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Instagram offered paid advertising for the first time in November 2013. Brands had been present on the platform before that, but introducing ads marked the beginning of a process of gradually adding more and more promotional and shoppable features. And today, there are over 25 million brand accounts on Instagram, according to data from Brandwatch. Other social media platforms have followed (or are following) a similar trajectory, with Facebook and TikTok, for example, relying heavily on brand revenue. This year, TikTok made personalized ads mandatory for all users — meaning that no user can opt out of ads specifically targeted to their online behavior and preferences.
As social media advertising becomes more sophisticated, powered by ever-evolving data collection and analysis, the cost of that advertising also rises. In 2018, a UK report found that beauty brands make an ROI of £8.81 per £1 spent on influencer marketing, but more recent data on whether that ROI remains as strong is hard to come by. In fact, Just 30% of marketers say they can accurately collect ROI data from their influencer campaigns. This is far behind…