How much do Facebook ads cost? Are advertisers still spending money on Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal? Which placement type delivers the best ROI?

In Q2 2018, marketers were asking these and many other questions about Facebook advertising. To find the answers, we looked at the AdStage data . Our latest quarterly paid media report has median costs and click-through rate for all the major networks. In the video and article below, we’ll dive into the data and trends for Facebook ads specifically.

Facebook News Feed benchmarks are down across the board

In Q2 2018, the key metrics were down across the board for the News Feed placement type. CPCs decreased by 10.4%, CPMs by 12.3%, and CTRs by 5%, compared to Q1 2018. Based on the AdStage data, marketers paid ~ $0.43 per click and ~ $9.82 per thousand impressions, with the click-through rate at about 2.24%.

Marketers are paying more for clicks on the Facebook Audience Network

Compared to the previous quarter, Q2 benchmarks are showing a significant increase in Facebook ad costs outside of the News Feed. CPCs are up by 163%, and CPMs are up by 72%. Click-through rate, however, decreased by 38% since Q1 2018. The AdStage data shows the median CPC at $0.50, CPM at $4.13, and CTR at 0.82% on the Facebook Audience Network.

Facebook Messenger ads are showing better results

Among advertisers on the AdStage platform, all the Facebook Messenger ad metrics were up. Costs increased by 13% for clicks and by 24% for impressions, bringing the median CPC on Facebook Messenger to $1.23, and the median CPM to $7.34. While ad costs are increasing on Messenger, the clicks are up, too: the median CTR was 0.60%, an 11% improvement over the previous quarter.

Facebook ads still dominate the paid social media marketing mix

While it’s been a rocky quarter for Facebook -- with GDPR, Cambridge Analytica, and slow user growth -- marketers not only keep investing in Facebook ads, but they have actually increased their spend. “We’ve seen more than half of all advertisers on the AdStage platform increase their Facebook News Feed spend by an average of 85%,” said Josh Rodriguez, AdStage’s product analyst.

However, Facebook’s younger and cooler cousin -- Instagram -- is seeing even better growth. “Nearly 70% of advertisers on the AdStage platform increased Instagram spend by an average of 132%,” Josh said.

How are you planning your paid media budget in the upcoming quarter? Download the full report to see results for all the major networks and benchmark your campaigns.