The rollout of Apple’s iOS14.5 update in 2021 focused on consumer privacy more than ever before, leading to a shift in the social advertising landscape. With changes impacting targeting and tracking features, many brands are seeing diminishing results, in particular on Facebook Ads. So, what other paid advertising channels should you test in 2022?
Social ads are an effective way to get your brand in front of your target audience, build brand awareness and drive conversions. With iOS14 changes, performance marketers are diversifying their performance marketing mix to test new channels and create a more omnichannel approach to combat some of the impacts we’re seeing.
So, which are the most valuable social platforms and ad formats to best serve your business in 2022? And should Facebook Ads still be part of your performance marketing mix?
In this article, we’ll take you through our recommended tactics to test across 5 social media platforms, including Facebook & Instagram, to keep your social ads strategy driving results for your business.
TikTok In-App Shopping Experiences Gives New Opportunities
TikTok is the fastest growing platform of the moment, with user growth showing no sign of slowing in 2022. It’s forecasted that TikTok is set to rank as the third-largest social network this year, following the 40.8% increase in growth in 2021.
What does this mean for performance marketers? With 61% of marketers planning to increase their investment in TikTok advertising in 2022, it’s time to bring your content A-game to this platform. Your TikTok advertising needs to match the specific content that users are looking for – use targeting options to put your most engaging video content in front of the right eyes.
Recently, TikTok announced a native integration with Shopify.
Alex McCann, Performance Marketing Operations Lead, says “Rolling out in 2022, Shopify has introduced a native integration with TikTok to provide seamless in-app shopping experiences. The ecommerce giant putting in the resources to develop this native integration shows the value they see in the platform and its ability to power social commerce”.
While the launch of in-app shopping features lends TikTok to being a valuable part of your performance marketing mix, it’s important to remember how audiences are using this channel – to discover and be entertained. Along with other channels, TikTok can play a large role in fostering connection and creating brand awareness for a full-funnel approach.
The takeaway: leverage impactful, highly relevant content to transform TikTok users into ecommerce customers directly from the app.
Facebook & Instagram to Still Play a Part
Alex McCann says that, despite the impacts on Facebook Ads performance and the growth of other platforms, Facebook should still form part of your paid marketing mix. With 9.12% of Facebook Ads converting users, it’s still the highest converting platform on the market and can be a key channel to build brand awareness beyond action-based campaigns.
We recommend looking at a full-funnel attribution approach to maximise Facebook & Instagram in 2022 – this channel can not only generate bottom of funnel performance but also build brand awareness, maintain top-of-funnel exposure and support reach or action strategies. Consider integrating this tactic while diversifying into other social channels to gear your brand for better returns in the long term.
McCann says “Despite TikTok rising in popularity in 2021, Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads still lead the way in social advertising. Holding the most sophisticated ads platform of all social media channels means they are at the forefront of the industry, pushing the boundaries of social advertising”.
In particular, Instagram Reels are now a shoppable channel, meaning that ecommerce businesses can promote and sell products directly via Reels. As 81% of people use Instagram to discover new products and services, and 87% of users take action after viewing product information, this is a channel to hero in 2022. On IG Reels, users can view products, save the post for later or directly purchase in-app.
The takeaway: for optimal performance, continually test your Facebook & Instagram Ads strategy to find where it best supports your brand in the customer’s journey. McCann recommends that “while diverting ad funds to other growing platforms can elevate your 2022 strategy, Facebook Ads should still form a part of your paid advertising mix”.
Youtube TrueView for Shopping to Close the Awareness to Action Gap
Owned by Google, the platform is consistently rolling out more effective YouTube ad formats for marketers to leverage. Our top pick for 2022? The recently rolled out feature makes video ads more shoppable.
YouTube has often been deemed the most popular platform for influencer promotion, and the roll-out of this ad format works seamlessly with influencer marketing. It’s found that 89% of viewers trust the recommendations YouTube creators provide. The recent evolution of expanding product feed integration to all video ad types allows users to discover brands and products at the same time – making the jump between awareness and action more seamless.
Amy Scott, Performance Marketing Director, says “These updates open up a world of opportunity for YouTube advertising to play a key role in the performance marketing mix. We can now engage audiences not only with rich content but also foster new and repeat purchases with relevant products and strong calls to action directly within the video ad. This helps to close the gap between discovery and conversion”.
The takeaway: incorporate TrueView Product Feeds beside hyper-relevant product review videos or influencer partnership content for boosted campaign conversions.
Reload’s Results:
Utilising a TrueView for Shopping campaign for our ecommerce client Dineamic, our Performance Marketing team secured over 500k impressions and 66k video views with a direct campaign ROAS of 140%.
Pinterest for Cost-Efficient Acquisition
Well known for its organic presence, Pinterest has stepped up its paid social advertising game in 2022. With rising acquisition costs across other major platforms, using Pinterest can be an incredible way to diversify your paid ads strategy and lower the cost of acquisition.
We’re at a time where the death of third-party cookies is forcing brands to rethink personalisation, and Pinterest provides an opportunity to build and connect with a community of like-minded audiences. Investing in Pinterest ads can put your ecommerce brand in front of users who are consciously searching for fresh brands and products – 77% of Pinners have discovered a new brand on the app.
Maddie Howe, Senior Digital Marketing Consultant, outlines that “Pinterest can tap into high-intent audiences who are actively searching for hyper-related content. One of our clients in the wellness space saw a keyword prospecting audience drive an 11x ROAS in the final quarter of 2021”.
The takeaway: Pinterest has a unique distinction over other platforms, allowing marketers to tap into high-intent audiences with a low cost of acquisition. As Pinterest is frequently adding ecommerce focused features (such as a product feed option), it makes the jump from inspo to purchase streamlined for potential customers.
Reload’s Results:
In a 2-week campaign test run for Henne, Pinterest Ads proved to be extremely cost-effective and impactful – Pinterest ads ran 22% cheaper than TikTok and 115% more affordable than YouTube ads in reaching users (as calculated via CPM).
LinkedIn Objective-Led Ads for B2B
Lastly, LinkedIn holds a comprehensive network of professionals – making it the optimal platform of choice for B2B marketers in 2022. Specifically, paid advertising on LinkedIn can increase a user’s purchase intent by 33%.
Utilising zero-party data that users have volunteered to curate their profile, LinkedIn ads allow you to target the right professional audience for your objective. You can harness location, job titles, education, interests and more to develop a super-relevant audience.
You can run LinkedIn ads led by goals and objectives such as brand awareness, website visits, video views and more. By building your campaign around a clear objective, LinkedIn Ads Manager can suggest the best-suited ad format.
The takeaway: the powerful combination of LinkedIn’s zero-party data and objective-led campaigns can place your offering in front of a professional audience ready to engage.
Craft a Killer 2022
Performance Marketing Strategy
Looking to harness these social advertising platform opportunities to boost your business in 2022? Reload’s Performance Marketing Agency experts can deliver optimal campaigns to drive results that matter most to you and align the right social channels based on your unique and ideal audience.
