Sponsored Content is the Best and the Worst Social Media Ad Type

Social media is where it’s at these days but what kind of ad types are most engaging for users and spark the most purchase intent?

In a study conducted by Psychster and commissioned by Allrecipes.com, sponsored content was the most likely to elicit clicks and interactions, though it was the least likely to lead to a brand being recommended to a friend and least likely to lead to a purchase.

Psychster created banner ads, newsletter ads, corporate profiles with fans and logos, corporate profiles without fans and logos, get widget ads, give widget ads and sponsored content, each promoting one of two brands. Videos showing the screen activity of someone interacting with the mockups along with narration were recorded and shown to respondents, who were only shown one.

“Sponsored Content” scored a 3.3 out of 5 in response to “I would personally click links and interact like shown in the video,” followed by “Give Widget with 3.1 and “Profile with Fans” with 3.0.

In response to “I would buy products from this brand,” “Profile with Fans” scored a 3.8, followed by “Give Widget” with 3.8 and “Get Widget” with 3.8. “Sponsored Content” received the lowest score with a 3.4.

“Profile with Fans” scored a 3.8 in response to “I would recommend this brand to a friend,” followed by “Give Widget,” “Banner” and “Get Widget” with 3.7, respectively. Like the previous topic, “Sponsored Content” received the lowest score with a 3.4.

In response to “I see the activity as an advertisement,” “Banner” and “Newsletter” received 4.2, respectively, while “Sponsored Content” got a 3.7, the lowest score of the seven types of ads used in the study.

Sponsored content “was the most engaging of the ad types, but least likely to trigger consumer behavior or viral spread,” according to the study.

Another key finding was that corporate profiles that allow people to become fans and put a logo on their own profile caused higher purchase intent.

The study also found that while give and get widgets were more engaging than banner and newsletter ads, they weren’t more likely to boost viral recommendations or purchase intent.

Also, “No ad type was so engaging that it overcame the advantage found by matching the brand to the website,” according to the study. For example, the soup brand performed better on Allrecipies.com than it did on Facebook.

Sources:

http://www.psychster.com/library/PSYCHSTER_Allrecipes_Widget_Whitepaper_Mar10_FINAL.pdf

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=125147