Instagram has continued to grow its share of spend on Facebook as Instagram Stories remains as one of the key ways to reach millennials digitally.

The research, by Marin Software, found that Instagram ads made up 20 per cent of Facebook’s total ad spend and Instagram Stories made up 34 per cent of all Instagram ads.

Responsive Search ads, an automated, machine learning search ad format created by Google in May 2018 is now being used by 24 per cent of advertisers. The format enables advertisers to create three different headlines and two-character descriptions which are then served to, in theory, a more optimised audience.

The report also found that mobile now accounts for 43 per cent of spend across all verticals, further showing the importance of a mobile-friendly website.

However, search CPCs, which dramatically vary by vertical, fell by 6 per cent year on year across all verticals worldwide, reflected by decreased demand outside of holiday seasons and lower cost mobile formats such as TikTok entering the market and taking market share. CPMs

The report revealed that Messenger had the highest CPC of all of Facebook’s inventory, including Instagram, Facebook and Audience Network

39 per cent of search budgets was spent on Google Shopping Ads as 22 per cent of advertisers paid Google to be ‘above the fold’ when searches are made.  Overall search spend on Google Shopping Ads increased three per cent from Q4 2018.

See More: /monthly-spending-on-ecommerce-channel-ads-continues-to-increase-report

Wesley MacLaggan, SVP of Marketing at Marin Software commented, “The lines across search, social, and eCommerce are more blurred than ever with the recent introduction of features like Checkout for Instagram or shoppable ads on Google Images.

“Up-and-coming ad formats like Shopping Ads, Responsive Search Ads, and Messenger Ads rose in popularity this quarter as advertisers looked for ways to capture consumer attention in this evolving digital landscape.”