Meta Platforms has yet again found itself in the crosshairs of discontent. Globally, advertisers who are the lifeblood of its revenue stream, seem to be unhappy with the returns that the platform has been giving them of late. This isn't Meta's first rodeo with irate advertisers but the current uproar feels like it's reaching a fever pitch. 

A Bloomberg report recently noted that Meta’s ad system was faltering. “The cost of running ad campaigns is up significantly, while results are mixed and ensuing sales are down — and there has been no formal explanation from the company, ad buyers say,” the report mentioned.

Tweets from some global ad buyers and marketers back the claim up too. For instance, Cody Plofker, chief marketing officer at makeup brand Jones Road Beauty tweeted that the big tech’s platform is in terrible shape right now. “I usually think it's seasonal buying behaviour when people complain about the algo, but I do think Meta is messed up right now. Seeing some of the weirdest performance and data in a while,” he wrote.

Similarly, a tweet by media buyer David Herrmann read, “We've cut Meta spend by 40-50% across the board. This channel is a mess right now. I really don't know what else to say.” Herrmann further expressed that he would rather be conservative and hope to make it up once they figure a way out.

However, it looks like not all advertisers are unhappy with the platform. If you scroll down on Herrmann’s tweet, you’ll notice some media buyers mentioning a combined ad spend of a million a month, and getting desired results out of it as well.

So basically on a global scale, the advertisers community is divided into two camps – those frustrated by Meta's perceived shortcomings and those who are still finding success on the platform.

A Meta spokesperson told exchange4media that the platform’s ads system was working as expected for the vast majority of advertisers. However, there were a few technical issues, which according to the spokesperson are now fixed.

“We are researching a small amount of additional reports from advertisers to ensure the best possible results for businesses using our apps,” the spokesperson further added.

What’s happening back home?

While some in the Indian advertisers’ community say that there are no red flags yet, some are considering pulling their ads off of the platform. A senior FMCG marketer told exchange4media, “All I have seen in the past 6 months is my ad budget taking a constant hit because the ROAS is not up to standards. At the end of the day, I need to show numbers ahead, to get my budgets approved. Meta hasn’t given me that opportunity yet, we are in the process of evaluating alternatives.”

A digital expert from a leading agency said, “No red flags so far”. Addressing the ‘glitch’ being spoken about, around the automated bidding system, the person added. “Most agencies don’t rely too much on automatic bid systems as much. These kinds of glitches have happened in the past and FB’s algorithm gets corrected in a few weeks.”

He also mentioned that glitches tend to happen around big policy changes, like when IOS is updated / GDPR comes into play. “I suspect a possible reason for this ‘glitch’ (I prefer we call it algorithm readjustment) could be the integration with Gen AI content engines.”

Experts also think that cookie deprecation has a role to play in Meta not being able to deliver up to every advertiser’s expectations.

Sajal Gupta, Chief Executive, Kiaos Marketing, noted that this has been noticed in all markets, in the US and India. “It is a result of losing audience signals due to cookie deprecation. The sharp targeting one could do earlier on Meta is getting blunt and as a result, media effectiveness is dropping. A similar trend was noticed when Apple ATT was rolled out in markets with high Apple penetrations (US).” he said.

Gupta also pointed out that in the Indian scenario, there are not many options to move monies other than Google and YouTube. “Performance advertisers will be moving monies, it is an input / output equation (ROAS) the advertisers keep on measuring,” he said.

On the other hand, Shradha Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Grapes shared that none of the accounts managed by them have exhibited any significant variance. “All metrics, including traffic, leads, and conversions/sales, are consistently meeting our objectives and operating at their usual pace,” she added.

However, addressing the prevalent issue, Agarwal said that a probable reason for the high buy rate could be attributed to the widespread adoption of meta platforms by multiple businesses, leveraging them to drive sales. “Consequently, competition has intensified, compelling businesses to enhance their strategies to stay ahead.”