Meta Advertisers Report Higher Costs Due to Algorithmic Glitches

Meta's ad delivery algorithm has reportedly experienced technical glitches, leading to a significant increase in the cost of running ad campaigns. According to the complaints cited in a Bloomberg article, advertisers are facing higher costs, with CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) and CPC (cost per click) rising by two to three times in some cases. Additionally, the results of ad campaigns are mixed, and the ensuing sales have decreased, with one media buyer observing a 20-40 percent drop in ROAS (return on ad spend) for some accounts.

In response to the complaints about performance issues, Meta has stated that their ads system is functioning as expected for the majority of advertisers. They acknowledged fixing a few technical issues and are investigating additional reports from advertisers to ensure optimal results for businesses using their apps.

Within Marketing Pulse, a resource for tracking changes in advertising metrics, reports that Facebook CPM costs have remained virtually unchanged year over year during the past six months. In contrast, Instagram CPM costs have increased by 20-70%. However, this increase does not align with the claims that CPM costs overall are up by a factor of two or three.

The situation regarding the increases in CPM and CPC costs and drops in ROAS is unclear. Some advertisers have reported these issues for some of their clients, but these claims are isolated and potentially within the realm of normal fluctuations. Without a larger sample size and more data, or a clearer acknowledgment from Meta, it's difficult to determine if these are widespread problems or isolated incidents.