Do you think most consumers are annoyed with online ads and block or ignore them? Or that consumers would rather pay for subscriptions to digital publishers than view ads?
We just released the findings of our 2nd annual survey (if you missed our first one, check out our In Email We Trust & Email: The Critical Link in Your Monetization Strategy ebooks to see the results!)
TL;DR — email is not dead; in fact, it’s more alive than ever. It’s the most trusted channel that publishers can use to communicate with their audience, and we’re ready to bust some audience engagement myths.
Check out this video where our CEO, Jeff Kupietzky, busts this myth:
In general, we found that digital audiences place a lot of value on content personalization, but at the same time, they are concerned by the data collection that drives those recommendations. Based on our study, around 78% of online users are uncomfortable with websites tracking their behavior despite expecting personalization of product and article recommendations. An additional 2/3 of customers also say they’re concerned about website cookies (to learn more about third party cookies and their relation to this privacy paradox, check out our ebook).
This complex situation has now forced publishers to strike a delicate balance between privacy and personalization in order to drive audience engagement and revenue.
But, it’s not all bad news. Over 80% of consumers would rather get “free” (ad-supported content), and over 67% say they’re willing to click on an ad if it’s relevant to their interests or if it appears on a site they trust. This reveals a great monetization opportunity publishers can leverage to better engage and own their audience.
We busted a few more audience engagement myths in our latest study, and we put all of the major findings in this awesome infographic. Take a look to see what digital consumers really want and how it might impact your own audience engagement strategy. And if you’d like to access all of the results and insights from this year’s survey, download our ebook now!
If you’d like help owning your audience to increase customer engagement and revenue, get in touch with us today!
