We've been closely monitoring advertising stats (both social and PPC) during COVID-19. When we reviewed the stats from last week (March 20–26), we were floored.
CPMs dropped 77% week over week.
CPMs had been on the rise for 4 weeks straight (10.66, 11.04, 12.43, 14.52) — until last week, when the average dropped to 8.20. This is by far the lowest CPM we've seen since the beginning of March.
We don't have any rock-solid insights into why this happened, but we do have a couple hunches. We should note that we only monitor CPMs for prospecting.
Theory #1: Fewer brands are advertising
As the effects of the pandemic keep spreading and more businesses are being affected, fewer brands are advertising on social. Because of that, there's more space for brands who can advertise to take advantage of low CPMs!
Theory #2: More people are purchasing
This could be a residual effect of people spending their stimulus check money, or going back to work after being furloughed/laid off.
As certain states begin to reopen, we could see CPMs continue to drop as more people begin shopping, but we could also see CPMs rise as more businesses begin advertising again.
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