Online overkill sparks ad dilemma

Online marketers are facing an uphill struggle to get their messages across after a new study revealed most people feel overwhelmed with the volume and choice of information on the web, with more than half (55%) using only two or three trusted sites.
With UK digital spend breaking all records – reaching £7.2bn last year, according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau’s Digital Adspend report – consumers are increasingly looking to friends’ recommendations on social media rather than searching for content themselves, says a Carat report.
The media agency’s research and insight tool Consumer Connection System (CCS) surveys 11,000 British consumers and their media habits, and found that a third of people prefer friends’ recommendations than ads on social networks.
The five most trusted sites for content in the UK are BBC, Amazon, Google, ITV and eBay, the study shows.
Dan Hagen, chief strategy officer at Carat, said: “While there will always be a small population of people who will make the effort to explore the landscape for new and interesting content, services and diversions, the vast majority need the advice of trusted friends and brands to help them navigate an increasingly saturated content ecosystem.
“This opens several interesting opportunities and challenges for brands. Smart content, and crucially, distribution strategies combined with innovative approaches to partnership can help advertisers redefine their content strategies.”
Almost half (44%) of users said they look at content uploaded by friends at least once a week and 29% of people check posts shared by friends at least once a day.
So-called Millennials (those aged between 15 and 34) are the most reliant friends’ recommendations on social media; 49% trust this method more than ads and 33% said that they would only visit a site if it is recommended it.