What is CPM?
The cost an advertiser pays per 1,000 ad impressions. For DTC ecom paid social in 2026, CPMs run $8-15 on Meta and $4-10 on TikTok depending on audience and vertical. Higher CPM means less reach per dollar; CPM is the single biggest cost driver after creative quality.
CPM is set by ad-platform auctions and reflects how competitive your audience is, how high your bid is, and how relevant your creative is to that audience. The most effective lever for lowering CPM at constant audience is creative relevance (high CTR pushes CPM down because the auction rewards creative that earns engagement). UGC ads typically earn 20-40% lower CPMs than polished brand ads on Meta and TikTok because the algorithms reward content that pattern-matches with organic.
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