Banner

ADVERTS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES FAIL TO ENGAGE USERS
Written by Alan Scott    Monday, 17 August 2009 09:04    PDF Print E-mail
MCM Channel News

 

LinkShare, has today released results from its latest piece of consumer research, showing that adverts placed on the more mainstream social networking sites are unlikely to be effective as direct marketing tools.
News Sponsored by

The research, which surveyed 2,000 consumers, found just 5% of respondents considered adverts on professional social networks, such as LinkedIn and just 9% of adverts on personal social networking sites, such Facebook helpful in assisting their purchasing decisions on the web. Only 4% of those surveyed had previously clicked through on a banner advert displayed on a social networking site, which questions the current effectiveness and quality of adverts used by brands in this less traditional marketing space.

However, the research also revealed some good news for advertisers targeting social sites, with less than a fifth of respondents (18%) considering adverts an interference to their activity online, indicating that despite apparent low audience interaction, there is still an opportunity for brands to improve the success of their internet marketing campaigns.

Vouchers, promotions and special offers were shown to be most effective way to encourage consumers to click on content displayed in banner ads and were also considered the least invasive form of online marketing at 11%. A resounding 59% said they thought that the promotions and offers available online were useful and only 19% of people had never responded to a voucher advert online.

Looking at other online marketing tactics employed by brands to capture consumer attention, interactive ad banners such as pop-ups and roll downs were considered the most intrusive type of online marketing, with almost two thirds (62%) viewing this tactic as an interference when browsing the web. This was followed by direct mail (48%) and advertising displayed before and during video content (46%).

Liane Dietrich, UK Managing Director at LinkShare, commented on the findings: “Although our research shows that adverts on some of the mainstream social networks are not living up to the hype when it comes to click through rates, this doesn’t necessarily mean that ads on community shopping networks and forums will prove to be ineffective too. Companies need to remember that users logging on to sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are there to network and not necessarily to shop.

Dietrich continues “Brands and affiliates need to do more to ensure adverts are better targeted to the social sites which encourage consumers to click through and engage with a company and its offering. Consumers need to be targeted in a way that is specific and tailored to their individual needs. Brands need to work harder to make sure they convey information which not only captures their audience but that also goes some way to enhance their overall online shopping experience.”
Video News Round up
CHANNEL NEWS
StrongMail, a leading provider of online marketing solutions for email and social media, today annou...
Three out of four paid clicks on sponsored links happen on Google. This is according to a new report...
  Christmas is fast approaching and catalogues are landing on mail order customers’ doorsteps wi...
Fresh Media Group announces Group-wide restructuring and rebrand London-based media services group r...
MILLIONS of letters and parcels could be delayed after postal workers decided to strike for the seco...
GIVe, the womenswear fashion label being launched by retail entrepreneur George Davies, has selected...
Latest News
Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has reported a 21% rise in profits for the three mon...
Shop Direct has confirmed that it plans to close three call centres with the loss of 1,500 jobs.The ...
 Waitrose is the UK’s favourite supermarket while bargain superstores Aldi and Lidl came joint th...
 Struggling retailer JJB Sports has said its chairman is to step down on 31 January because of ill ...
Pets At Home has been sold for £1billion - with bosses and staff landing a £53million windfall. Th...
 Former Wal-Mart director Dalton Philips, will replace Marc Bolland, the departing chief executive ...

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

smaller | bigger
security image
Write the displayed characters

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

MCM News Desk

  • 0
  • 1
  • 2
prev
next

H&M sees profit jump 21% after expansion

News image

Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has reported a 21% rise in profits for the three months to 30 November after it opened more stores than expected. Fourth-quarter profit rose to 6.2bn k...

Latest | Thursday, 28 January 2010

Read more

Shop Direct plans 1,500 job cuts

News image

Shop Direct has confirmed that it plans to close three call centres with the loss of 1,500 jobs.The home shopping group said the three affected sites were in Sunderland, Burnley, and Newtow...

Latest | Thursday, 28 January 2010

Read more

Waitrose is top of the shops

News image

 Waitrose is the UK’s favourite supermarket while bargain superstores Aldi and Lidl came joint third in a survey from consumer champion Which? *. The ‘big four’ supermarkets – Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and M...

Latest | Thursday, 28 January 2010

Read more

Popular news

MCM Tags



Interviews Ecommerce Channel News Latest News The Catalyst Roundtable The Panel Catalogues Lists & Data Retail Fulfilment Digital Marketing Front Page