Social Media Ad Spend Bounces Back in Q2 After Initial Pandemic Downturn, Reports Socialbakers

NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Socialbakers, the leading unified social media marketing platform, today released a comprehensive report on Social Media Trends for Q2 2020. The report reveals the latest online marketing trends and paid advertising changes as brands around the world adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key insights from Socialbakers' Q2 data include a return toward pre-pandemic levels in areas such as advertising budgets and cost-per-click (CPC) for paid ads. One significant development is an increase in the use of organic video content on social media platforms, which offers marketers a high engagement rate with an audience that is working remotely or otherwise locked down at home during the pandemic.

"Q2 was a dynamic quarter from a marketing perspective. We saw paid advertising bounce back and CPC increase as businesses started to return to normal across most regions and industries," said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO, Socialbakers. "We saw a dip in ad spend in early June, most notably in the US, which corresponds to #BlackoutTuesday. However, ad spend returned to normal almost immediately. There was another dip in ad spend at the end of June, which was likely related to the ad boycotts that could also affect figures in Q3 2020."

Ad spend rises, moves toward pre-pandemic levels

Around the world, social media ad spend increased significantly in Q2 2020. Every industry analyzed by Socialbakers showed an increase in ad spend over the last three months. However, there were instances when ad spend temporarily declined, likely due to the social movements #BlackoutTuesday and the Facebook ad boycott. The impact of the Facebook ad boycott hit hardest in North America, where spend decreased by 31.6% in the final two weeks of Q2.

Cost-per-click rises worldwide, but still lag year-over-year

Worldwide, the average cost-per-click for paid ads increased by 55.3% in Q2 2020, after reaching its highest point in early March before the pandemic really hit. Across all brand accounts, CPC rose by 42.7% in Q2 to $0.107. However, in the main feeds CPC still shows a decline year over year, meaning the opportunity still exists for brands that have the budget to make their message reach a wider audience than it normally would. 

Video content grows, shows great potential

Amidst the backdrop of the pandemic in March 2020, video content began to surge on social media platforms. Twitter, with over 20% of tweets from brand pages, has the highest percentage of video content compared to Facebook and Instagram. In addition, the use of Facebook Live increased by 126% over the last four months. Facebook Live was by far the most engaging format on the platform in Q2.

The Socialbakers Social Media Trends Report Q2 2020 is now available for download at no cost.

Media contact:
Claire Wilson
[email protected]

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