The leading integrated customer experience platform Emplifi today published its report “State of Social Media and CX”. The industry report gives important insights into social media advertising, organic social media measures and customer experience trends. Accordingly, global advertising spending on Facebook and Instagram rose by 43.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the previous year – a growth of 10.5 percent compared to the second quarter of 2021. This went hand in hand with an increase in advertising costs, with the cost-per- Clicks (CPCs) reached their highest level since the end of 2020.
The increasing investments in Facebook advertising are a clear sign of the times: In connection with the hospitality industry, advertising expenditure increased by 94 percent compared to the previous year, as borders are reopening and more people are traveling around the world.
The advertisers’ click-through rates (CTRs) have remained stable, with little fluctuations compared to last year. In addition, the data from Emplifi show that the reach of Facebook ads has taken a turn in the right direction: The increase of 3.7 percent year-on-year is only a small increase, but a significant improvement compared to the decline reported in the last quarter of 12.4 percent.
Emplifi’s report includes data on both paid and organic posts and shows CPC, CTR and advertising spend distribution broken down by geographic region and industry. The engagement of the brands is examined on the basis of hashtags, posting types, influencer marketing numbers and reaction times on Facebook.
One of the most interesting results: Facebook instream live videos generate three times the engagement of fans and followers compared to other types of posts.
“Today, brand providers have to invest a larger part of their advertising money in order to reach consumers via social media platforms. But B2C advertisers also have enormous opportunities when it comes to using live videos in the context of social media marketing and social commerce, ”says Zarnaz Arlia, CMO of Emplifi. “They can connect with their audiences through live video experiences on Facebook and Instagram, and provide real-time conversation opportunities that translate into measurable e-commerce profits. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement here. Many brand vendors have not yet fully embraced the social video tactics. “
Facebook Instream Video and Facebook News Feed are number one at CTR for both Facebook and Instagram ads – an interesting takeaway for any brand looking to step up their social commerce efforts. Of the companies that use Facebook live, companies in the beauty, gaming and e-commerce industries generate the most comments and interactions.
Social commerce is becoming more and more important for brands. Analysts at Marketer predict that the US social commerce market will reach $ 36 billion by the end of this year. This number is expected to double by 2025. The most important social commerce platforms are Facebook and Instagram. According to eMarketer, 22.3 percent of US consumers will have purchased at least one item on Facebook this year.
In this country too, social commerce is becoming more and more important. According to a YouGov survey, a third of Germans have already shopped via social media channels, and the Corona crisis has intensified this trend. Facebook ranks first among the shopping platforms, closely followed by WhatsApp and Instagram.
“Consumers want a seamless experience, from product discovery to purchase. Social commerce enables brand vendors to sell their products directly in the app that the consumer is already using. Companies that meet their customers where they are – on social platforms – will secure a major competitive advantage in the coming months, ”said Arlia. “This is especially true when they use live video to create more immersive experiences and when they incorporate sophisticated CX tools to improve and optimize the customer journey.”
Overall, organic engagement on social media has changed, according to data from Emplifi. Consumers are increasingly using social platforms for customer support. As a result, companies are trying to respond more quickly to customer inquiries that come in through social platforms. According to the report, several industries improved their response times on Facebook in the third quarter. An important step in view of the fact that more and more consumers are relying on their social media accounts for customer care.
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