The steady increase in advertising spending on social media points to more than just a “rebound” from the pandemic, according to Emplifi. The findings from CX’s unified platform underscore how brands are increasing their investment in social platforms to improve the customer experience and drive social commerce.
The company released the report “State of Social Networks and CX” , in which it provides information for the second quarter of 2021 on advertising investment in social networks by sector and by region, the performance of organic publications, the influencer marketing and CX trends.
The data analyzed shows that global ad spend on Facebook and Instagram increased 50% year-on-year during the second quarter, while the reach of ads on Facebook decreased 12.4% globally.
The study also looked at IGTV performance rates, finding that IGTV videos performed almost as well as photos or images, and generated more engagement or interaction compared to traditional video posts on Instagram.
“The continued rise in social media ad spend is proving to be more than a pandemic-related ‘rebound’ scenario. More and more brands are relying on social media marketing to engage with their audiences in a meaningful way. and on a large scale, “says Zarnaz Arlia, Emplifi’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Social commerce and the platforms that support it have been consolidated over time.
Today, more brands recognize the value of live streams, and make better use of live content to connect with their users at different stages of their journey, such as client”. The report includes information on trends in influencer marketing and organic content on social media.
For example, the number of brand posts with the hashtags #Pride and #PrideMonth doubled in 2021 from the previous year, a clear indicator that advertisers are redoubling their efforts to better connect with audiences through more empathetic messages.
“More and more consumers expect a brand’s social media to provide a memorable CX at any stage of their journey or journey as a customer, making engagement or interaction data more important.
What we are seeing is that Having a relevant and responsive presence on social networks is no longer just a “nice to have” for brands aimed at the final consumer, but that presence is today a critical differentiating factor, “said Arlia.
Another important fact is that Facebook live videos (FB Live) obtained the highest number of interactions in organic publications and tripled the interaction rates of standard videos, but they represent less than 1% of the publications of the brands.
Social media users connect much more with live video than with traditional content. Finally, the report examines how social media marketing is helping to close the gap in customer experience.
