Facebook from all the social networks is Romanians’ first preference (92%) with an average time spent online of 2-3 hours/day and 46% of respondents say they feel tired and bored of sponsored ads on social media according to a study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research. On the other hand, the study shows that 36% of Romanians, online advertising determines them to be more appreciative of that specific brand or person.
The study analyzes both the behaviour and the perception of Romanians towards advertising on social media. 2020 witnessed the rise of all social networks. The time spent on the internet increased creating brands to adapt resulting in online advertising growing significantly.
The results of the research indicate Romanians prefer using Facebook (92%) compared to other social networks as it ranks in the first place to their preference, with an average time spent 2-3 hours/day. Youtube is another application that is frequently used by Romanians with 63% and Instagram with 37%. TikTok was mentioned by only 15% of respondents and those who use this application spend a lot of time on it, spending an average of 2-3 hours/day browsing through videos.
As consumers spend more time online, an increase in online advertising is being seen through sponsored campaigns on social media with 46% of Romanians expressing that they have no interest in the sponsored ads seen on Facebook or Instagram and say that they feel tired and bored of them. Almost half of Romanians (47%) say they do not have an opinion when they see promoted ads on social media.
Romanians (17%) are annoyed by sponsored ads and 9% of respondents feel lucky to see these ads, giving them the opportunity to look for new products. More than half of the respondents (53%) say that they usually click on the ads if they are truly interested in the product and are involved in the purchase process however, others do not want to buy the products and stated that they clicked on the ad only out of curiosity (25%).
For many Romanians, online ads provoke negative emotions while others admit that this sort of advertising has a positive impact, 28% of them say they are happy to see such ads and admit they are satisfied with this type of experience on social media and 36% of Romanians declare they appreciate more the brand or the person as a result of online advertising.
Users 53% are more appreciative of these brands because online advertising helps them find out more about products and the sponsored ads help users decide more easily in the purchase process (47%). Users, 52% say that the sponsored ads they see on social media are usually related to their interests, explaining that they had previously searched the internet for similar products. Brands that are investing in online advertising are appreciated by 53% of respondents and are evaluated as offering products or services of higher quality mentioned by 31% of respondents.
The study also revealed that another element that determines Romanians to click on these ads is the visual identity as 33% of respondents say they open an advertisement that they find visually appealing and 27% of respondents say they click on the ad if it is for a brand they know of. The study is relevant for brands, as they can find their communication strategy according to the reactions and behaviours of online consumers.
Only 17% of respondents say they appreciate less a brand that has sponsored ads. the reason is they prefer to search for products on their own (57%), while 33% consider that online promotion is an indicator of lower quality brands. Some Romanians say that sponsored ads are not helpful in the purchase decision (29%) as the barrier in accessing these ads is the risk of being retargeted, and once they clicked on an advertisement they receive other similar ads in the newsfeed (27%) and 26% would avoid clicking on the ad because it does not seem reliable (26%).
The collection method for the study was CAWI and 1014 online interviews were conducted with respondents over the age of 18, on a nationally representative sample (urban and rural) between April 2-6, 2021. Sampling error +/- 3%.