Pushing content at consumers doesn’t work, says a new report from Rapt Media. It says that consumers want to discover content on their own rather than have it forced upon them and can even resent brands that do.
In a survey of more than 1,000 consumers in the US, the analyis showed that 95% of consumers take action to avoid seeing or receiving ads and two-thirds do so regularly.
57% of millennials blocked ad content because it was too pushy
More than half (55%) of consumers say such content is not interesting or relevant to them and more than two thirds (67%) are being overwhelmed by its volume.
46% of consumers said that such content was too pushy with 42% of consumers not trusting the content sent. The report showed that amongst millennials the mistrust is even higher with 57% of millennials blocking ad content because it was too pushy, compared to 38% of those over 45 years of age.
Millennials were also keener on personalisation with 41% saying they would spend more time reading or viewing content if they could tailor it to their interests. That compares to 28% of those aged 45 plus.
Content discovery is key
Discovery remains key to a successful content strategy it seems despite the option of personalisation of ads. 61% of consumers said that even if content was more customised they’d still prefer to find it themselves. Consumers also feel there is a disconnect between content pushed to them and content they discover with 43% saying that online ads are not personalised to their interest but that 62% of the content they discover themselves is.
Meanwhile more than half (54%) of consumers said that even if marketers personalised ads to their interests they still wouldn’t be interested and probably wouldn’t click on them.
However 62% said that if brand content was more personalised they would be more likely to seek out other information or content to learn more about the brand and more than half (53%) said they would remember the brand as a result. 63% of consumers said they would think more positively of a brand that gave them valuable, interesting or relevant content.
Customers like customisation
Consumers want to be in control. 33% of consumers said they would spend longer reading or viewing online content if they could customise it to their interests and 47% if they found it on their own vs having it shown to them. 48% agreed if they could control the experience by clicking through it on their own.
Information and content found by the consumer themselves influenced the purchasing decision of 46% of consumers whilst 48% said that by spending longer with content would make them more likely to purchase.
Content is a more powerful sales tool for millennials with 60% of millennials saying that they would be more likely to make a purchase after spending more time engaging with content compared to 44% of those aged over 30.
“The value of offering a personalised content experience versus pushing advertising at consumers goes far beyond simply getting more clicks and views,” says Rapt Media in the report.
“Interactive content experiences are what consumers are increasingly seeking, and marketers can no longer overlook the element of discovery,” said the report.
