Most businesses rely on these ads and their revenue, especially with how heavily society relies on the online world. Ad blocking’s double-digit rise is eclipsing your content’s reach and marketers need to outsmart it. Below you will find insight on what ad blocking is, who uses it, and how to defend your brand from it.

What is Ad Blocking

Ad Blocking can be used on any mobile or desktop device to prevent pop-ups, website ads, and advertisements on individual smartphone applications. Many people see advertisements as an invasion of space and privacy. Mobile users complain that ads cause slow page load times and consume battery life. People also download ad blocking software to prevent viruses or as a result of getting a virus on their device.

Ad Blocking with Paid Subscriptions

There are software downloads available for computers and mobile devices that will prevent most advertisements. Along with these software options, premium subscription services such as Spotify offer a free and a premium version to their streaming service. In the free membership after a listening and/or skipping a number of songs, the user listens to advertisements supplied by an assortment of businesses. Spotify Premium is $10/month which features uninterrupted music with no ads.

Un-blockable Ads

Ad blockers don’t work on government-sponsored ads, such as drunk driving PSAs. The new update on YouTube where the first six seconds of pre-roll prior to their searched video. FaceBook is another platform that has implemented ways to juke out the ad blocking software since ads are their main source of revenue.

Who is Using Ad Blocking Software

“The top 5 industries that are affected by the ad blocking surge include gaming where 26.5 % of users use ad blocking software, social networks (19.1%), Tech/the Internet (17%), education (16%) and sports/recreation (15.5%),” from the brilliant, B2C.

34 percent of American adults (18+) use ad blockers. 65 percent of those adults are male, and 41 percent are ages 18-34, according to a study done by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

What Marketers Can Do

Content Marketing

Give your audience the information about your brand they want rather than a sales pitch or advertisement. Give them content that integrates seamlessly into the social feeds they are already in. Write blogs on topics they are already searching for. Author white papers with the in-depth insights that will help them solve problems.

Nano-Targeted Ads

If you are serving up ads, make them as compelling and targeted to your audience as possible. Micro-targeting will increase the chances that someone will look at your ads. For example, if you’re marketing beer to pregnant women, they are more likely to ignore you.

Need some help creating a content marketing strategy or micro-targeting your ads? Contact FiG today.