during its current payout period, part of a broader effort to jump-start substantive content on the platform. The contest ran through late January and is open to original articles of 1,000+ words posted by U.S. Premium subscribers, with winners judged on engagement primarily via Verified Home Timeline impressions. X’s move signals a pivot from micro-posts toward deeper, high-impact writing, a bold experiment in a world dominated by short-form updates and video. If your brand excelled from the blogs of the early 2000’s, 2026 X may be just what you’ve been waiting for.
Advice for Advertisers
X rolled out new ad campaign recommendations and resources, designed to help advertisers optimize targeting, creative, and bidding structures for better performance on the platform. The guidance emphasizes things like conversion-focused objectives, audience refinement, and placing event-based bids tied to in-app actions rather than just clicks or impressions. As platforms compete for direct response dollars, X is leaning into action-oriented campaign optimization advice to improve advertiser ROI. For brands and ad pros, this means ad strategies on X are becoming more prescriptive and analytics-driven, and hopefully a sign for fresh methods to reach your audience.
GET CHATTING!
If attention is today’s currency, what’s the most valuable way your brand is earning it?
Strategic Elements is a full-service public affairs, marketing, and media consulting firm based in Iowa. Our team of political operatives, marketing experts, and media strategists helps businesses, organizations, and causes shape public opinion, influence policy, and drive meaningful change.
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