Emplifi’s Q3 report shows ad spend connected to the accommodation industry experiencing 94 percent growth year-over-year DUBAI: Emplifi, a customer experience (CX) and social media marketing company, has released its “State of Social Media and CX” report for the third quarter of 2021, analyzing paid and organic brand efforts on social media. Ad spend on Facebook and Instagram increased 33.32 percent year-over-year (YoY) in the Middle East during Q3, compared with 43.4 percent globally, and 7.38 percent between Q2 and Q3 in the Middle East, compared with 10.5 percent globally. Brand spending on Facebook’s News Feed in the region was 21.48 percentage points higher than spending on Instagram’s News Feed. The increase in Facebook ad investment by marketers represents a clear sign of the times, with ad spend connected to the accommodation industry experiencing 94 percent growth year-over-year as countries reopen their borders and travel resumes across the globe. Etihad Airways had the top three performing posts on Facebook, generating 1,605,310 interactions, while Emirates has the best performing post on Instagram with 402,479 interactions. Looking at the region by industry, the retail category (19.2 percent) topped the total interactions of brand pages on Facebook, while the e-commerce category (26.9 percent) led the way on Instagram. As ad spend increased, advertising costs also continued to climb with Cost-Per-Clicks (CPCs) reaching their highest level since late 2020. In the Middle East, the highest CPC was on Facebook’s Instream Video, while the lowest CPC was recorded across Facebook Video posts, Facebook News Feed, and Instagram Stories. When it comes to organic content, the report found that Facebook’s Instream Live Videos generated three times more engagement for brands compared to other types of posts globally. “While it’s true brands are having to invest more of their advertising dollars to reach consumers across social media platforms, there are still massive opportunities for B2C advertisers when it comes to using Live video within their social media marketing and social commerce initiatives,” said Zarnaz Arlia, Emplifi’s chief marketing officer. Live video is a new way for brands to connect with audiences, she said, although the format remains underutilized in the Middle East. Globally too, Facebook Instream Video attracts only the fifth largest ad spend (4.8 percent). For the brands that do go live on Facebook, those in the beauty and e-commerce industries generated the highest number of comments and interactions. Relative post interactions for brand accounts on both Facebook and Instagram have been trending down since Q3 2020 with both platforms seeing about 60 percent of the median post interactions they saw at the time. The report also highlights the trend of social commerce. The growth of e-commerce and social media usage, fueled by the pandemic, saw both channels come together to give birth to social commerce. In 2021, 65 percent of Americans discovered or bought products directly on social media, according to an Ipsos study. “Consumers want a seamless shopping experience, from product discovery through purchase, and social commerce enables brands to sell their products directly in an app where the consumer is already shopping,” Arlia said. “The brands that understand the value in meeting customers where they are — on social platforms — will gain a significant competitive edge in the coming months,” she said.