Pushing content at customers doesn’t work, says a new report from Rapt Media. It says that consumers want to find content by themselves rather than have it forced upon them and may resent.
In a poll of more than 1,000 consumers in the US, the analyis showed that 95% of consumers take action to avoid seeing or receiving advertisements and two-thirds do so frequently.
57 percent of millennials blocked ad content since it had been overly pushy
More than half (55 percent) of customers say such content isn’t relevant or interesting to them and over two thirds (67%) are being inundated by its own volume.
46 percent of consumers stated that such content has been too pushy with 42% of customers not expecting the content shipped. The report showed that one of millennials the mistrust is even higher with 57 percent of millennials blocking ad content since it was too pushy, compared to 38% of those over 45 years old.
Millennials were also keener on personalisation with 41% saying they would spend additional time seeing or reading content whenever they could tailor it. That compares to 28 percent of those aged 45 plus.
Content discovery is crucial
Discovery remains crucial to a successful content strategy it appears regardless of personalisation of ads’ option. 61 percent of consumers stated that if content was customised they prefer to find it themselves. Consumers also believe there is a disconnect between content pushed to them and articles they find with 43% stating that advertisements that are online aren’t personalised to their interest but 62% of the content they find themselves is.
More than half (54 percent) of consumers stated that even if marketers personalised ads to their pursuits they nevertheless would not be interested and likely would not click on them.
However 62% said that if new content has been more personalised they would be more inclined to find other information or content to learn more about the brand and more than half (53 percent) stated they’d recall the brand as a result. 63% of consumers said they would think more favorably of a brand that gave them valuable, interesting or appropriate content.
Customers like customisation
Consumers would like to be in control. 33% of consumers stated they would spend reading or viewing content if they are able to optimise it when they found it having it revealed to them. 48% agreed by clicking it by themselves, if they could restrain the experience.
Information and articles utilized from the consumer themselves influenced the purchasing decision of 46 percent of consumers by spending more with content , whilst 48% said that could make them more likely to purchase.
Content is a sales tool for millennials using 60 percent of millennials saying they would be inclined to make a buy after spending more time participating compared to 44% of those aged over 30.
“The value of supplying a personalised content encounter versus compelling advertising at customers goes far beyond just getting more clicks and opinions,” says Rapt Media in the report.
“Interactive content encounters are what consumers are increasingly seeking, and marketers can no longer overlook the element of discovery,” stated the report.
