Fully 93% of agency professionals say their clients spend at least some portion of their budgets on Instagram, though far fewer (33%) indicate that that portion is large (25%) or very large (8%), according to survey results from Digiday. While agencies’ responses concerning client spend have changed from 6 months ago, they’re relatively steady from a similar survey carried out a year ago.
That survey also showed one-third (33%) of agencies indicating that their clients dedicated a “large” or “very large” portion of their budgets to Instagram, though more spent a “very large” portion last year than this year, suggesting that overall spending on the platform may have moderated somewhat.
By comparison, 40% of respondents in this latest Q1 2023 survey report said that a “large” (29%) or “very large” (11%) portion of their clients’ marketing budget goes to Facebook. However, unlike with Instagram, there’s a clear downward trend for Facebook, as last year 47% said that was the case. The decline is fully among those who said their clients spend a “very large portion,” with this falling from 18% of respondents in Q1 2022 to 11% this year.
Alongside that drop is a decline in confidence in Facebook’s ability to drive marketing success. This quarter, 44% of agencies surveyed said they are “very confident” (13%) or “confident” (31%) that Facebook drives marketing success. That represents a considerable drop from the 59% of agencies who said the same in Q1 of 2022. The fall was recorded among both “very confident” (19% to 13%) and “confident” (40% to 31%) responses, shifting instead to those who are now just “slightly confident” (23%, up from 15%) or “somewhat confident” (29%, up from 23%).
For its part, Instagram has also seen a drop in confidence over the past year, though not to the same extent. This latest edition of the bi-annual survey finds 45% expressing themselves as either “very confident” (10%) or “confident” (35%) that Instagram drives marketing success. That’s down from 51% who said the same last year, with the fall largely attributable to those who were “very confident,” down from 14% in Q1 2022 to 10% in Q1 2023.
Despite these challenges, Facebook and Instagram remain the most used social networks outside of YouTube, and are also the platforms (excluding YouTube) that Americans are most likely to use to interact with brands. However, they are clearly challenged by the meteoric rise of TikTok, which has strong appeal among youth and high engagement rates.
About the Data: The Digiday results are based on Q1 2023 and Q1 2022 surveys of 105 agency professionals.
