Trust in advertising
According to the most recent Neilsen report which asked 29,000 people what influences them, compared to 2007, most forms of advertising saw a boost in how much consumers feel trust. While the most trusted form is word of mouth endorsement from friends and family, the least trusted is text ads, yet both forms improved in how much people say they trust them.
The most important finding in the study for brands, however, is that trust in conventional advertising is on the rise, contrary to popular opinion. But that conventional advertising is changing – buy an ad on tv, you may get some web ad space at the same time. Buy a page in a print magazine, and your ad contract may include thank you tweets from the magazine. Combine all of these things, and the ubiquitous nature of advertising becomes ever relevant.
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Another important finding: your website matters
Because seven in 10 consumers view branded websites (your website) as a trusted source of information, a neglected site is a wasted opportunity. In fact, your website is more influential in driving sales than a printed ad in a newspaper.
Remember, though, that an article you publish on your blog may attract people to your site, but to convert sales, you must have relevant information. Don’t make consumers go to Google to learn about your trade or business, give them tons of data points and pieces of information that answers the common questions people ask about your industry. Have a useful About page, fill your blog with relevant (yes, relevant) posts, test all of your contact forms to make sure they are performing, and iterate as often as possible.
While text advertising is not exactly a trusted form of advertising, branded sponsorship is extremely well received by consumers, and trust in advertising in nearly all forms is on the rise, contrary to the gurus telling you that you must tweet or die.
