Digital advertising spending is expected to overtake TV in 2017, and social media is seen as the new frontier of video—but new research reveals people are far less likely to view, like or share a social video when faced with interruptive advertising. According to a new survey from video monetization tech leader Mirriad, more than half of viewers say interruptive pre- and mid-roll ads impact their likelihood to engage with content on social media, and 57 percent say they’ve been tempted or have abandoned a social platform altogether as a result of this advertising.
In the race to monetize social videos, platforms have begun experimenting with various disruptive ads that play pre or mid-roll—but this new data suggests this approach isn’t the solution for social channels.
The survey also reveals a promising alternative to disruptive pre-roll and mid-roll ads, as respondents reported far more tolerance to less intrusive forms of advertising like native in-video advertising. Faced with these alternatives, the impact on viewing and engaging with video content on social media is cut nearly in half.
“Social video represents an incredible opportunity for brands, and with shared ad revenue viewers will also benefit from higher quality content—if only we can crack the code,” said Mark Popkiewicz, Mirriad CEO, in a news release. “It’s still the Wild West for social media advertising, but it’s becoming clear that people engage with video content far differently on Facebook or Twitter than they do with their televisions or even video streaming channels. So it makes sense that they respond to advertising differently too. Disruptive ads that pull them out of the experience have a real impact on their likelihood to watch, like or share the video—a vital aspect of the social experience.”
Additional key findings from the survey, conducted by ORC International, include:
- More than half of viewers will skip a video in its entirety when faced with pre-roll ads, and mid-roll ads fare worse: 60 percent abandon the video once the ad starts playing and only 5 percent will share it
- Disruptive advertising on social media content impacts likelihood to like and share videos on social media—a key path to content discovery on social channels. Nearly half of people say a pre-roll ad on social media makes them less likely to like the video (44 percent) or share the video (46 percent); over half of people say a mid-roll ad on social media makes them less likely to like the video (57 percent) or share the video (59 percent)
- Less intrusive advertising is a viable alternative—particularly for millennials. Nearly half as many people (24 percent) are likely to skip a video if faced with less intrusive advertising; Only 32 percent of people say less intrusive ads would impact their likelihood of sharing a video.
- Fifty-seven percent of viewers say they have been tempted or have abandoned a social platform based on advertising disruption; and 60 percent of Millennials have done the same
The survey of 1,018 adults was conducted by ORC International. This online omnibus was live March 13-15, 2017.
