What Drives Consumers to Click on Social Media Ads? The Roles of Content, Media, and Individual Factors

Social media has become an ever-expanding realm as more and more consumers are spending tremendous amount of time on it. Businesses are taking advantage of this channel to promote their products and services through social media advertising. In particular, display ads have a prominent presence accompanying social media feeds. This study aims to develop an understanding of the multi-faceted factors that drive consumers to respond to social media advertising. The roles of content, media, and individual factors are examined. A research model is developed and tested using data collected from an online-survey of 613 social media users. Our results show compelling evidence that the effectiveness of display ads on social media is driven by ad content, ad-media congruity, and consumers´ individual factors. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.