Social CPM rises 41% to $6.37, pushing total spend higher

A 41% rise in the cost of social advertising drove total spend up in the second quarter of 2021, according to data from digital advertising company Skai.

Why it matters

Higher CPMs and a move away from direct response campaigns are a result of the launch of iOS 14.5, which limited the potential of ad targeting. Facebook has also reported higher ad costs driving its rise in advertising revenue, and the company expects growth to decelerate in the second half of 2021 for this reason.

Takeaways

• Total social advertising spend rose 41% in Q2 2021 and this was driven by higher ad costs - social CPM rose 41% to $6.37 while the number of impressions was flat year on year.
• Social advertisers are also shifting to less direct response-focused campaigns, with spend on brand awareness, traffic and reach objectives more than doubling.

Sourced from Skai, WARC Data