As social media continues to revolutionize the consumer-brand experience, Nielsen and NM Incite’s recent Social Media Report 2012 shows that unique, precision-driven opportunities for advertisers to interact with consumers will continue to grow.

Culturally, behaviors towards social media advertising vary. Arguably the most engaged with social advertising are Asian-American consumers, who are most likely to share, like, or purchase a product after seeing an ad on a social network. Asian-Americans and Hispanics are both more likely to make any type of purchase after seeing a social ad, with the most popular purchase being a coupon through a daily deal or retailer site (28% and 19%, respectively).

White consumers are the least likely to take any action after seeing these ads. They are slightly more likely to share an ad (13%) than to make a purchase (12%), and African-Americans are equally likely to share an ad or make a purchase (18%).

Consumer attitudes towards advertising on social media are still evolving, though a third of social media users agree that ads on social networking sites are more annoying than other online ads. More than a quarter of users say they don’t mind seeing tailored ads based on their individual profile information. Not only do consumers not mind certain ads, they also engage with them by liking or sharing an ad (26% and 15%, respectively), or actually making a purchase (14%). As attitudes towards advertisements evolve, and ads become more accepted based on consumers’ responsiveness level, social media platforms can become more and more like traditional, ad-supported media.

Download Nielsen and NM Incite’s Social Media Report 2012.