TikTok on the rise as pressure grows on marketers from ‘ad-weary’ consumers
Marketers will have to work harder to get their ads noticed on social media in 2022 as consumers grow tired of being interrupted by brands.
Social media management firm Hootsuite said “ad-weary consumers” will force companies to up their game and “mirror and enrich the experience” offered by social networks.
In its annual social trends report – in which more than 18,000 marketers were surveyed – Hootsuite found that while Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are still regarded as the most effective platforms by marketers, it is TokTok, Snapchat and Pinterest that are perceived by consumers as being more effective.
The report suggested that those platforms are yet to be saturated with ads, while their message to marketers is to create content that fits organically into the platform.
Hootsuite said TikTok tells marketers to “make TikToks not ads”, while Pinterest’s call to action to advertisers is to “stop interrupting, start inspiring”.
That is resonating with marketers and consumers, the report claimed.
“Simply put, no one wants their experience on any social network interrupted by ads from brands that are as boring and as they are self serving. Brands that advertise successfully on these networks understand that audience mindset is key,” it said.
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Hootsuite senior manager social marketing, Amanda Wood, added: “Consumers are more receptive to ads that enhance their experience rather than take away or interrupt it in any kind of intrusive way.”
Marketers, too, appear to be tapping into the potential of TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat, with the former seeing a 700% increase in perceived effectiveness, according to the Hootsuite data.
Facebook (62%) and Instagram (49%) were ranked as the most effective platforms, though both dropped slightly compared to last year, while the perceived effectiveness of TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat all went from single to double digits.
Overall, the survey found that 51% of marketers are planning to increase their investment in social channels in 2022, with 48% set to increase their spend on Instagram, 47% on Facebook, 44% on YouTube and 43% on LinkedIn.
But TikTok saw the sharpest rise, with 36% of marketers planning to inject more funds into the platform next year, up from 13%.
Reflecting the general rise of social media marketing, only one in 10 respondents said their firms do not run social ads, down from three in 10 last year.
Asked what their key goals were from social campaigns, marketers said raising brand awareness was top with (53%), followed by customer acquisition (47%) and driving conversions (46%).
Consistently producing creative content was identified as the biggest challenge for 51% of marketers.
The research also showed how campaigns are becoming more integrated. In its 2020 report, only 25% of marketers described their social media and organic ad efforts as “completely integrated”. It now sits at 36%, with only 7% admitting they is no integration at all, down from 19%.
The finance sector led the way with travel the least able to integrate their campaigns.
Meanwhile, only 13% of marketers said they were “extremely confident” of quantifying the return on investment of social marketing, up from 7%. A third claimed they were “very confident” with 37% “somewhat confident”.
