August 14, 2018: Amazon outspends all programmatic advertisers in Q1 2018, YouTube set to overtake Facebook as website with second-most traffic, organic reach for influencer-generated content on Facebook drops 23 percent, Facebook requires new authorization for page owners and Pinterest rolls out maximum width videos to all advertisers
Here’s what’s worth knowing this week:
Amazon’s Programmatic Ad Spending Is All The Way Up
The Story
Amazon is officially the biggest spender of programmatic advertising, alone accounting for 10% of the spend of the top 50 programmatic advertisers in Q1 2018. Amazon spent 1.5x more than Microsoft, the runner up.
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Behind the two front-runners, the top 10 programmatic advertisers for the quarter by spend are Wayfair, TaxAct, Charles Schwab, Weight Watchers, Sprint, Coors Light, Geico and Dell. It’s worth noting that, of the top 50 programmatic spenders in Q1 2017, 94% had programmatic placements in Q1 2018.
STC POV
Despite its automation, programmatic ad buying is still rough around the edges and, oftentimes, lacks transparency. Knowing ad prices are only going to get more expensive, where is the marketing whitespace? While CPMs are more expensive, most of the time you know they are seen. To gain efficiencies, marketers should work to collaborate with influencers to co-create and vet content and then amplify high-performing content with paid.
YouTube Passes Facebook In Website Traffic Race
The Story
YouTube is projected to overtake Facebook in the next few months as the website with the second-most traffic from U.S. visitors.
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In the past two years, YouTube has seen increased traffic and viewership, while Facebook’s page visits have declined from 8.5 billion to 4.7 billion. Google remains the most visited website with 15 billion visits in July 2018, though its share has declined with app use and voice search on the rise. Yahoo and Amazon round out the top five sites with the most traffic.
STC POV
This year, we’ve seen a push for original video content across all social platforms. From Facebook Watch to Instagram’s IGTV and YouTube’s Originals, it’s no surprise that by 2019, video is estimated to account for 80% of all consumer internet traffic. With 80% of brands planning to boost video spending in 2018, video has gone from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have” for marketers.
We also know that today’s consumers’ TV-watching habits have become increasingly digital. Pair this with platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram investing in new tools to create, test, and optimize video content and it’s easy to understand why many marketers have begun re-allocating their TV budgets to online channels.
Facebook’s IGC Efforts Take A Slap To The Face
The Story
Organic reach for Facebook influencer-generated content has dropped an average of 23% over the past year, according to a new report. The analysis looked at 50 influencer marketing campaigns across a variety of categories which were marked with FTC mandated hashtags.
The Numbers
Facebook reach declined across the entire spectrum of influence. Reach was lowest for influencers with more than 5 million followers at 4.2%, followed by those with between 2.5 million and 5 million at 4.4%. Reach was 5.6% for influencers with 1 million to 2 million followers, 6.5% for those with 200,000 to 1 million and 7.5% for those with fewer than 200,000. Instagram had the largest organic reach for influencers with 1 million to 2 million followers at 36.1%. Reach for all other influencers was around 21% to 26.7% on Instagram.
STC POV
With the introduction of branded content tags on FB, we’ve hypothesized that organic reach would inevitably decline, further emphasizing the need for amplification and repurposing of that content via paid media and other channels. Also, if you’re still using influencers for reach alone, you’re doing it wrong. We often emphasize how influencers, by definition, have such rich knowledge and customer empathy that not including them at the point of initial campaign research, ideation, strategy, and planning is a significant missed opportunity.
Facebook Launches Its Next Transparency Offensive
The Story
Facebook’s next stage of its transparency push is here. Now, users who manage ‘large’ Facebook Pages will be asked to go through a new authorization process before they’re given the ability to continue publishing posts on the Page.
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The new authorization process will prompt users who manage Pages with large potential reach to secure their account with two-factor authentication and confirm their primary country location. If a user does not complete the authorization by the deadline provided by the initial notification, the user will lose the ability to post as the Page.
STC POV
Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal that rocked Facebook’s world, Zuck & Co. have been pushing out updates to Pages with the goal of making them more transparent and efficient for businesses. With this new update, it will become easier to uncover fraudulent activity and individual or organizational accounts that mislead people about who they are or what they’re doing will be shut down.
Max-Width Video Touches Down on Pinterest
The Story
Pinterest has officially rolled out its maximum-width Promoted Videos to all advertisers on the platform. Regular videos at standard width are the same size as all other Pins on Pinterest, while videos at max-width are 4x bigger, spanning across Pinterest’s iconic two-column grid.
Why Should I Care?
With videos on Pinterest, bigger is certainly better. The platform has reported increased engagement rates for advertisers who use this format, as the ads themselves are much more eye-catching than traditional Promoted Video ads. Additionally, advertisers who used max-width ads saw more efficient costs-per-view and lifts in brand awareness metrics when compared to standard Promoted Video ads.
STC POV
While videos are not the primary medium on Pinterest, evidence suggests it is growing in popularity on the platform. Unlike on other platforms where video ads disrupt people as they’re trying to enjoy content from friends and family, Pinners say videos from brands add to the experience (1.6x), feel authentic (1.6x), and are higher quality on Pinterest compared to competitors (1.4x). Videos on Pinterest also drive action. Users are 2.7x more likely to make a purchase on Pinterest if they first see a brand video.
While Pinterest might not be right for every brand, if your audience is on Pinterest, you should be prioritizing it for influencer marketing as well. It has become the 5th most relevant brand for U.S. consumers, with 53% of Pinners considering their time well spent on the platform – higher than users of any other social platform.
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