Advertising on Social Nets - the quality is in the quantity

New research has shown adverts on social networking sites fail to engage 96 per cent of users, despite a rise in the number of brands opting in for promotion purposes.

According to the research, which surveyed 2,000 consumers, just four per cent of those polled had ever clicked on an advert on a social network and only nine per cent found them useful tools in assisting their purchasing decisions on the web.

Dan Clays, managing director of digital media agency, BLM Quantum, doesn’t see the low click through rate as an off-putting factor when advising his clients (which include Domino’s Pizza and T Mobile) where to spend their digital advertising budgets.

“Actually that level of response still represents good value on an investment because the costs of advertising on a social networking site are still reasonable.

"Advertising on social media also needs to be seen as a commitment by brands. Companies have to keep going with it once they have started a dialogue and actually think of innovative ways to bring their brands to life. It’s also important what also happens after a ‘click’ which defines the value.”

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 per cent. Fifty-nine per cent 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.