Facebook and Instagram are still the crème de la crème when it comes to social media ad spend thanks to its tremendous scale and unmatched targeting capabilities, according to media buyers. However, platforms like TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat have upped the ante with their own offerings. Advertisers are starting to take notice.

Media buyers say platforms like LinkedIn, Triller, Twitch and Reddit have audiences that are too niche to cater to mass scale general audiences.

To get a sense of the landscape ahead of the fourth quarter, Digiday spoke with five social media experts and media buyers, who shared their thoughts on the current social media landscape, weighing on who’s winning big this year and who will take the crown in 2022.

Leaders

Facebook and Instagram

Ever since Facebook introduced its ad system in 2007, it’s been the gold standard when it comes to social media advertising. With its robust interest targeting, first and third party data, conversion and other offerings, it’s an offering that would make any media buyer salivate. That deal only got sweeter when it purchased Instagram in 2012.

But for the first time in a long time, Facebook and Instagram have challengers as more advertisers are moving dollars around to diversify ad spend in hopes to become less reliant on Facebook’s targeting. Per media buyers, this is predominately due to Apple’s recent crackdown on tracking and data privacy with the introduction of iOS14.

But even with those changes, and as more platforms, like Snapchat and TikTok, continue to improve ad product offerings and grow its user base, Facebook and its properties will continue to dominate the paid social space, according to media buyers.

“Even though platforms have remained pretty much walled gardens, Facebook does have more hookups and the ability to track it better,” said the first media buyer Digiday spoke with who requested anonymity. “So you do generally see greater ROI just because the pipes are more connected.”

Snapchat

Over the last few years, Snapchat has managed to find its footing in the social media ecosystem, creating a better pitch to advertisers after betting big on its Gen Z audience and direct response capabilities. Media buyers say they’re seeing a massive resurgence in interest in the platform, especially amongst direct-to-consumer brands. Gaming and app-based brands are also taking interest, “because Snapchat drives that crucial performance element better for them than other channels, especially via its full-screen non-skippable story ads in its Discover section, which have excellent watch time/engagement rates,” said Timo Armoo, founder and CEO of social media and influencer marketing agency Fanbytes.

The Gen Z-focused platform …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron