Emplifi reveals 50% increase in Facebook & Instagram ad spending

Emplifi reveals 50% increase in Facebook & Instagram ad spending in its “State of Social Media and CX” report, highlighting key data points for social media advertising spent in industry and regions, organic post performance, influencer marketing and CX trends for Q2 2021. Emplifi’s figures show that over 50 percent year-on-year expenditures on Facebook and Instagram increased in Q2, while overall reach of the Facebook ad decreased to 12.4 percent. The report also examines the rates of IGTV performance and found that IGTV videos have almost as well as photo-based posts and a higher commitment rate than standard Instagram video posts.

The 2021 Middle East report for Q2 reports that Emplifi’s majority of related brand ad spending in Q2 was on Feeds from Facebook (53.4 percent), followed by feeds from Instagram (17.7 percent), and stories from Instagram (11 percent ). Data show that the retail category dominated the number of brand pages interacting with Facebook (23%) and telecommunications (16,7%) and airlines in the Middle East (13.5 percent ). The highest number of Instagram interactions (22.9%), followed closely by e-commerce, ensured retail brand pages (21.4 percent ).

“The ongoing increase in social media ad spend is proving to be more than just a pandemic-related ‘bounce-back’ scenario. More and more brands are relying on social media marketing to engage with their audiences meaningfully and at scale,” said Zarnaz Arlia, Chief Marketing Officer, Emplifi.

Also added, “Social commerce and the formats which support it are also becoming more prevalent as the year goes on. As more brands recognize the value of live streaming and start to leverage more live content to cater to users at different stages of the customer journey.”

The report of Emplifi also includes trends in influential marketing. While the rise in the number of posts sponsored during the beginning of the pandemic has shown global and Middle East recovery in the second half of 2020, activity plateau has been dramatic in the first half of 2021. This decrease could mean the end of the recovery period and stabilisation of marketing expenditure for influence.

“As more and more consumers begin to expect a brand’s social media channels to facilitate outstanding customer experiences across many stages of the customer journey, the importance of engagement and interaction data is taking on a greater significance. What we’re seeing is that an engaging and responsive social media presence is no longer just a “nice-to-have” for consumer facing brands, it’s a key point of differentiation,” said Arlia.

Another important insight into the report is that social media users engage in live video much more than traditional content. In fact, the most organic post-interactions have been achieved by Faceta Live videos – a trend observed globally and in the Middle East – and three times the engagement levels of standard videos, although they represent less than 1 percent of brand posts.

“A strong and engaging social media presence will increasingly impact how brands operate and how well they perform, particularly in the Middle East, with its young, tech-savvy population who leverage social media for everything from shopping to socializing. As the growth of social commerce continues to rise, brands that leverage the opportunities social media presents to offer their customers interactive experience are more likely to win the hearts and minds of consumers and see a stronger impact on their business in the long-term,” said Arlia.

Overall, the data also suggests that the gap between Instagram profile participation and Facebook profiles (Feeds and Comments on postings published in brands). The Instagram profile interactions were 4.4x higher in Q2 2020 than on Facebook profiles. In the second quarter of 2021, this gap only increased to 6.35x. These data show that Instagram profiles showed a similar trend in the Near East in the past year, with 5.4 times more participation than Facebook profiles, although they had a lesser audience.

Qatar Airways was Facebook’s top brand page with a total of 3,197,457 interactions on 157 posts in the second half, while Filimo took first place on Instagram and interacts with 5,218,243 on 395 posts. In the hospitality sector, Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, which saw 215,199 interactions on 99 posts, has had the highest level of interaction on Facebook, while Burj Al Arab has achieved the highest level on Instagram, with 238,529 posts on 28 posts.