Advertisers spent 47 percent more year over year on social ads in the second quarter of 2016, as per a research study by Kenshoo.  The study was carried out for campaigns with 550 billion impressions, 11 billion clicks across 20 categories for an estimated advertising spend of USD 6 billion spent during the last five quarters. Smartphones and tablets that are at 64 percent of the total spend make for 92 percent of all advertising spend. Smartphone advertising grew by 63 percent and product ads grew by 71 percent, leading to a total increase in search advertising spend of 10 percent year-over-year. Kenshoo’s study reinforces previous research showing that Facebook advertising makes search campaigns work harder. Adding Facebook Ads to search campaigns boosts campaign performance. Facebook ads are known to increase conversion rates and lower the cost of acquisition.

Key Insights

There was a 19 percent average increase in total conversions among the people who saw Facebook advertising compared with those who saw just paid search advertising. Advertisers looking at increasing campaign reach with Mobile first audiences should build social media advertising in their campaigns.
Among people who saw the Facebook ads in addition to the paid search ads, there was a 10 percent average decrease in cost per acquisition due to the increase in conversions.
Conversions increased as spending on Facebook ads rose, but there was a “sweet spot,” or minimum and maximum spend level on Facebook, to get the strongest performance at the least cost. Finding the Sweet Spot for your social ad campaigns can help advertisers maximize ROI from search and advertising campaigns.