Smartly.io “State of Social Advertising Report” Reveals Increased Multi-Platform Approach and Need for Automation

51% of marketers say half or more of marketing budgets are dedicated to social media ads, with 43% already advertising on TikTok

Smartly.io, the leading social advertising automation platform for creative and performance marketers, today announced new research outlining how changes resulting from the global pandemic will impact ad spend and strategies on social media platforms in 2022. Smartly.io’s third annual “State of Social Advertising Report” surveyed 100 leaders across the eCommerce, retail, gaming, travel and financial services industries. The report examined year-over-year findings while exploring new trends that will continue to inform social advertising and marketing plans in 2022.

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“We aren’t surprised to see more brands diversify their ad spend across multiple social platforms”

Diversification among social media platforms is key for advertising effectiveness

With today’s consumers using an average of eight social media platforms, a multi-platform approach is essential for long-term success. Advertisers have clearly realized this need – 51% of respondents note half or more of their overall marketing budgets are allocated to social media advertising, with those budgets being diversified across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter and more. Facebook is still a leader, with 98% of advertisers buying ads from the platform. However, we are seeing marked growth from others – 94% of advertisers use Instagram (up from 90% last year) and 88% use YouTube. TikTok has clear power as an emerging social platform, with a 9% increase, jumping from 34% last year to 43% this year – nearly half of all advertisers are already spending on TikTok.

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“We aren’t surprised to see more brands diversify their ad spend across multiple social platforms,” said Riikka Söderlund, Global Director of Marketing at Smartly.io. “As more touchpoints become available, the consumer journey becomes more fragmented, making it even harder to predict and capture consumer attention. In light of this, and as capabilities and offerings across social media expand, we are seeing a multi-platform approach take center stage this year. This combined with increased interest in automating at least parts of the social advertising process will help advertisers expand their reach in order to meet customers at every step and stage of their journey and communicate a cohesive brand story.”

ROAS drives shifting ad spend allocations

In 2022, many companies plan to increase advertising spend on social platforms, even more than they did last year. While Facebook is still a leader for many brands, with 87% of respondents saying they will increase ad spend there, Instagram saw the biggest year-over-year jump – from 38% to 73%. Again, underscoring the rise of TikTok, 18% of respondents note they will increase spend on this platform — an 8% increase from last year.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) is also driving a clear shift in how marketers choose to allocate ad budgets on social media. For the second year in a row, Instagram has emerged the winner when it comes to seeing the best ROAS from social ads (46%), up 4% from last year. As advertisers see ROAS, they are allocating budgets accordingly — driving further diversification among platform spend.

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