APAC social media ad spend jumps 7% year-over-year

• Year-on-Year ad spend jumps 19% globally and 10% in SEA
• Airline, accommodation sectors see increase in ad spend

Emplifi has revealed the findings of its Q2 2022 analysis of social media spend across thousands of brands worldwide, including those in Asia Pacific (APAC).

In a statement, the unified customer experience platform said after a notable post-holiday drop in Q1 2022, APAC brands’ median monthly ad spend rebounded by 6.5% in Q2 2022. 

This indicates a climb of US$1,684 (RM7,500) per ad account, although the figure is still 60% lower than in Q4 2021, it added.

With this quarter's rebound, the region’s median monthly ad spend has increased 7.12% year-on-year (YoY), implying that brands are allocating more budget to reach their target audiences via paid social, Emplifi said.

The firm added that Southeast Asia (SEA) saw a similar trend, with a 6.85% increase in quarterly ad spend and a 10.61% YoY jump to US$1,603 (RM7,200).

The report notes that global numbers were much more promising as monthly ad spend bounced back by 18% in Q2 2022 and increased by 19% YoY.

It said in the Asia Pacific region, ad investments represent a clear sign of the times, with ad spend connected to the airline and accommodation industries experiencing a 7.12% increase YoY as business and leisure travel recovers.

Strong pent-up demand is driving the travel recovery in Asia Pacific, with airlines seeing more than a six-fold YoY increase in international passengers to 9 million in June 2022, the survey highlighted.

According to Google, search demand for international travel in June surpassed 2019 pre-pandemic levels across SEA. 

However, despite the travel boom, Emplifi’s analysis of airlines' use of social media for customer care shows a striking disparity in how brands have performed when customers post questions and complaints. 

It said the global airline industry is one of the strongest regarding the speed at which they answer customer questions on Twitter (1.7 hours) and Facebook (5.4 hours), coming second only to telecommunication brands. 

However, a large proportion of comments are going unanswered, it added.

A closer look at 11 airlines in APAC found that on Twitter, there was a 31% response rate to customer questions from Jan 1 to June 23.

While on Facebook, for the same period, there was only a 27% response rate, but the average response time was much lower at 1.23 hours, Emplifi said.

Varun Sharma, (pic) vice president, APAC & Japan at Emplifi said the firm is certainly seeing a travel resurgence across the region. 

“As the world recovers from the pandemic, the travel demand will only continue to rise. Airlines should look to solutions that analyse changing customer behaviour and help enhance customer satisfaction,” he added.

Having a finger on the pulse of the customer is key to delivering a seamless, timely, and outstanding customer experience, regardless of the industry,” Sharma said.