Social advertising investments: + 50% in the 4th quarter – Image

Socialbakers, a dedicated social media marketing platform, has released its Social Media Trends Report for the fourth quarter of 2020. The report shows strong growth in social media advertising investments around the world during the last quarter of 2020, as well as ” an increase in cost per click (CPC), an acceleration in Instagram dominance, an increased reach for advertisers on Facebook, an increase in popularity and advertising costs for video formats, and a decrease in partnerships with influencers by brands during the holiday season. Data on ad spending is collected from a sample of over 15,000 Facebook ad accounts.

“Brands significantly increased their social media ad spending in the fourth quarter. At its peak, the peak activity is 50.3% higher than the peak recorded at the holiday peak of the fourth quarter of 2019. In North America, the difference between the peak of the fourth quarter of 2019 and that of this year is 92.3%. Doubling your advertising investments is the new normal. They come to support the digital strategies of the brands to build lasting relationships with their customers and increase their online sales, ”said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, President of Socialbakers.

Advertising spending on the rise

Global social media ad spend is up in the fourth quarter by 50.3% compared to the same period in 2019. The increase in median monthly budgets is even larger, with growth of 56.2% compared to Q4 2019. Brands around the world have invested in social media ads ‘like never before’ – particularly in North America with a 92.3% increase and for Western Europe, growth of 39.6%. This increase was observed in all industries. The e-commerce sector increased its advertising investments by 24.8% compared to the last quarter. This industry has doubled its social media advertising budgets by double digit since the first quarter of 2020. These developments have been accompanied by an increase in the cost per click. During the year 2020, CPC for brands on Instagram and Facebook increased by 35.6%, up to $ 0.14.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Instagram’s audience grew by 11.3%, while Facebook’s audience fell 17.6% from the previous year. The audience size of the top 50 brand profiles is now 39% larger on Instagram than on Facebook. Socialbakers have 21 times more interactions on Instagram than on Facebook. Despite this growing gap in audience size and engagement, 61.9% of all branded posts were posted on Facebook in the fourth quarter. But worldwide, Facebook ad reach increased 23% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. In North America, Facebook ad reach is up 77.5%. Compared to the previous quarter, the wine and spirits (up 9.9%) and automotive (+ 12%) sectors were the sectors where the increase in advertising reach was the strongest.

The video at its strongest

Overall, user engagement with brands declined slightly in Q4 2020 compared to Q4 2019. Globally, interactions with brands fell 5.4% on Facebook and 6.3% % on Instagram. In North America, Facebook achieves an 11% increase in interactions while Instagram is down 10% year over year. Engagements for the e-commerce sector are also growing, with a 14.4% increase in interactions on Instagram and a 1% increase on Facebook, year-over-year.

The use of video content on social media continued to increase in the fourth quarter. Video messages on Twitter jumped 26.7% from the previous quarter. Compared to the same period in 2019, video posts increased 4.6% on Facebook and 5.9% on Instagram. Video accounts for 17.9% of all Instagram posts, and 18.1% of all Facebook posts, in Q4 2020. The popularity and competitiveness of the video format is also driving the ‘increased advertising costs for video formats. In Q4 2020, CPC for Instream videos (in the content stream) on Facebook increased 216.8% and 247.2% in CPM compared to Q4 2019.

Declining influence

Facebook Live is the most engaging post type on the platform in Q4 2020. It sees 2.8 times more interactions compared to images, and 3.25 times more interactions compared to traditional video content. Live Shopping is a strong trend for Gen Z in China. In the West, the format is rapidly gaining popularity with brands and consumers.

Despite the sharp increase in ad spend, brands appeared to reduce their influencer marketing use in the fourth quarter. Overall, posts with the hashtag “#ad” fell 17.6% year over year. Despite the increase around holiday season, it failed to reach the levels recorded last year. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the French influencers who best maintained their commitments with the brands are Esile, Lena Situations and Charlotte Bobb. Internationally, we find Ilzy Sousa from Brazil, Fiona from Germany, Sissy Sheridan and Matt Bernstein from the United States.

“One lesson from the pandemic for brands, is the importance of social media in reaching and interacting with their consumers. They not only allow businesses to engage with a large audience and extend their reach beyond a defined geographic area, but they also give consumers 24/7 access to the brands they love. If we look back on what we learned in 2020, digital will undoubtedly remain at the center of brand concerns in 2021. Today’s consumer is online. Brands must show that they are ready to face the future by providing every customer with an exceptional end-to-end online experience if they are to increase their brand loyalty and have an impact on their bottom line ”, concluded Yuval Ben-Itzhak.

To view the Socialbakers report, it’s this way.

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