In March 2023, apparel and footwear was the industry with the highest click-through rate (CTR) for Facebook ads worldwide, at 2.06 percent. The lowest CTR was recorded for technology products and services, at 0.93 percent.

How is ad success measured?

Click-through rate - the number of times an ad clicked divided by the number of total views - is a commonly used measure to gauge the effectiveness of an online advertisement. In the second quarter of 2023, CTR for social networks stood at 1.36 percent. This marked an increase of 13 percent compared to the previous quarter. Cost-per-mille (CPM) - the price of each 1,000 views of ads on one web page - is another noteworthy metric to examine the success of an advertisement. In the second quarter of 2023, global social media ads' CPM was 5.33 U.S. dollars.

The most click-worthy industry: apparel

The most valuable brand from the industry with the highest CTR in 2023 was Oregon-based giant Nike, which had a brand value of roughly 75 billion dollars. Apparel companies have spent heavily on advertising not only to build immense brand awareness and value, but also to cater brand loyalty. For instance, U.S. apparel and accessory stores ad spend amounted to 531 million dollars in 2022. In the same year, the average consumer spend just for female apparel in the United States was around 730 dollars. As long as consumers keep clicking on ads for clothing and footwear items, the apparel industry’s ad spend can be expected to grow proportionately.

Recent evaluation of social media advertising metrics shows that the click-through rate (CTR) for social networks in the second quarter of 2024 reached 0.66 percent. A quarter earlier, it stood at 0.64 percent.

In 2019, social video ads published on Instagram had a clickthrough rate of 0.46 percent among 18-to-24-year-olds. YouTube video advertising had the lowest CTR compared to Instagram and Facebook among all age groups, and the latter publisher was the most successful in reaching senior consumers with video ads.

Among the countries/territories presented in the dataset, Facebook’s highest advertising cost-per-mille (CPM) was in the United States, valued at 35 U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2021. For comparison, the lowest CPM, one U.S. dollar, was recorded in Pakistan.
What are other Facebook advertising costs and metrics?
Cost-per-click (CPC) is another popular metric when it comes to advertising on the social platform. Globally, the average CPC on Facebook stood at 63 cents at the end of 2018 . Certain studies reveal that CPCs vary depending on the marketing campaign objective. This means that campaigns aiming at app installs, lead generation and product catalog sales are the most expensive, whereas campaigns targeting post engagement, messages and video views are on the opposite side of the spectrum. How does Facebook compare with other social media among marketers?
The majority of marketers indicate that Facebook is the most important social platform for their business, with a staggering 40 percent lead over LinkedIn and even Facebook’s own platform - Instagram. However, with recent data breaches Facebook has seen some decrease in growth. Its position is still strong enough that marketers increase their spending on the social network. However, Instagram seems to be overtaking the older brother, and more industry professionals are planning to increase investments in the photo sharing platform than in Facebook.

During the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in the United States, in mid-March 2020, brands had to pay on average close to 9 U.S. cents for a click on Facebook ads, while at the beginning of the year this cost amounted to 11 U.S. cents. In general Facebook advertising has become cheaper with the recent spike in usage of the platform influenced by COVID-19.

An online store in the united states on average spends US$1.19 per user clicking on a keyword they have paid for. In Switzerland the average cost per click is slightly lower with US$0.92. Basis for this analysis is every online store available on the ecommerceDB for which information on Cost per Click (CPC) is available (based on Searchmetrics data). The statistic indicates that especially online stores in financially strong as well as E-Commerce-affine countries must dig deeper into their pockets when an online shopper is directed to their store by an ad. This is comprehensible due to higher competition and the higher purchasing power of the inhabitants.Cost per ClickCost per Click is a payment model which is most common in online marketing. Marketing activities like ads, banners or links are paid this way. Costs are only incurred when someone clicks on one of those advertisements. This payment model is used by platforms like Google and Facebook. The price is determined by a formula (Facebook) or an auction (Google). More popular keywords therefore are more expensive.

A global survey conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023 found that the main reason for using social media was to keep in touch with friends and family, with over 49 percent of social media users saying this was their main reason for using online networks. Overall, 38 percent of social media users said that filling spare time was their main reason for using social media platforms, whilst 34.3 percent of respondents said they used it to read news stories. One in five users were on social platforms for the reason of following celebrities and influencers. The most popular social network Facebook dominates the social media landscape. The world's most popular social media platform turned 20 in February 2024, and it continues to lead the way in terms of user numbers. As of January 2024, the social network had over three billion global users. YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram follow, but none of these well-known brands can surpass Facebook’s audience size. Moreover, as of the final quarter of 2023, there were almost four billion Meta product users. Ever-evolving social media usage The utilization of social media remains largely gratuitous; however, companies have been encouraging users to become paid subscribers to reduce dependence on advertising profits. Meta Verified entices users by offering a blue verification badge and proactive account protection, among other things. X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Reddit also offer users the chance to upgrade their social media accounts for a monthly free.