The State of Social Advertising Q3 2017

Transcription

1 The State of Social Advertising Q3 2017

2 Contents INTRODUCTION... 2 SOCIAL PLATFORMS... 3 Facebook...3 Instagram...4 LinkedIn...5 Pinterest...6 Snapchat...7 Twitter...8 TRENDS... 9 Real-World Integration...9 Offline and Online Data...10 Responsive Creative...12 Visual Insights...13 Integrated Video...14 Mass Personalization...15

3 Introduction Social media has become indispensable for marketers. Designed for what people care about most with the ability to reach billions, social media combines the benefits of targeting and scale. To assess social advertising growth in Q3 2017, we analyzed a representative sample of brands managed through 4C Social across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat. The total sample included more than $250 million in media spend across 1,000+ individual brands. Social ad spend accelerated dramatically over the second quarter as new brands and agencies adopted 4C to manage their campaigns. Total spend on 4C was up 129% year-over-year (YoY) and 31% quarter-overquarter (QoQ). A key driver of ad spend growth on social media has been enhancements in targeting through the ability to define and scale audiences through external data sources. As we head into the crucial Q4 shopping season we examine this and other emerging trends to help marketers capitalize on the opportunities. We also invited our brand and agency partners to share their thoughts on what they're seeing in the marketplace including some who shared their viewpoints for our original State of Social paper published in October of For Abt, the biggest change in the last year has been scale and the ability to enhance targeting with audiences. Paid social was an emerging channel for us 12 months ago and now is a crucial part of our Digital strategy. BRYAN BENAVIDES, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MARKETING The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

4 Social Platforms As a full-funnel solution for marketing, social media continues to demonstrate strong ad growth across platforms and verticals. FACEBOOK Facebook ad spend through 4C grew 150% YoY and 27% QoQ. Aggregated cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) and cost-per-click (CPC) increased 9% and 18% QoQ respectively as marketers placed a higher value on the inventory. $4.97 $ % 9% 18% -8% 27% 150% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Services and Education verticals drove the most Facebook growth with increases of 191% and 118% QoQ. Features for measuring brand lift across Facebook and TV, driving offline outcomes, placing in-stream video ads across Facebook s Audience Network, and Facebook s detailed targeting and measurement capabilities are laregely responsible for brands continued investment in Facebook. Services $4.90 $ % 8% -3% 11% 191% 695% Education $4.70 $ % 58% 88% -16% 118% 2,601% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. We've seen Facebook improve upon its transparency and controls across its Audience Network offering, where we're already seeing its social data powering ads beyond its owned and operated properties. These trends will continue to scale commanding more of people's attention and time, thus increasing social's stronghold in advertising. MICHAEL PECCI, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SOCIAL MEDIA The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

5 INSTAGRAM Instagram continues grow rapidly thanks to its high-impact ad units, with spend on 4C increasing 220% YoY and 55% QoQ. $5.05 $ % 1% -6% 7% 55% 220% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. More advertisers flooding to use new features to reach Instagram s growing audience of 800 million as well as increasing CTRs are driving increased ad spend on the visual platform. Services spend grew the most in Q3 compared to Q2 at 298% while the Home and Garden increased spend on Instagram a whopping 1,930% compared to last year. Services $5.19 $ % 3% -45% 89% 298% 1,367% Home & Garden $6.24 $ % -26% 49% -51% 110% 1,930% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Immersive video on Instagram Stories will continue to draw in brands. Content continues to reign supreme, and vertical video on Instagram provides brands with a full-scale canvas to message their offering to a slew of audiences, explains Emily Kramer, Senior Director, Media Services, Merkle. Using this capability to test creative, audience-driven optimization, etc. is low-risk and high-reward, with lots of opportunity to scale learning across the media mix. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

6 LINKEDIN LinkedIn ad spend on 4C grew 54% over last year and 17% over last quarter as brands recognize the applications of LinkedIn for B2C as well as B2B. $10.62 $ % 3% 3% -0.1% 17% 54% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Though the inventory is most expensive, marketers believe the inventory has the highest brand safety. New advertisers from Automotive, Finance, and Healthcare are investing in LinkedIn ads which drove the growth in spend. Louis Guerrero, Supervisor, Social Media, Havas Media Group explains, LinkedIn is growing aggressively as B2B, Finance, and Healthcare brands are now just getting caught up on social media advertising. Automotive $25.24 $ % 60% 28% 25% 1,342% N/A Education $2.40 $ % 2% -1% 4% 24% 387% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. LinkedIn s growth has also been aided by increased reporting abilities and ability to reach people outside LinkedIn s platform. In addition to merging products to make qualified leads into high-quality prospecting audiences, LinkedIn continues to work on expanding reporting abilities and support to 3rd party reporting tools. One example of increased reporting ability is the ability to analyze demographic information tied to site traffic i.e. the ability to profile DR traffic for prospecting purposes. ROBBIE BOURNE, SENIOR STRATEGIST The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

7 PINTEREST Ad spend on Pinterest, the intent-driven platform, grew 26% QoQ and 33% YoY as marketers prepare to head into the seasonal shopping season. $3.49 $ % 23% 28% -4% 26% 33% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Increase in spend was driven by the growing Pinterest audience, now more than 200 million strong, as well as increased insight and targeting capabilities. New advertisers are being drawn to the platform including brands from the Electronics and Technology vertical which increased spend 2,840% as Apple and Samsung announced new technology in Q3. Electronics/ Technology $6.02 $ % 10% 69% -35% 2,840% 236% See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Pinterest will continue to grow as brands figure out how to leverage the platform s visual technology among other innovations. Announced recently, Pinterest and Target are teaming up to offer a mobile-only capability embedded within the Target app, via Pinterest visual search. Pinterest has a capability so compelling that a brand is building their offering into a native app putting consumer experience at the forefront of the engagement. EMILY KRAMER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MEDIA SERVICES The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

8 SNAPCHAT Brands continue to ramp up their presence on Snapchat. The vertical video format has demonstrated strong growth with ad spend on 4C increasing 73% QoQ. CPM Q3 CPSU Q3 SUR Q3 CPM QoQ CPSU QoQ SUR QoQ $3.49 $ % 8% 9% -0.4% 73% CPSU: Cost-Per-Swipe-Up; SUR: Swipe-Up Rate. See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. Strong Swipe-Up Rates, efficient CPMs and brands discovering how to utilize Snap Ads are driving increased ad spend on Snapchat. The Telecommunications sector increased its spend on Snapchat the most in Q3 up 2,965% QoQ while achieving Swipe-Up Rates above 1%. New features such as 3D World Lenses, which have demonstrated measurable lifts across awareness and intent, will continue to draw brands to the platform. CPM Q3 CPSU Q3 SUR Q3 CPM QoQ CPSU QoQ SUR QoQ Telecommunications $4.51 $ % 23% -38% 97% 2,965% CPSU: Cost-Per-Swipe-Up; SUR: Swipe-Up Rate. See "Meet the Metrics" on page 8. There is room for growth for all brands to get into Snapchat. They just need to figure out how to do it with the right KPI's and ROI measurements. BRYAN BENAVIDES, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MARKETING The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

9 TWITTER Twitter ad spend grew on 4C grew 60% YoY and 26% QoQ as the platform cements its place in media plans for live moment amplification. $6.48 $ % 5% 8% -3% 26% 60% Ad spend on Twitter was boosted by the Travel and Services industries. Travel spend on Twitter surged 250% QoQ during the late summer months. Services increased spend by 731% compared to a year ago. Travel $5.64 $ % 350% 284% 17% 250% 167% Services $3.56 $ % 0.01% -10% 12% 112% 731% Premium streaming video and an increase in Twitter characters will allow brands to put more content on Twitter. Brands are starting to look to leverage Twitter for what it is known for, real-time, relevant, trendy content, states Louis Guerrero, Supervisor, Social Media, Havas Media Group. CPM: Cost-Per-Thousand Impressions based on total spend and impressions across all publisher's campaigns. Includes all campaign objectives. CPC: Cost-Per-Click based on total spend and total clicks across all publisher's campaigns. Includes all campaign objectives. Meet the metrics. CTR: Click-Through Rate based on total impressions and clicks across all publisher's campaigns. Includes all campaign objectives. Total Spend QoQ: Change in publisher's social advertising spend in 4C from Q to Q Total Spend YoY: Change in publisher's social advertising spend in 4C from Q to Q CPM QoQ: Change in publisher's CPM from Q to Q CPC QoQ: Change in publisher's CPC from Q to Q CTR QoQ: Change in publisher's CTR from Q to Q CPSU: Cost Per Swipe-Up based on total spend and total Swipe-ups across all Snapchat campaigns. Includes all campaign objectives. SUR: Swipe-Up Rate based on total impressions and Swipe-Ups across all Snapchat campaigns. Includes All objectives. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

10 Trends New innovations are unlocking increasing capabilities for marketers. We spoke with thought leaders that are using 4C Social at Abt, Havas, Merkle, Performics, and Resolution Media to identify the emerging opportunities for marketers on social. REAL-WORLD INTEGRATION Social media is becoming more entwined in everyday life. New features make social media an always-on channel. Today, it s seemingly natural that someone is swiping for a world lens on Snapchat, or adding a geo-tag to their Instagram Story before posting. Social channels continually evolve and bring more value to users as mobile devices continue to become a human appendage. EMILY KRAMER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MEDIA SERVICES Social provides brands more insight into their consumers lives and more opportunities to provide value to them in the real world through technology like augmented reality. An emerging opportunity for brands are Targeted Lenses that allow you to run a paid Lens but only to consumers that are most relevant to your brand on Snap Ads, explains Alex Stolarski, Social Media Supervisor, Resolution Media. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

11 OFFLINE AND ONLINE DATA As social media becomes more integrated with the real world, brands are seeking to bridge online and offline behavior for targeting and measurement. Similar to Google, Facebook is putting increased importance on tracking in-store visits with their new Store Visits beta. Brands who are starting to think about their offline goals are in a position to take advantage of this new reporting capability and garner insights on how Facebook further impacts their business. CORKUM NASH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SOCIAL MEDIA Features like Snap Map and Geofilters are enabling Snapchat to understand how consumers shop. Snap's measurement capabilities in terms of tracking users as they go in-store via Placed is helping QSR, Retail and CPG brands understand how Snap Ads drive results, states Maura McNulty, Social Media Supervisor, Resolution Media. Offline activity can be translated into targeted segments across the social platforms. On Facebook, we re syncing audience tools to use for targeting based on customer behavior on and off line, explains Bryan Benavides, Director of Digital Marketing, Abt. Many of the social networks are building tools enabling brands to understand offline purchase behavior directly into their offerings. But, third party data is a viable solution as well. Havas is leveraging 3rd party data providers such as Acxiom to test proven segments based on offline data. LOUIS GUERRERO, SUPERVISOR, SOCIAL MEDIA Media behavior is also a critical source of offline data for developing high-performing social campaigns. By utilizing TV in combination with social ads, Performics helped a telecom brand delivered an exceptional campaign to capture second-screening consumers. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

12 OFFLINE & ONLINE DATA: TV SYNC A telecom brand went heavy with traditional broadcast, hoping that a television presence would help gain the awareness it needed. Using 4C Social Sync, the Performics team constructed social campaigns to hit the telecom brand s target demographic at the right time with the right message. When the telecom brand s commercials aired, similar-themed but not identical creative was served in social. For its conquesting campaign, a cut down version of the brand s TV social creative would serve during competitor s commercial spots across Facebook and Twitter. Brand campaigns saw a 27% higher CTR and a 51% improvement in CPC. Conquesting campaigns drove a 22% improvement in CPC and a 25% better CPE on Facebook. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

13 RESPONSIVE CREATIVE More data sources are improving the ability of social ads to reach specific audiences in defined contexts. This capability is driving creative that will adapt to the context of the consumer. As a result, brands will need resources that will enable them to leverage their creative assets with flexibility. I see social ads working cross functionally across several platforms. One of the biggest issues for clients creating assets are the different social platforms and ad units they have to customize their specs to. LOUIS GUERRERO, SUPERVISOR, SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook s Dynamic Ads for Real-Estate listings are an example of how creative can be responsive to the consumer context and need. For the first time, Facebook has brought Dynamic Ads to Real- Estate Listings which is changing the way real-estate clients can run media to re-engage consumers on Facebook/Instagram. People who have viewed home listings but have not yet requested to contact an agent or schedule a showing can now be re-engaged with relevant messaging and imagery in-feed. JERI KRASNOFF, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Additionally, as social media becomes more immersive and seamlessly connected to the real world, brands must develop content that engages people s senses and responds to their needs. Brands should prepare for a new social and search world. Optimization of ads and experiences must move from best practices around plain text to best practices around full senses sight and voice, states Scott Shamberg, President, Performics. Video is leading the way when it comes to content that stimulates the senses, including on Pinterest. Auto-play video on Pinterest has just been released and advertisers are finally able to capture people s intent on Pinterest with sight, sound and motion. AMY DARWISH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SOCIAL MEDIA & NICOLE GARTLAND, SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERVISOR The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

14 VISUAL INSIGHTS Social content, which historically has been text-based, is becoming increasingly visual. 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. Emily Kramer, Senior Director, Media Services, Merkle explains, Facebook s use of AI to enhance ad experience through contextualization of images and videos, and not just text, will continue to alter the way brands can engage with their customers. Pinterest has already rolled out many features for marketers looking to capitalize on visual intelligence. 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. In the next year or so, we ll likely start to see more consumer adoption of visual search as well as advertising opportunities to capitalize on the trend. SCOTT SHAMBERG, PRESIDENT The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

15 INTEGRATED VIDEO Social video is a must for any brand and with new formats, it is becoming less invasive and more engaging during the social experience. I can see more video to be used in the next 12 months. Native ads that are attractive to the user and not intrusive to their online experience, explains Bryan Benavides, Director of Digital Marketing, Abt. Premium video content is helping drive this trend. We're excited about the evolution of TV on social, says Amy Darwish, Associate Director, Social Media. 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 they are already active on. Advertisers are able to run in-stream video ads against the live & long-form video content on these platforms, and reach users that are truly tuned in. 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. Video sponsorship within original Twitter programming, like The Dugout for baseball fans, is a new and exciting opportunity for brands. ALEX STOLARSKI, SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERVISOR Video is an excellent storytelling format while its short format makes it unobtrusive when a consumer encounters an ad on platforms like Snapchat. Snapchat releasing Promoted Stories provides brands a new canvas for storytelling through short content. MASHA GAIDOUK, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Perhaps the most important feature that enables video to be unobtrusive is the detailed targeting that empowers brands to deliver relevant content to consumers on social. "Social will continue to become more about the source data of ad targeting based on people's behavior and interaction, and less about the ad products themselves. We've seen social platforms partnering with publishers on exclusive content, driving growth in pre-roll and mid-roll ad inventory that deviate from the many native ad units we've known as social ads within platforms like Facebook and Twitter," says Michael Pecci, Associate Director, Social Media, Resolution Media. The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

16 MASS PERSONALIZATION Being designed by real people and what we care about most is what makes social media incredibly powerful. These features are what enable brands to deliver personalized messages and do so at scale. Merkle s foundation is focused on people before channels, which enables us and our clients to create meaningful brand interactions instead of just serving ads. As the social landscape expands, we continue to see the importance of ensuring we provide quality content and experiences to people, not proxies. EMILY KRAMER, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MEDIA SERVICES Fusing media habits, offline behavior, interests, and brand preferences along with targeting criteria provides the intel needed to make mass personalization possible. Audience insights that we can get from social media channels (like Facebook) now have a direct influence on how creative is developed, explains Amy Darwish, Associate Director, Social Media and Maura McNulty, Social Media Supervisor, Resolution Media. Using the learnings of what the target audience is interested in, how they're behaving on and offline can help determine what the creative messaging approach is, so brands can reach people with an experience that is designed for them on a 1:1 basis. Artificial Intelligence is furthering the ability for brands to create personalized interactions across an audience of more than 2 billion people around the globe. Twitter has the ability to build custom units, like an interactive DM bot, and customized emoji's with automatic responses. It lets brands have 1:1 interactions with their audience at scale. MAURA MCNULTY, SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERVISOR The State of Social Advertising Q Page C Insights, Inc.

17 AUTHOR Bradley Harkrader SENIOR MANAGER MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS 4C ABOUT 4C 4C is a global leader in data science and media technology with solutions for multi-screen convergence. Brands, agencies, and media owners rely on the 4C Insights Affinity Graph to identify their most valuable audiences and improve effectiveness across channels. With more than $1 billion in annualized media spend running through its software-as-a-service platform, 4C offers activation on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat as well as TV Synced Ads across display, search, social, and video. The company also provides paid, earned, and owned media analytics leveraging its Teletrax television monitoring network which detects over 400 million TV asset airings on an annual basis. Founded in 2011 and based in Chicago, 4C has staff in 15 worldwide locations across the United States, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, and the Philippines. Visit for more information.