Some 46% of Americans read the blogs of their favorite brands, according to newly-released survey results from WP Engine. Respondents attribute a significant amount of influence to brands’ blogs: about half believe it’s important for brands to product content on their blogs, while 2 in 5 feel there are negative effects for brands not producing blog content. Interestingly, respondents appear to favor reading content directly from company blogs and websites over other content distribution methods.
Specifically, 2 in 5 prefer reading content directly from a company blog rather than a news magazine or website, while 52% prefer going directly to the company’s website for content about a brand, compared to 25% going to social media and 22% to third-party articles.
Overall, about 6 in 10 report that they want to see content directly from brands, with the types of content they want to see including: articles on important issues (27%); research on the company’s industries (16%); and funny stories (12%).
Additionally, almost 1 in 5 are happy to see anything that doesn’t glaringly “sell” a company’s products. Almost all of the respondents (96%) aren’t interested in seeing stories about how celebrities are using a company’s products, another data point to add to a growing body of research suggesting that celebrities don’t wield much influence over consumers.
Other Findings:
- Benefits attributed by respondents to brands producing content on their blogs include: providing consumers with the most up to date information (32%);giving consumers a more personal connection with the company (16%); and giving brands a voice (15%).
- Negative effects attributed to brands not producing content on their blogs include: the brand losing communication with its customers (19%), the brand looking lazy (12%) and the brand coming less relevant (10%).
About the Data: The survey was developed by WP Engine and fielded by TNS among 1,000 Americans.