During Super Bowl, the Real Action Will Be on Social Media (Infographic) 2014's game day viewership broke records, which certainly didn't hurt the businesses with ads in the broadcast.

By Nina Zipkin

Shutterstock.com

Whether or not you have a stake in this year's Super Bowl match up between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, it's entirely likely you'll be watching – and chiming in on social media.

For brands – especially those who advertise or create Super Bowl social campaigns – that means everything. Last year's game was the most watched TV show in U.S. history, averaging 111.5 million viewers, which means the brands that secured the coveted (and expensive – the average 30-second spot cost roughly $4 million in 2014) air time, got a major bump.

Related: Tumblr Launches New Ad Initiative to Connect Popular Bloggers With Major Brands

Social media insights and influence platform Crowdtap polled 6,000 viewers and 85 percent said they prefer the Super Bowl with ads, rather than without, with 30 percent reporting that the commercials are their main reason for watching on game day.

Seventy-four percent of viewers said that they would "take action on social media" (i.e. post a status update or use a hashgtag) if a Super Bowl ad spurred them to it, and half said that they would share commercials to support their favorite brands. Not only that, 63 percent of viewers reported that they were extremely or somewhat likely to buy a product showcased in a Super Bowl commercial.

For more on the elements that make a memorable commercial, and last year's most popular ads (unsurprisingly, there were puppies involved), check out the infographic below.

Click to Enlarge

During Super Bowl, the Real Action Will Be on Social Media (Infographic)

Related: 3 Ways Your Startup Marketing Can Outmaneuver the Big-Budget Competition

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

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