Social Activity Ads Outshine Rich Media and Banner Ads

PPC management usually includes different types of ads like banner ads, paid search and social media ads. Appssavvy, a social media advertising company, recently conducted a comparative study of various types of online ads. The results of this study indicate that although paid search offers the highest ROI, social activity ads provide higher returns than rich media and static banners. Social activity ads are an essential part of the content offered on social media sites to the users. For instance, social activity ads can appear as a part of the social games.

In the Appssavvy survey, a ‘social activity index’ was created to assess the differences in interaction rates and pricing between various types of online advertising formats. EDI (Equivalent Display Impression) was calculated for each ad variety by comparing its click through rates with the engagement rates, and discounting performance differences based on equivalent cost per impression differences.

According to this study, social activity ads out performed standard display ads eleven times and offered double the performance of rich media. Among the various types of social media ads, social gaming functions like virtual gifts were the best performers. Gaming offered more than twice the performance of applications.

The highly engaging nature of content surrounding social activity ads is believed to be the reason for its superior performance. Video views, polls, ad or information sharing with friends and clicks-thought to websites are all different modes of social ad-user engagement. With these figures providing proof of efficiency of social activity ads, marketers need to consider these in their campaigns.