What Non-Feed Placements Do Advertisers Buy on Facebook?

March 16, 2021

Tinuiti Non Feed Ad Share Facebook Spend Mar2021The newsfeed is where most ads are placed on Facebook. But what about non-feed ads? As it turns out, when advertisers are choosing the placement of their Facebook ads beyond the newsfeed, they are shying away from the right-hand column and in-stream video, and instead opting to place ads in Marketplace. This is per a report [download page] from Tinuiti which looked at performance data from Facebook programs under their management.

There has been a shift in investment in non-feed ad placement on Facebook between Q4 2019 and Q4 2020. In Q4 2019, the largest share of non-feed Facebook ad spend was allocated to either the right-hand column (2.2%) or in-stream video (2%). However, one year later, the share of ad spend dedicated for both the right-hand column and in-stream video dropped to 0.4% and 1%, respectively. Indeed, along with Facebook Stories, the right-hand column accounted for the smallest share of Facebook ad spend in Q4 2020. In the meantime, investment in Marketplace ads increased in Q4 2020, accounting for 2.7% of total Facebook ad spend, up from 1.9% in Q4 2019.

Allocation of ad spending on Instagram remained relatively steady throughout 2020, per the report, with Q4 data showing 72% of Instagram ad spend went towards ads on the feed, while about one-quarter (23%) was allocated to Stories. A separate analysis of Merkle’s clients in Q3 2020 found that Instagram Stories accounted for more than one-third (35%) of impressions on the platform.

Separately, looking at impressions by device across all Facebook properties, mobile apps accounted for an impressive 92% of ad impressions by December 2020. A closer examination finds that the iPhone accounted for two-thirds (65%) of Facebook property ad impressions, compared to 27% for Android. Furthermore, in December 2020, the return on ad spend on iPhones was 38% higher than it was on Android smartphones.

The full report can be downloaded here.

About the Data: Findings are based on anonymized performance data from Facebook programs under Tinuiti management.

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