When you’re scrolling on TikTok or Instagram and you see a video that says “sponsored” on it, you probably scroll past it. It’s not the ad’s fault, it’s not your fault, it just happens. With the increase of advertising through social media, companies are usually required to add the sponsored feature or often add links to make it easier for viewers to access the product. Instead of responding in a positive way, most viewers find these videos an interruption to their scroll.
There actually were studies at the University of Twente and Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences where they had tracked a number of participants’ Instagram feeds by looking at analytics and conducting interviews; The results confirmed that sponsored ads have much less watch time and overall less engagement compared to organic content.
This raises the question of how companies will move forward in marketing through social media, and who will actually even respond.
While I don’t have the resources these Universities have, I have a microphone and an iPhone, so I have conducted a series of short interviews with social media users of different kinds of demographics.
I asked,
“Why do you scroll past sponsored ads on TikTok, and why do some of them catch your eye?”
This video is of an interview with my coworker and friend Kianna expressing her opinion and answering the questions above. Of the 10 people that I interviewed, all the answers were generally the same. Viewers response to authentic content is significantly better than their response to ‘hokey’ sponsored content.
Thank you for reading, and I hope that this article urges you to consider why you avoid certain ads, and why others attract you.
VC Social 
4 replies on “Who is Watching These Ads??”
This is so interesting! Im guilty of scrolling past a video once I see the “sponsored” tag, even without fully seeing what the video is actually about. It’s just that I know the real intent behind the post, and it’s for us to purchase something. I too wonder how this looks for marketers in the future, coming from someone who aspires to be one.
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I think this is really interesting. I always scroll past ads on social media because a lot of them feel inauthentic, but I do love the ones where you can tell the person actually uses and loves the product.
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Great article! Most people on social media can agree that ads aren’t worth our time. I often feel like the ads I see are picked just for me. For example, when I searched for safe sleep aids for my daughter, I decided not to click any links and just go to the store instead. Soon after, my Facebook was full of ads for sleep products. Even though I know this is just a marketing trick to get clicks and sales, I still choose to skip past every ad immediately.
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I also think that what attracts the audience’s attention is the real, authentic, and creative content. It is true that when we see the “sponsored” tag on an ad, we’re like, “They do not care about their audience’s interests. What those ads really mean is BUY ME.” But where is the credibility? I enjoyed reading your article; it is really interesting.
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