Engagement ads are a type of online advertisement designed to get users to interact and engage with the ad content. The goal of engagement ads is to drive actions beyond just impressions, such as clicks, shares, likes, comments, sign-ups, votes, app installs, and more. Engagement ads allow marketers to amplify brand interaction and visibility.
How do engagement ads work?
Engagement ads use interactive and engaging elements to capture user attention and prompt an action. Some examples of interactive elements used in engagement ads include:
- Polls and surveys
- Quizzes and games
- Contests and sweepstakes
- Countdown timers or progress bars
- Interactive modules (calculators, configurators, etc.)
- Videos
- Carousels and slideshows
- Like, share, and comment buttons
These elements incentivize users to spend more time with the ad and interact rather than just passively view. The interactive format makes engagement ads more memorable and impactful.
Ad formats
Engagement ads come in several formats suitable for different placement types:
- Native ads – Inline with editorial content on blogs, news sites, etc.
- Social media ads – On platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
- Display ads – Banner ads on websites and apps.
- Video ads – In-stream and out-stream video ads.
- Mobile ads – Full-screen interstitials, banners, etc. on mobile.
Benefits of engagement ads
Here are some of the key benefits of using engagement ads as part of your digital marketing strategy:
Increased attention and interaction
Engagement ads help grab user attention in an increasingly distracted digital landscape. The interactive elements entice users to spend more time with the ad instead of tuning it out.
Higher conversion rates
By prompting actions and driving deeper engagement, well-designed engagement ads can deliver higher conversion rates compared to static display ads.
Brand building and recall
Interactive experiences and gamification make engagement ads more memorable for consumers. This strengthens brand awareness and recall.
Better ad relevance
Data collected from quizzes, calculators and other interactive modules can help target and retarget users with relevant messages.
Material for social sharing
Engagement ads tend to be more social-friendly. The interactive elements incentivize shares, likes and comments, amplifying your message.
Flexibility across formats
Engagement ad experiences can be adapted for different digital channels and formats for a unified campaign.
Best practices for creating successful engagement ads
Here are some tips to follow when developing your engagement ad strategy:
Offer a compelling incentive
Incentives like discounts, contest entries, free gifts, etc. can help drive higher interaction rates. But make sure the incentive aligns with your brand.
Keep it simple
Avoid overly complex mechanics or multi-step interactions. Simple, focused interactions work best.
Make it quick
The ad experience should not take too long to engage with. Respect the user’s time.
Utilize emotions
Emotional connections drive engagement. Use storytelling elements to build an emotional hook.
Integrate with your campaign
Design the ad to complement your broader marketing initiatives and business goals.
Test and optimize
Continuously test elements like copy, layouts, imagery, calls-to-action to improve performance.
Measure interaction KPIs
Analyze metrics beyond views/clicks like social actions, time spent, entries, conversions, etc.
Engagement Ad Examples
Let’s look at some real-world examples of highly effective and engaging ads:
Spotify: 2017 Wrapped
Music streamer Spotify created an interactive experience that showed users their personalized listening stats and top artists from 2017. This helped connect users to the brand in an emotional, meaningful way while generating high levels of social sharing.
Google: Job Spotlight
Google used an interactive video ad on YouTube that let viewers explore a day in the life of a software engineer at Google. It provided an immersive behind-the-scenes look at the company culture.
Netflix: Puzzles
Netflix promoted some of its popular shows like Stranger Things and Narcos by creating interactive pixel art puzzles that users could play within the ad units.
MINI USA: Superhero Quiz
MINI created a superhero personality quiz ad that assigned users a superhero profile based on their responses. The ad reinforced MINI’s fun, playful brand image.
Spotify: Episode Playlist
Spotify developed native ads that matched podcast episode pages with a complementary playlist of song recommendations.
| Company | Ad Format | Engagement Element | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | Sponsored session recap | Personalized audio & stats | Increase brand connection |
| YouTube video ad | Interactive video tour | Showcase company culture | |
| Netflix | Display ad units | Branded games and puzzles | Increase ad recall |
| MINI USA | Social ad | Personality quiz | Reinforce brand image |
| Spotify | Native podcast ads | Curated playlists | Increase music streaming |
Measuring Engagement Ad Performance
It’s important to measure the effectiveness of your interactive ads. Some key metrics to track include:
Interaction rate
Percentage of users who engaged with the ad’s interactive elements. Highlights the ad’s ability to attract attention.
Social actions
Number of social shares, likes, comments generated by the ad. Shows the viral potential.
Brand lift
How engagement with the ad impacted brand recognition, favorability and purchase intent.
Ad recall
Percentage of users who remembered interacting with the ad when surveyed later. Measures memorability.
Time spent
Average time users spent interacting with the ad. Indicates level of engagement.
Lead generation
Number of conversions like email sign-ups, downloads, purchases driven by the ad.
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Revenue generated by the ad campaign compared to cost. Calculates hard business impact.
Conclusion
Engagement ads help cut through the digital noise by enticing users to interact rather than just view. The interactive format drives more attention, engagement, sharing, and ultimately, conversions compared to static ads. Brands should focus on creating simple, compelling experiences optimized to their campaign goals. With the right interactive strategy and measurement, engagement ads can deliver strong results across awareness, consideration and conversion metrics.