Ad Fatigue: The Silent Killer of Ad Performance

Consumers who are suffering from ad fatigue probably never even realize it. The only real identifying symptom they may be aware of is more money in their wallet. Hence, there isn’t any inherent danger in contracting this condition. The real victim of ad fatigue is your business. If you have inadvertently infected your target market, you may soon begin to feel the detrimental effects in the form of decreasing ad performance and wasted marketing dollars.

 

What Is Ad Fatigue?

Put simply; ad fatigue is the condition that arises when consumers have grown tired of viewing the same ads. Research has shown that consumers feel they see too many online ads on a daily basis. Such a feeling can also lead to negative sentiments toward a particular brand. Most importantly, ad fatigue negatively affects ad performance and ultimately campaign ROI.

 

With nearly 300 million advertisers already utilizing social media platforms as a marketing tool, it’s no wonder consumers feel that ads have grown increasingly disruptive and annoying. Users sign in to Facebook an average of 13.8 times per day. If they see the same ad each time, they will soon lose interest and scroll right past it.

 

Our data has shown that, depending on ad budgets and audience size, consumers can start experiencing ad fatigue as early as three days after a campaign launches. Click-through rates start dropping; marketing dollars are wasted, and sales eventually decline.

 

Online Creative Refresh Can Help You Gain Back What You’ve Lost

Updating ad creatives at least every couple of days can go a long way toward keeping your CTR high and target market interested. Likewise, using compelling copy; focusing on offering value, and adequately catering to the interests of your target market are all important factors when designing new creatives or repurposing older ones.

 

Easy Ways to Rescue Your Target Market From Ad Fatigue

You don’t always have to create brand new ads to help consumers stave off the effects of ad fatigue. Sometimes, it can be as simple as the following adjustments:

 

– Change the colors of the ad

 

– Test different headline variations

 

– Use a variety of different ad copy

 

– Swap out images

 

– Use a new call to action

 

Use Testing and Analytics

No campaign is ever perfect. Using analytics can help you determine which ads work best, what results they have garnered, and what you need to do to improve your creatives and achieve online campaign optimization.

 

Remember, sometimes it’s easy to forget how to view things as a consumer when you spend so much time focusing on marketing. Step away from your role and imagine how you’d feel if your social media feeds were constantly interrupted with the same online ads. What would you want to see? What wouldn’t you want to see? How often would you want to see them? Address these questions, and you’ll be significantly closer to achieving online ad success.

 

Alexis Ng

ReFUEL4's digital and content marketer who loves the ocean, yoga and constellations. Watches too much TV.