According to a new survey, fielded by TNS and developed by WP Engine, 62% of Americans want to see content directly from their favorite brands. This was followed by tips on using a brand’s products (44%), stories from customers like themselves (34%), and anything that does not blatantly “sell” a company’s products (18.6%). 96% of consumers do not want to see stories about how celebrities use a company’s products.
Highlighting consumer’s desire for original content directly from the companies themselves, nearly half of respondents read the blogs of their favorite brands. The survey also shows that consumers prefer to read content directly from a company blog rather than a news magazine or website, want to see content directly from brands, including articles on important issues (27%), research on the company’s industry (16%) and funny stories (12%):
Source: WP Engine, May 2014
In addition to consumers frequenting the blogs of their favorite brands, 48% of consumers said that it is important for brands to produce content on their blog for reasons such as:
Inversely, 40% of consumers said that there are negative effects if brands do not produce content on their blogs, including:
Even with the prevalent use of social media, says the report, 52% of consumers still prefer to go directly to the company website for content about the brand while only 25% go to social media and 22% go to third-party articles. Additionally, women more than men were inclined to visit social media sites for brand content (30% vs. 19%).
The survey also found that 25% of consumers preferred to read content from brands in news article style such as the New York Times, followed by feature article style like People Magazine (21%), short blogger style (17%) and a fun “listicle” style such as Buzzfeed (11%)
Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine, opines “… brands… stay relevant by producing their own content… even with various (additional) outlets… consumers still want to hear directly from the brands… gives (the brand) a personal touch with their customers… (encouraging) more meaningful conversations… “
For additional information about the study, please visit here.
Yet another article that will prompt untold companies and agencies to start cranking out meaningless drivel on their websites, Facebook pages, et. al.
The actionable word in this article is "favorite." I have no doubt that consumers want to engage with brands for which they have an affinity. But let's get real: there are very few brands that enjoy a customer base with this kind of passion. MOST brands and companies serve a functional need and fall well short of creating an emotional connection…at least, a connection that prompts on-going engagement.
I have clients who want to blog and post and "create content" who have customers that really don't care. I'm all for creating great content. But let's get real about the emotional connection you believe your brand has with consumers.