Industry KPIs: YouTube and X emerge as leaders for social media advertising attention

The news: YouTube is outperforming other platforms in social media ad attention, per our Industry KPI data via Adelaide, reinforcing its position as a leading network for advertising.

• Adelaide ranked several social platforms by their social attention metric (AU), a value that indicates the likelihood of an ad placement to capture attention and generate impactful outcomes across social platforms.

Behind the numbers: YouTube maintained a strong top position despite significant fluctuations during the second half of 2023, while another social platform made surprising gains.

• YouTube’s AU rose from 67.15 to 70.65 across Q1 and Q2 2023 before dipping to 70.45 and then 63 across the next two quarters. But that yearly low still placed it significantly higher than the second-ranking platform, X, with a Q4 AU of 33.5.
• The embattled social media platform formerly known as Twitter emerged as a surprisingly strong platform for social attention, outperforming Instagram (28.9), Pinterest (23.7), TikTok (21.1), Snapchat (21.1), and others.
• X’s strong performance, despite its smaller size, suggests that it can be an effective platform for reaching specific audiences and demographics.
• Podcast advertisements outperformed all platforms except for YouTube throughout 2023, a strong showing for the format that emphasizes its ability to naturally capture consumer attention. Podcasting AU remained relatively stable during the year, dropping from 51.17 in Q1 to 49.12 by Q4.

Why it matters: With long-standing tools for measuring ad effectiveness online facing extinction this year, platforms that can deliver strong attention for advertisements stand to gain while marketers adjust to the changing landscape.

• Google is sticking to its timeline of phasing out third-party cookies this year, a monumental shift in digital advertising that many marketers feel unprepared for.
• Several post-cookie alternatives are vying for attention, but platforms that can provide robust data within their ecosystems without relying on outside factors could become crucial spending grounds for marketers grappling with broader changes.
• Adelaide’s data also shows that, despite its many controversies, X shouldn’t be written off by all advertisers. The platform can deliver results when targeting specific audiences, which may drive advertisers to give its upcoming video pivot a closer look.

Go further: Interested in assessing more attention metrics? Industry KPI subscribers can immediately measure attention for display, online video, CTV, streaming audio, and podcasts, as well as gauge their performance against more than 400 industry benchmarks. See more here.