In a bid to push back against the way Facebook has been handling misinformation and controversial speech on its platform, July saw a number of big brands putting a stop to their spending on Facebook ads. The boycott that started with a handful of companies was soon joined by over 400 companies comprising both small businesses, that make up the bulk of Facebook’s advertisers, and large global companies, like Adidas, Coca Cola, Best Buy, and other notable brands, that spend millions of dollars a year on the platform.
After a tepid response and lack of action, Facebook executives eventually agreed to meet with the civil rights organizations spearheading this movement, but they, unfortunately, fell short of satisfying the demands of concerned advertisers. As brands look ahead to the second half of 2020 and consider their next steps, they're likely to explore a couple of familiar options: 1) go back to investing in ads on Facebook, or 2) continue to shift their budgets to traditional programmatic channels like standard display advertising.
However, these options are not without their drawbacks. While US consumers are currently spending a whopping 13.5 hours per day engaging with digital media (eMarketer, 2020), they're only spending 37 minutes per day on Facebook, down 8% from 2018 (eMarketer, 2019). Standard banner advertising is witnessing a similar fate. While the average CTR for standard display in 2016 was 0.72%, it dropped to nearly half (0.35%) in 2019 (Hubspot, 2019).
Here at Spaceback, we believe advertisers deserve a third option, one that gives them the best of both worlds across social and display advertising: a new channel we call Social Display.
As the name suggests, Social Display brings together the experience of social media marketing and the efficient reach of display advertising. It essentially allows you to take great content from social platforms like Facebook, and distribute it across a much wider slice of the Internet through standard display placements - giving you the same targeting controls and performance metrics you're accustomed to on Facebook.
With Facebook ads, you are only tapping into a small portion of your audience present on Facebook; if they're not on Facebook, you're not going to reach them. Spaceback's Social Display solution integrates with leading DSPs, such as Google Display & Video 360, MediaMath, and others, to offer massive scale among your target audiences, allowing you to fill the sizable gaps between Facebook (including Instagram) and everywhere else on the Web.
While brands’ social media managers are working around the clock to produce more relevant and timely content, its reach and impact are usually limited to the walled gardens of social networks. With Social Display, you can showcase your best performing social content to audiences outside of Facebook and drive additional engagement, extending the rich experiences people love while ensuring you get the most bang for your buck.
Syndicating your brand's social media posts through Social Display allows audiences to interact with the creatives the same way they would on their native platforms: likes, shares, and clicks to a landing page.
Another big advantage of using Social Display is the liberty to use your social content as it exists on social media. This lets you break through display ad clutter and combat banner blindness to provide a better, more organic user experience. With Social Display, you can publish your ad in the form of familiar social media experiences, such as a Facebook post, a Pinterest Pin, an IG story, a carousel post, and other engaging formats.
Presenting your brand in a uniquely authentic way, and offering strong validation in the form of social proof, this new hybrid channel "out-performs standard display ads 99% of the time across a range of metrics up and down the funnel: brand lift, click-through rate, and consideration," according to Spaceback CEO Casey Saran.
TheRealReal found Social Display to be 5x more effective than standard banners. Similarly, Netherrealm Gaming saw a 165% increase in CTR over traditional display media.
While the Facebook network has historically worked well for advertisers, the Facebook boycott has prompted marketers to consider new options for their media planning. Both social media and display networks offer returns on a brand’s KPIs, but social display truly combines the best of both worlds to not only get the brand a better return on investment but also provide a much better experience to the end-user.
Want to take advantage of Social Display for your next campaign? Bring together the power of your social media with the efficiencies of programmatic display, and deliver better results. Learn more from the industry leaders in the Social Display advertising space. Contact Spaceback today to get started.
