Paid advertising on social media properties is delivering a solid return on investment, according to marketers in a recent eMarketer’s report called “Social Advertising Effectiveness Scorecard: Industry Execs Grade the Leading Platforms.”

“The executives we interviewed said one of the key strengths of paid social media advertising is its targeting capabilities,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

“Marketers consider Facebook an extremely sophisticated targeted advertising platform, while Pinterest benefits from its strong connections with ecommerce and purchase intent.”

eMarketer asked executives from 29 companies to grade the “Big Three” social properties—Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter—and the “Emerging Three”—Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat—in a range of categories, including creative capabilities, ad targeting, measurement and ROI.

Also noteworthy is the video ad category. Facebook’s entry into video advertising has created new opportunities for marketers, leading some to predict it could take ad dollars away from YouTube.

emarketer.com