Salesforce Q3 Advertising Index Shows CRM-Powered Targeting Produces 27% Higher Engagement
In the brand new Q3 2015 Salesforce Advertising Index, we aggregated the performance of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter ads across more than two trillion ad impressions and 200 billion ad engagements managed by Salesforce Marketing Cloud customers from July 2015 to September 2015 to provide key insights for global advertisers.
A few key takeaways:
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Facebook CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) in seven key markets rose to $4.17 in Q3 2015.
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CRM-powered advertising had 27% higher engagement than traditional targeting.
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Instagram CPM was $5.94 across three major markets.
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Twitter Promoted Timeline Tweets CPM decreased 25% from Q2.
On Facebook, CPM in seven key markets rose to $4.17 in Q3, up from $1.90 in Q1 and $2.32 in Q2. CPC also rose to $0.42 from $0.24 in both Q1 and Q2. Despite the overall increase in CPM, CPM actually decreased in Germany and the U.K., falling 10% in both markets. In contrast, CPM increased by 21% in the U.S.
We introduced Q3 advertising index data for Brazil where the CPM was R$4.85 and New Zealand where it was NZ$4.06.
We wanted to dive deeper into the effectiveness of CRM-powered advertising, so we examined all website-click campaigns targeting people in the U.S., and separated them by three major targeting types:
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Traditional demographic targeting: ads targeted by attributes like age, gender, and interests
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Lookalike audience targeting: ads targeted to the people on Facebook who are the most similar to a CRM-based list of your own customers
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Custom Audience targeting: ads targeted to a specific group of people on Facebook selected through a CRM-based list of your own customers
CRM-powered advertising had 27% higher engagement, as measured by CTR (clickthrough rate) for Custom Audience campaigns, than traditional demographic targeting. Additionally, lookalike audience ads had a 7% higher engagement than traditional targeting. Traditional targeting had a lower CPM than Custom Audiences as it usually targets a much wider audience.
Instagram CPM was $5.94 across three major markets. Instagram advertising launched to global general availability in September 2015. Across three major markets in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, the CPM was $5.94 and the CTR was 0.92%. The U.S. had the highest CTR at 0.94%.
In 2016, sophisticated advertisers should focus on Instagram creative quality, as brands and agencies learn the different consumer behaviors and ROI potential of the platform.
Twitter Promoted Tweets continue to be highly engaging while decreasing in cost. On Twitter, the CPM for Promoted Timeline Tweets decreased from Q2 by 25%, while the CTR increased by 14%, both of which bode well for advertiser value on the platform. Twitter ads purchased on a cost-per-engagement (CPE) basis was only $0.22 for Promoted Timeline Tweets.
As Twitter continues to mature as an advertising platform, advertisers should focus on what specific engagements they need in addition to broad brand engagement.
Use marketing, sales, and service data in Salesforce to target your digital advertising and run campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.
