Snapchat and Instagram saw ad spend grow 73% and 55% respectively in the thrid quarter of 2017, as new offline features brought added value to advertisers, according to new data.
The figures, from 4C, come from an analysis of nearly $250 million in media spend from more than 1,000 individual brands managed through its platform, 4C Social.
The findings revealed:
- 31% quarterly increase across the board in paid media spend on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
- Instagram Stories continues to draw in brands, generating 220% Year-on-Year spend growth.
- Facebook ad spend grew 27%, tracking in-store visits with their new Store Visits beta
- Travel spend on Twitter surged 250% for the quarter during the late summer months
- Ad spend on Pinterest, the intent-driven platform, grew 26% for the quarter and 33% over the year. Now more than 200 million users strong
The findings revealed a 31% quarterly increase across the board in paid media spend on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
Propelling Snapchat’s impressive growth, features like Snap Map and geofilters are enabling advertisers to understand how consumers shop. In particular, the measurement capability to track users as they go in-store via Placed is helping retail brands understand how Snap ads drive results.
Meanwhile Instagram Stories continues to draw in brands, generating 220% Year-on-Year spend growth. “Vertical video provides brands with a full-scale canvas to test creative. Audience-driven optimisation becomes low-risk and high-reward, with lots of opportunity to scale learning across the media mix”, explains Emily Kramer, Senior Director, Media Services, Merkle.
Elsewhere Facebook ad spend through 4C grew 27% for the quarter. Aggregated cost per thousand impressions (CPM) and cost per click (CPC) increased 9% and 18% for the quarter respectively as marketers placed a higher value on the inventory. Chief among the new features driving this investment is Facebook’s detailed targeting and measurement capabilities.
Integrated video
Another key source of investment in Facebook is the growing video capability. With Facebook’s Watch, Snapchat’s Shows, and Twitter’s 24/7 live-streaming programming, users are able to view a slew of content across the social media platforms
“Twitter is pushing aggressively into the video space in efforts to keep themselves top of mind when promoting any video assets. Twitter’s Pre-roll placements and partnerships with television shows are emerging opportunities for brands,” advises Louis Guerrero, Supervisor, Social Media, Havas Media Group.
Twitter ad spend grew on 4C grew 26% for the quarter as the platform cements its place on media plans for live moment amplification. In particular, ad spend on Twitter was boosted by the Travel industry. Travel spend on Twitter surged 250% for the quarter during the late summer months.
Visual Insights
Ad spend on Pinterest, the intent-driven platform, grew 26% for the quarter and 33% over the year as marketers prepare to head into the seasonal shopping season. New advertisers are being drawn to the platform, now more than 200 million users strong, as social content becomes increasingly visual.
Scott Shamberg, President, Performics explains “Pinterest has made great strides on the tech side of visual search, with Lens, Shop the Look and Instant Ideas. All of these products have huge implications for retailers with an ecommerce presence. Lens is built for the visual search trend, but consumer and brand adoption hasn’t quite caught up.”
Aaron Goldman, CMO at 4C Insights concludes, “Understanding visual content through Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will add a new level of consumer understanding and help brands be more relevant at the right time and place.”
Source: http://www.4cinsights.com/