BY Rachel Cagle
97% of consumers use social media, according to a study by IAS. That spells big opportunity for branding on social media. But your client needs to make sure their ads are placed near safe and relevant content.
Branding on Social Media 101
Social’s Impact
Not only are most consumers active on at least one social platform, they spend a lot of time on it/them. On a daily basis, IAS says that consumers spend various amounts of time on social platforms:
- Between 2 and 4 hours: 52% of consumers spend this much time on social platforms daily
- Up to 1 hour: 22%
- Between 5 and 7 hours: 19%
- 7 or more hours: 6%
And it’s not just general content they’re interacting with during all these hours. 87% have also engaged with social media ads within the last year, says IAS. So, branding on social media has never been more lucrative for marketers.
However, there is one big roadblock to the effectiveness of your client’s ads: the content that’s around them.
Content’s Effect on Surrounding Ads
Just like with other types of ads, where you and your client place social media ads is crucial. If it’s near irrelevant or, worse, questionable or inappropriate content, it could reflect poorly on your client.
Unfortunately, that type of content isn’t that uncommon. IAS says that 82% of consumers have “encountered questionable content or posts in their social media feed that they’d like to avoid.” Questionable content includes:
- Misinformation: 44% of consumers agree that this counts as questionable content on social media
- Adult content: 37%
- Content created using AI/deepfakes: 30%
- Content that uses hate speech: 27%
- Low-quality content: 26%
- Pirated/bootleg content: 21%
- Content that includes offensive language: 20%
- Content that includes illegal drugs, alcohol or violence: 17%
If your client’s ads are placed near that kind of content, consumers are more likely to mistrust the ads. Not only that:
- 43% of consumers have a negative view of brands with ads close to questionable content
- 56% of consumers are unlikely to make purchases from brands if their ads appear near unsafe content
So, successful branding on social media depends a great deal on placing your client’s ads near safe content.
How to Succeed
When you can help it, you should aim for your client’s ads to appear near wholesome content. But that alone is not enough to guarantee success. IAS says that your client’s ads need to be placed near relevant content, as well.
52% of consumers say that they’re likely to engage with ads on social media that are relevant to them. So, for starters, make sure your client’s ads are relevant to their target audience. For example, your client’s ads should feature models and actors that look like them.
To drive home the relevancy, the ads should be placed next to content that relates to the brand and ads. 39% of consumers favor brands with in-feed ads that are next to content that aligns with the brand’s image. Another 38% favor brands with in-feed ads that have “specific messages that relate to the surrounding social media content they are viewing.”
Putting this branding into action on their social media plan will help:
- Improve the ad’s memorability: 47% of consumers are likely to remember ads that relate to adjacent social content
- Drive sales: 37% of consumers are likely to make purchases because of ads that are related to the content they are viewing
Want to learn more about your client’s target audience and which social platforms they’re most active on? Check out their profile on AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. That’ll be the first step to putting your branding on social media plan into action.
Photo by: Fikran Jabbart