For the first time ever, Meta (Facebook and Instagram) posted a year-over-year decline in advertising revenue.
Does this signal a change in platforms doctors should be advertising on?
Understanding this from a high-level perspective
There’s no doubt that Meta faces some headwinds. In the recent earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg commented on the effects this current economic downturn was having:
“… we seem to have entered an economic downturn that will have a broad impact on the digital advertising business. It’s always hard to predict how deep or how long these cycles will be, but I’d say that the situation seems worse than it did a quarter ago.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO
Additionally, Apple’s privacy policies, which are really good for individuals, have made the Meta platform less attractive for certain businesses that benefited from cross-platform tracking.
Why Facebook and Instagram are still great for doctors
For starters, the popularity of Meta’s platforms is still going strong. In fact, daily active users are up 4%. So there is no indication that patients are abandoning the platform. For most patient demographics, Meta is still the place to invest in.
Additionally, most doctors don’t benefit from cross-platform tracking, so Apple’s privacy policies don’t have much of an effect.
Lastly, we’re seeing a higher than ever engagement rate with the Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns we’re running on behalf of our full-service customers.
While the advertising trends are definitely worth watching, there’s nothing currently that suggests doctors should not be investing in advertising on Facebook and Instagram. When it comes to PPC advertising for doctors, Meta is still the best overall platform.