What’s Happening:
The June/July 2019 issue of Global Ad Trends from WARC Data reveals recent developments in social media, primarily the slowdown of ad revenue and user growth among platforms while spending is up, and continued issues of trust and security with social media networks.
Why it Matters:
Digital paywalls have grown in popularity, reaching two-thirds of print newspapers and magazines this year. Paywalled news is also becoming more expensive in most markets, averaging €14.12 per month, with the most expensive being in the U.K. at an average €17.45 per month. Yet publishers continue to struggle for profitability — and platforms such as the Facebook/Google duopoly being largely blamed for hoarded a lion’s share of digital ad money.
WARC’s data looked at six major social platforms: Facebook, WeChat/QQ, Twitter, Weibo, Snap and Pinterest. While their combined ad revenues rose 26.2% year-on-year during the first quarter of 2019 to reach $17.9 billion (the second-highest total on record), it was roughly half the rate of expansion from one year earlier (51.6%).
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