On average only 11.5% of Brititsh adults are likely to pay active attention to ads on social media. This blog explains what that means for your campaigns.
Is Anybody Actually Paying Attention To Your Ads on Social Media?
You're investing in ads on social media to raise awareness, secure traffic, and drive action.
But is anyone really paying attention?
According to research conducted by YouGov¹ every six months (most recently in July 2024) 18% of adult Brits said they were 'fairly likely' to pay active attention to paid social posts, while only 5% said they were 'very likely' to.
Taking the average of these two 'likely' categories, this means just 11.5% are consciously directing their attention at your ads. Or, put another way, 88.5% aren't.
So, in every 1,000 people reached with ads, you can only expect 115 to be engaged enough to pay them at least some attention - whether that's slowing slightly to quickly scan them, or pausing altogether to scrutinise them in detail - rather that just whizzing right by.
The picture varies by age, with younger audiences more likely to pay active attention to ads than older social media users:
18-24
22.5%
25-49
14.5%
50-64
8.5%
+65
4%
Straight away, you can see that when Facebook, for example, tells you that your ads have a Reach of 87,400, that's not quite telling the full story. You're also at something of a disadvantage if it's an older demographic that you're appealling to.
The Effect Of Social Media Ads Attention On Clicks and Conversions
So, if not many of the people your ads reach are paying active attention to them, what does this mean for the clicks and conversions you're seeking with your campaigns?
We find that the typical click-through rate (CTR) on social media ads tends to range from about 0.6 to 1.1%, so that's an average of 0.85%.
Therefore in your (somewhat attentive) audience of 115 people per thousand reached, you can expect just 1 to click on the link in your ads.
Think that's shocking? Wait until you see what it means for conversions.
To figure out the audience you need to reach with your ads in order to generate a single conversion, we need to do some maths. Working backwards and based on these assumptions:
Attention Rate:
Only 11.5% of people pay attention to ads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR):
0.85% of those who pay attention click.
Conversion Rate (CVR):
2% of those who click convert.
you can calculate your total audience per conversion as follows:
Conversions to Clicks: With a 2% CVR, to get 1 conversion, you need 50 clicks (1 / 0.02 = 50).
Clicks to Attentive Viewers: With a 0.85% CTR, to get 50 clicks, you need 5,882 attentive viewers (50 / 0.0085 = 5,882).
Attentive Viewers to Total Reach: Since only 11.5% pay attention, to get 5,882 attentive viewers, you need a total reach of 51,148 people (5,882 / 0.115 = 51,148).
It's a stark reminder of the challenges of reaching and activating audiences on social media with paid ads and sponsored posts.
Now, there are some important considerations and caveats to this:
Averages. These numbers are based on averages. Actual CTR and CVR can vary significantly depending on factors like ad quality, targeting, and industry.
The "Scroll Depth" Factor. Even within that 11.5% who "pay attention," there are varying degrees of attention. Some may just glance while others truly digest the information.
Ad frequency effect. CTR is calculated as a percentage of ad impressions, not reach. On average, the people your ads reach will be served those ads at a frequency of 1.75 times not once, which is why ad impressions is always higher than reach. In essence, this reduces the total reach needed to achieve a conversion, from 51,148 to 29,228 (with a frequency of 1.75).
Creating Social Media Ad Campaigns Now You Know About The Attention Dimension
The fact that, on average, a whopping 88.5% of people don't pay active attention to ads on social media has several implications.
Firstly, you have to try and supersize the audience you get in front of in order to compensate for low engagement. You can do this with broader targeting: expand your audience targeting to reach more people, but be mindful of staying relevant.
Next, you need to increase the frequency of ad exposure: show your ads to the same people multiple times to increase the chance of them noticing and engaging (but be careful not to overdo it and cause ad fatigue).
And, lastly, you need to focus on increasing engagement. While reach is important, focusing on increasing engagement (that 11.5% attention rate) is crucial. High-quality creatives, compelling copy, and precise targeting can help improve this.
For example, let's say you sell branded promotional items to marketers in B2B companies.
To maximise reach, you could:
Start by running ads on LinkedIn that target a broad audience of "people in marketing roles at B2B companies"
Use LinkedIn's "lookalike audience" feature to find people similar to your existing customers or high-value leads. This helps expand your reach while maintaining relevance
Incorporate some interest-based targeting. This will help you reach the biggest audience possible while remaining relevant
To maximise frequency without ad fatigue, you could:
Create different versions with varying visuals, copy, and calls to action, rather than just showing the same ad repeatedly
Develop a sequence of ads that tell a story or progressively reveal information about your products
Retarget people who have interacted with your ads or website with more specific messaging or offers
Use LinkedIn's frequency capping settings to limit the number of times each person sees your ad, preventing ad fatigue. A frequency of 1.75 is a good starting point
And, to maximise engagement (and grab attention), you could:
Use eye-catching images, swipeable carousels, or videos that showcase your promotional products in action. Consider lifestyle shots or videos demonstrating the product's usefulness, or, better still, something whacky, unexpected and funny (bold, distinctly different, and amusing ads stand out and are more memorable)
Write concise, benefit-driven copy that highlights the value proposition of your products. Use strong calls to action that encourage clicks and engagement
Incorporate interactive elements like polls, quizzes, or questions to encourage active participation
Social Media Ads And Attention: Key Takeaways
Not everyone your ads reach will pay active attention to them. In fact, on average, 88.5% of them won't.
Of those who do, 'active attention' is a bit of a spectrum. Some will pause their scrolling altogether to properly consider your ads, others will slow their scrolling while they consider the relevance of your ads. Others will slow their scrolling almost imperceptibly because something catches their eye, but it really is just a brief reflex.
With attention rates so low, success depends on:
Targeting the broadest audience possible. Essentially, you have to compensate for the lack of attention by getting in front of more people.
Maximising the frequency of ad exposure. If clicks are a result of impressions, but only count when someone is actively paying attention to your ads, you need to increase the opportunity for them to do so.
Using scroll-stopping ad creative and copy. Make your ads demand people's attention so that they have to slow down and maybe even interact with them in some way.
Adusting for audience age. Remember, the older your target audience, the less likely they are to pay active attention to your ads.
Not getting overly fixated on reaching millions of people if it doesn't translate to meaningful engagement and conversions. Prioritise quality over quantity. Focus on reaching the right audience, capturing their attention, and delivering a compelling message that drives action.
💡 Bonus Tip: Don't rely solely on social media. Utilise other channels like email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), paid search, and content marketing to drive traffic and conversions.
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