Marketers, don’t spend more on social — spend smarter
Opinion
Reduced engagement, content saturation and platform safety are just some of the concerns facing paid social. How can brands stand out?
Paid social’s grip on the marketing world is, quite rightly, tighter than ever. It’s no longer just a tool to sell products; it’s a cultural and political force.
For savvy brands with a social-first mindset, it’s a non-negotiable investment. But as we head deeper into 2025, marketers need to ask themselves: is all this extra spending delivering the results they’re chasing? Or are they just throwing money into a digital void?
The numbers tell a revealing story. According to the latest IPA Bellwether Report, UK marketing budgets grew by just 1.9% in the final quarter of 2024. This marked the 14th positive revision in the past 15 quarters, but it’s a far cry from the strong growth we’ve seen in previous years.
Caution is the mood of the moment, with businesses feeling the weight of rising costs and economic uncertainty. While optimism for 2025 budgets is building — 25.6% of businesses anticipate growth — the current climate remains tough.
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Less attention
The issue is simple: everyone’s spending more, but fewer people are paying attention.
As TikTok has grown mainstream, ads have multiplied, crowding user feeds. The result? Reduced engagement. This isn’t an effective social strategy and can undermine the true value of and impact on business growth that the channel is known to deliver.
Competition for specific audience segments is fierce and rising CPMs means many brands are spending more just to tread water.
Despite slight reductions in CPMs during 2024, the median cost has now soared again, leaving boardrooms questioning return on investment (ROI).
The problems don’t stop there. Algorithms on platforms like Meta and TikTok reward fresh content, forcing brands to pump out new creative constantly. Without frequent updates, ad performance tanks.
The Bellwether Report also shows that main media advertising — covering video, audio and published brands — continues to decline, with a net balance of -4.3% in Q4 2024. This means businesses are retreating from traditional big-ticket campaigns, pivoting instead to more agile tactics.
Evolving and testing
Not every social campaign idea will stick and here’s where technology comes in. The developments in AI-powered tools allow brands to create “silicone audiences” to get a better understanding of who they are targeting as well as test advertising concepts against.
Iterative testing and performance improvement at scale have never been more important. By testing and refining creative concepts quickly and monitoring performance metrics obsessively, brands can adapt content and campaigns in real time.
Effective creative evolution and continuous testing can more than pay for itself in media efficiency and compensate for the seemingly never-ending rise in CPMs. Put simply, adapting to rapid shifts in audience behaviour is the best way to increase advertising efficiency and improve ROI.
Standout content
At the same time, there needs to be a prioritisation of quality over quantity.
Brands need to stop flooding feeds with generic ads. Instead, the focus must be on creating standout content that captures attention and resonates with your audience, not to mention the platform algorithms.
Influencer marketing remains a strong performer, especially partnerships with micro- and mid-level influencers. These creators often deliver high-quality content that audiences trust. Their authenticity drives engagement. Build long-term relationships and ensure their content aligns with your brand’s goals.
But scaling that content is where brands hit a wall. Once a brand tries to push influencer content to a broader audience, it faces the same cost challenges — rising CPMs, audience fatigue and diminishing returns.
Brands could be spending three times too much on social. You read that right
Diversification is key
Platform safety is another growing concern. Meta’s reputation is under scrutiny, especially in Europe, where reduced moderation and political controversies have brands rethinking their presence.
Brands should quit putting all their spend on Meta or TikTok. They must start experimenting with underutilised platforms to find new opportunities. Diversifying across platforms like Snapchat and Pinterest isn’t just smart, it’s essential.
Knowing where to play and how to maximise performance on less saturated platforms can make or break campaigns.
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Data-backed results
If brands want to really prove the value of paid social spend to stakeholders, there is a need to track ROI relentlessly.
By implementing frameworks that measure wear-out rates, ad efficiency and overall performance, brands will be able to provide clear, data-backed results that show the impact social has on brand and business growth.
In 2025, marketing budgets are growing cautiously. The stakes are higher than ever. Spending more isn’t enough. Spending smarter is the only way forward.
Brands that adapt quickly, test relentlessly and focus on what really drives ROI will not only survive but thrive. The rest? They’ll be drowning in a sea of ads.
Buster Dover is chief business officer at Brave Bison