The tigrz.paris team offers you an analysis of performance and costs on the Facebook ecosystem before, during & after lockdown in France. In summary, cheaper delivery costs and performance that holds up in acquisition even after lockdown ends. To identify the opportunities for your brand, see the end of the article to contact us. Same to see the methodology.
More time on the platform & fewer advertisers: CPMs fall during lockdown
The double effect of the increase in time spent on the Facebook ecosystem (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.) and the withdrawal of some large advertisers had an impact on delivery costs on the platform. We observe on average a 56% drop in CPM on e-commerce / acquisition campaigns between before lockdown and during lockdown. The average CPM fell to €3.05.
But business performance is there, with boosts on conversion rates & purchase costs
But the period also goes hand in hand with strong campaign performance. Indeed, click-through rate, whatever the sector and activity, gained on average nearly 37% in performance. Only B2B universes seem less buoyant, with growth of 9% on average.
Logically, visit costs fall under the effect of lower CPMs & higher CTRs, with an average drop of 145% in cost per page loaded. This was a real windfall for advertisers, allowing them to drive qualified, re-engageable traffic across all levers at lower cost.
Conversion is also very sustained, with an increase of nearly 60% on average in conversion rates (CVR). CPAs are thus largely down across all sectors regardless of activity or target.
Lockdown easing inflates delivery costs but business performance holds at a very high level
Lockdown easing had a direct effect on campaigns, in the same way as what was observed during the isolation period. CPMs thus rose by 45% in mid-May vs mid-April, returning to a level almost similar to pre-Covid but still remaining slightly cheaper (-6% vs before lockdown).
Traffic performance is also down, with a CPLPV (cost per landing page view) that doubles over the during / after lockdown period but remains 89% less expensive than in mid-March. It is on the sales performance side that it remains very interesting, with a conversion rate that on average does not follow the same trend, since the drop is only 25% between during & after lockdown and an optimisation vs early 2020 that is 88% above the “norm”.
Business transformation remains sustained and acceleration on acquisition via Social must continue
Lockdown easing results in a predictable inflation of delivery costs on Facebook & Instagram, even though costs remain cheaper than before the crisis period. However, what stands out above all is the very good hold of conversion rates from Social to e-commerce platforms. Audiences remain, to date, faithful to their new digital purchasing behaviours.
This underlines the McKinsey study “Recovery will be digital”: the acceleration of advertisers’ digital and marketing transformation will continue after lockdown. Social can be an opportunity to support the exit from the crisis, notably thanks to the fineness of the audiences that can be worked, the scripting of journeys and the cross-lever approach to close sales.
Do you want to study the business potential of your online activity? Request a first audit of your ecosystem by our experts.
Methodology & scope:
The tigrz.paris teams built a panel of 20 campaigns of e-commerce advertisers, or advertisers with an e-commerce activity, in B2B & B2C universes, running continuously on Facebook since the start of the year in France, over three periods:
- Before lockdown, 9 to 15 March inclusive
- During lockdown, 20 to 26 April inclusive
- After lockdown, 11 to 17 May inclusive
The study of this data makes it possible to identify dynamics close in nature and magnitude and to grasp an overall trend between the three periods. The whole analysis is carried out on this scope and the lessons are to be understood according to this methodology and its limits.
Going further. This topic continues with tigrz’s Media Performance expertise.
On the same topic: « Should you invest in social networks during covid-19? Risks and opportunities. » and « Social CRM: how to retain the new customers and audiences acquired during lockdown? ».
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