July 8, 2024

by Nicole Montgomery and Kevin Synnott

3 min read

As advertisers, staying ahead means more than tracking trends—it demands a clear understanding of how the digital landscape evolves. In this piece, we explore recent shifts in key metrics across digital channels, offering insights for navigating this dynamic media terrain and uncovering valuable opportunities for marketers.

Comparisons to Previous Month (May 2024):

The table below reports the percentage changes in key metrics across digital channels when compared to the preceding month, May 2024. For each metric, positive percentages denote growth, while negative figures signify a decline. 

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Month-Over-Month Takeaways:

  • Sharp Declines for Bing and X: Bing and X, after seeing growth in CTRs and CPMs in recent months, are now experiencing significant drops. Bing's CTR has plummeted 24% from May to June 2024, highlighting a significant drop in user engagement. Meanwhile, X has seen a dramatic 78% decline in CTR during the same period, reflecting a sharp downturn in user activity. This indicates a marked decrease in user engagement following their periods of growth. Similarly, CPMs for both platforms have also decreased from May to June, suggesting that advertisers are also retreating from these platforms.

  • Rising Advertising Costs on LinkedIn: LinkedIn is seeing a significant rise in costs for advertisers, with CPMs increasing by 26% from May to June. This spike in CPMs comes alongside a 16% decrease in CTR, resulting in a 50% increase in CPCs over the past month. These trends indicate that LinkedIn is becoming a more expensive platform for advertisers. Time will tell if these cost increases persist and how advertisers will respond.

Comparisons to Previous Year (June 2023):

The table below reports the percentage changes in key metrics across digital channels when compared to the preceding year, June 2023. For each metric, positive percentages denote growth, while negative figures signify a decline. 

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Year-Over-Year Takeaways:

  • CPC Trends are a Mixed Bag: June 2024 saw a general decrease in CPCs across most platforms compared to June 2023, with two notable exceptions: X and LinkedIn. Both platforms experienced sharp declines in CTRs, which drove up CPCs significantly. On LinkedIn, increased advertiser competition led to rising CPMs, whereas X saw decreasing CPMs suggesting advertisers are pulling out. In both cases, the drop in CTRs was substantial enough to cause a sharp rise in CPCs, making user clicks on these platforms more expensive for advertisers.

  • Fierce Advertiser Competition on TikTok: While many platforms experienced slight fluctuations in CPMs from June 2023 to 2024, TikTok stood out with the largest year-over-year increase in CPMs at 16%, highlighting intense advertiser competition. Additionally, CTRs on TikTok surged by 22%, indicating strong user engagement despite uncertainties about the platform's future. This trend underscores the deep commitment of both advertisers and users to TikTok.

  • Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube See Dramatic User Engagement Increases Amid TikTok Uncertainty: Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest have demonstrated significant year-over-year growth in CTRs. Instagram's CTRs surged by 89% from June 2023 to June 2024, while YouTube and Pinterest experienced increases of 77% and 385%, respectively. This uptick may be attributable to platform changes (e.g., algorithm updates for Instagram Reels, new features for Pinterest and YouTube Shorts) intended to increase user interaction as these platforms seek to entice advertisers in the wake of TikTok’s uncertain future. Only time will tell if these efforts are successful. However, advertisers should note that costs have remained stable or even decreased on these platforms. Pinterest's CPMs decreased by 9%, Instagram's increased by only 3%, and YouTube's by 5%. Given these trends, advertisers should consider exploring these platforms further.