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What makes people share Facebook Video Ads

What makes people share Facebook Video Ads

Aug 20, 2021 | Ads, Content, Tips

Ok we are diving deep on this one. This study comes from analysing brain reactions (fMRI scans) to Facebook video ads out of the best neuroscience universities in Australia and Japan.

To make ads shareable you should include a social-related use.

Recommendation

The creative of your ad should have a social-related aspect to it. For example:

  • About community (i.e. “I do this! Does anyone else?”)
  • An excuse to socialise (i.e. “This reminded me of you”)

Effect

  • People are more inclined to share your social media video ad if it is socially relevant (connecting with others, assisting others).
  • Previous study has found that people are less likely to share advertisements than other types of content.

Why it works

  • Strong shareable social-related video ads appear to trigger the parts of the brain that are associated with thinking of others and relate to sharing.
  • Video advertising appear to have a stronger influence than other types of media. That’s because audio-visual stimuli, as well as the aspects of drama, surprise, likeable characters, and a plot in a video, activate the areas of the brain that deal with other people’s thoughts.
  • We don’t share commercials because they make us feel good or because they reflect our personality, contrary to popular assumption. Although these are some of the reasons why we share other stuff on the internet, they are not the only ones (e.g. personal posts, news).

Limitations

  • Some of the findings in this study differ from those in earlier studies. It’s most likely due to a more reliable approach (fMRI), but it could also be due to the fact that this study focused on Japanese participants, who are more ‘others-oriented,’ whereas other studies focused mostly on Americans, who are more individualistic.
  • We don’t know if the regularity with which one uses Facebook or the size of one’s network influences the likelihood of sharing.
  • Participants in the study were required to watch and listen to the complete video advertisement, yet most individuals only watch the beginning and without audio.
  • Participants were all Japanese university students in their early 20s, which isn’t a representative sample of the population. This means it could be riskier to generalize the study.

Steps to implement

  • When creating your ad creatives make sure it has a social-related purpose.
  • Think less about selling the product or service and more around the problems your product or service provides a solution for.

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