Scope: This is a quick analysis of selected accounts that we manage, not all accounts or the whole market.
Analysis period: 90 days of analysis. Year-on-year comparisons use the same 90-day period in the previous year. Conversions use a 7-day click basis unless labelled 1-day view. Purchase value is Meta-attributed, not GA4 or accounting revenue.
The story in one paragraph
Every budget meeting starts with the same argument: the future is Instagram, WhatsApp is where South Africans live, Facebook is for your parents. Then we opened 90 days of real placement data, and the money told its own story. Of the spend split across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp placements, 83.7 percent ran on Facebook. And the WhatsApp conversations everyone wants? Almost all of them started on Facebook too. The platforms people talk about and the platforms that deliver are not always the same platforms.
Act one: where the money went
In 90 days of analysis, the placement split reported across the accounts was:
- Facebook placements: 83.7 percent of the split placement spend
- Instagram placements: around 15 percent
- WhatsApp placements: around 1.5 percent
- The balance of the spend across the selected accounts sat in Audience Network, Threads, Messenger and other placements
Nobody sat in a meeting and voted for 83.7 percent Facebook. The delivery system found the cheaper, converting audiences there, rand by rand, auction by auction. That is how Advantage placements work: the money flows to where the results are cheapest, whether that matches the plan on the whiteboard or not.
Act two: where the results came from
Spend is only half the story. On a 7-day click basis, those placements delivered:
- Facebook: 2,050 leads, 1,100 purchases and 2,350 messaging conversations
- Instagram: 360 leads, 170 purchases and 30 messaging conversations
Instagram delivered real results on a fraction of the spend, and for visual products and younger audiences it often carries the creative story of a brand. But in this data set, at this scale, Facebook was the workhorse for leads, for sales and, most surprisingly, for conversations.
Act three: the WhatsApp plot twist
WhatsApp placements took only around 1.5 percent of the placement spend. Yet the selected accounts started 2,390 messaging conversations in the period, and 2,350 of them started from ads shown on Facebook. Just 30 started from Instagram placements.
And this is where the win sits. Because the ads stayed where the people were, a client grew its messaging conversations by 725 percent year on year, and the selected accounts started around 2,390 conversations in a single quarter. The channel everyone wanted to move budget to was being fed by the channel everyone wanted to cut.
This is the detail that changes budget conversations. A WhatsApp placement is a place where an ad is shown. A messaging conversation is what a person does next. An ad shown on Facebook, tapped by someone ready to talk, opens WhatsApp and starts the conversation. The conversation lives on WhatsApp. The ad that earned it ran on Facebook. Businesses that cut Facebook spend to "focus on WhatsApp" can find they have cut the very ads that were starting their WhatsApp conversations.
What this means for your budget
Do not split your budget by opinion. Split it by the job: let placements compete, then read the split monthly and argue with the data, not with each other.
Keep Facebook funded while it delivers the cheapest results, use Instagram where creative and audience fit earn it, and judge WhatsApp on conversations started, wherever the ad was shown. Then check the story again next month, because delivery shifts as auctions, creative and seasons change.
This is a story from one 90 day period across selected accounts that we manage. Your account will write its own version. The discipline is the same: read your placement split before you defend your placement opinions.
Frequently asked questions
Is Facebook still worth advertising on in South Africa?
In this 90 day data set, yes, decisively. Facebook placements took 83.7 percent of the placement spend and delivered most leads, purchases and messaging conversations. Your account may differ, which is why the split must be read, not assumed.
Should I move my budget to Instagram?
Not on opinion. Instagram delivered 360 leads and 170 purchases here on far less spend, so it earns its place. Grow it where its cost per result beats Facebook in your account, not because it feels more current.
Are WhatsApp ads the same as WhatsApp conversations?
No. WhatsApp placements are where ads are shown. Conversations are started by people tapping an ad, usually on Facebook, and moving into WhatsApp. In this data, 2,350 of 2,390 conversations started from Facebook placements.
How often should the placement split be checked?
Monthly, alongside the rest of your results. Seria for Meta reporting keeps the split visible so budget follows delivery, not habit.
Talk to Wassp
Not sure where your Meta money is really going? WASSP will read your placement data with you and show you the story in it. Email wasspsolutions@wassp.co.za or call +27 11 450 4634. 5 Riley Rd, Bedfordview, Gauteng.
Related services: Paid Media, Organic Social.