Why Cheap X Ad Costs is Actually a Bad Thing and Where Marketers Should Pivot To
Across numerous reports, X (formerly known as Twitter) ad costs have significantly decreased. Normally, this is a positive trend for marketers, as lower costs typically mean higher results. In X’s case, unfortunately, a decrease in results is also seen. Year-over-year, X’s CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) has dropped by 38% and, during the same period, had a 54% decrease in CTR (click-through rate). For those who aren’t as knowledgeable in social media advertising, this is a huge red flag.
Not only do advertisers on X have to pay more for their ad to be seen, but they’re also getting a significantly reduced return on ad spend (ROAS). Due to these atrocious metrics and a certain change in ownership, advertisers have run as far away from X. So, that leaves the question: where are advertisers spending their money?
Digital Marketing
Capture Leads, Generate Sales & Find New Customers
Capturing relevant information about customers, fans, followers, and friends enable us to create more personalized interactions. In turn, we can better understand how to provide the best possible experience for our target audience.
Best Social Media Platforms for ROAS in 2024
Meta is still the #1 social media platform when it comes to users and advertisers. In fact, 60% of all ad buy was spent on Facebook and Instagram, whereas only 5% was spent on X. In the year prior, X’s ad share was 12% and 13% in 2021. While Meta remained at the top, there has been a significant year-over-year increase in ad buy on TikTok, going from 4% to 8% to 14% since 2021. Now that we know where advertisers are spending their money, let’s look at what return they are getting.
From 2022 to 2023, Instagram saw a 19% increase in CPMs and a 219% increase in CTRs. During the same time, TikTok’s CPMs also increased by 19%, with a slightly lower CTR increase of only 13%. While every brand and marketer is fighting for space in these highly saturated platforms, there’s one underrated underdog that should be considered in any D2C marketing strategy: Pinterest.
Why D2C Brands Should Advertise on Pinterest
Pinterest has had huge successes for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, despite the platform only having an average 7% share of social media ad buys since 2021. Since Pinterest has launched a new advertising space designed specifically for shoppable content, the platform’s average CTR has increased by 426%. As the platform’s primary use functions like a search engine rather than a traditional social media model, it makes sense as to why it’s having huge increases across key performance indicators.
Unlike other social media platforms, users on Pinterest are mid-to-low-funnel when it comes to their consumer journey. They’re typically looking for inspiration, ideas, and tips to utilize in their own life. Especially for fashion, accessory, food, and retail brands, it makes sense to take advantage of Pinterest’s advertising space and incredibly high CTRs.
Capturing relevant information about customers, fans, followers, and friends enable us to create more personalized interactions.
How to Get Started with Pinterest Ads
If your brand is inexperienced when it comes to Pinterest Ads, it may be best to partner with an agency like Kraus Marketing. At Kraus, our team can create Pinterest-specific content that is sure to rank high in its algorithm and place your shoppable ads in front of the right users. The best advantage Kraus Marketing can give you is creating the strategy and content in-house, so you know the best creative is being published on behalf of your brand. To get started, contact us online.