TBG Digital’s Q3 2012 Global Facebook Advertising Report Highlights Improved Ad Engagement and Savings for Advertisers

26-10-2012 — /europawire.eu/ — Advertisers are embracing Facebook’s Mobile and Desktop News Feed ad placements and users are finding brands’ amplified content highly engaging. These are the main takeaways from the latest Global Facebook Advertising Report compiled by independent Social Media specialist TBG Digital and verified by the University of Cambridge. This is the latest report examining the trends and changes in the performance of Facebook campaigns managed by TBG Digital which aims to help advertisers understand what works well on Facebook and what results they can expect.

For the first time, this quarter’s report provides analysis of Mobile and Desktop News Feed placements which are delivering strong CTR, as well as competitive ad costs. Delving deeper into the News Feed, TBG Digital analyzed the results of their clients’ Page Post Ads which amplify brand messaging within Mobile and Desktop News Feeds. Here, users provided engagement rates of 2%+.

The study which was based on 520 billion impressions in more than 190 countries for 282 clients from Q1 2011 to Q3 2012 demonstrates that, in the United States, Mobile News Feed ads are receiving Click Through Rates (CTR) that are 23 times higher than Facebook’s Desktop News Feed and Right Hand Side panel placement option. Interestingly, the report also shows that targeting both Mobile and Desktop News Feed together in the United States offers an even greater level of engagement with a CTR of 1.468%.

Whilst overall, Click Through Rates of the five major territories measured increased by 81% in the quarter, by far the largest increase has been seen in the United States with a 99% increase, followed by Canada which rose 37%. The United Kingdom and France both experienced a decrease in CTRs with -4% and -25% respectively.

Overall, Cost per Click dropped dramatically to 2010 levels during the quarter; Q3 2012 CPCs are only 5% more than Q2 2010’s CPCs. Additionally, after seeing CPC hit the dollar mark for the first time in the United States and Canada last quarter, this time around both countries saw a significant decrease with the United States dropping by 40% and Canada falling by 27%.

On a global level, the report shows that not only does Facebook continue to earn more from advertising, but also that ad engagement has increased dramatically in the past year.

The report is available here
Headlines in this quarter’s report include:

– Advertisers make huge savings in the United States and Canada
– CTR almost doubles in the United States in one quarter
– Advertisers in the United States are making the most of News Feed
– Facebook users find Page Post Ads highly engaging

Additional findings from the Q3 report include the following:

Post Page Ads on Mobile are proving extremely popular

Page Post Ads are proving popular with users with CTRs much higher than average on the network. On Mobile News Feeds CTR is 2.49% and 2.176% when targeting “Desktop + Mobile News Feed” placements. Interestingly, the lowest CPCs for Post Page Ads are available when targeting “Desktop + Mobile News Feed” together.

Simon Mansell, CEO of TBG Digital, commented: “The key takeaways from this quarter’s results are the success of both News Feed and Mobile. Combined, the two are really driving engagement from consumers and therefore bringing down CPCs for advertisers. Of course, the measurables we monitor in this report are only part of the picture as our team’s main focus is to move the metrics that matter to our client’s businesses. We generally optimize to sales, advocacy or awareness.”

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