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An overwhelming 91% of people say they see too many ads on social media, according to a survey conducted by online marketplace vendor Capterra on 499 regular UK online shoppers.
In response to social media advertising, over a third (37%) have blocked specific advertising and 35% have unfollowed a brand in the past 12 months.
Excessive ads on social media can lead to ad fatigue, potentially disengaging consumers and even leading to a negative brand perception. The study underscores the need for brands to address this problem and adapt their social media marketing strategies accordingly.
Capterra UK analyst, Eduardo Garcia Rodriguez, who has been writing about the intersection of retail and tech for the past three years, said: “While the results suggest that consumers are impacted by excessive social advertising, businesses should not necessarily cease their activities on social media. Our study found that 57% of respondents looked up information about a product and a further 29% purchased one or more products in the last year in response to social media advertising. This suggests that it can be effective if done the right way. Brands should exercise caution regarding ad usage to ensure that their targeting and timing are appropriate and personalised.”
Despite 33% of online consumers not wanting to interact or engage with brands on social media, 48% said they would be open to engaging with brands if they sent offers or discounts. A further 45% of respondents find it acceptable to receive ads for products relevant to their interests.
Software such as social media marketing, monitoring, and analytics tools can help brands identify these trends and customer sentiment to better track and understand their audience.
However, overwhelmed by ad overload, consumers may be retreating into dark social channels for product discovery and recommendations that are more difficult for brands to track. For example, while 24% of respondents recommend products on social media, the majority (76%) said they recommended products in person or via phone calls, 49% via private messages and/or group chats, and 12% by email.
Although this untraceable information poses a challenge for brands, there are workarounds to the issue. For example, they can implement URL shorteners and UTMs, while including CTA buttons in their content so that it can be easily shared across email and messaging apps.
A further challenge is that consumers are taking steps to protect their privacy when shopping online, such as rejecting or clearing cookies (51%), using guest checkout (46%), and paying with digital wallets (42%). This makes it even more difficult for brands to gain customer insights.
Eduardo added: “If shoppers are concerned about their privacy, businesses should look for ways to build trust with their audience by being transparent about how their data is used and clearly communicating their privacy policies. In turn, consumers could be more likely to share their personal information with them.”
