A must read for online advertisers!
In India, 87% of those who use the Internet trust others’ advice rather than any kind of advertising, proving that word-of-mouth is the most powerful advertising tool
As per the research by Nielson:
Online advertising in India: the trust factors
- WoM (i.e. Word of mouth) is the most trusted source: 87% users believe so.
- Newspapers come second in the ‘most trusted list’, with 77 % saying so.
- Opinions expressed online : 73% trust them
- Opnions expressed on brands’ Web sites : 72%,
- TV is the least trusted: 65 %
What’s more interesting is that users are waking up to reality of hard selling (i.e. all intrusive marketing!):
The least trusted forms of advertising in India are:
- Search engine advertisements (41 per cent),
- ads that precede movie screening (41 per cent),
- online banner ads (38 per cent), and
- text ads on mobile phones (24 per cent)
“As a consumer one is exposed to advertising in various media but what touches a chord is either a very innovative message or a product, which is good value for money. Word of mouth brings with it a big “trust” factor, which is quite often missing in other forms of advertising. Indians by nature tend to believe a friend or an associate while evaluating a product”
[via Hindu]
So what are the major takeaways for online advertisers?
- Exploit one’s social network.
- Pay attention to intention economy. Plain advertising doesn’t work anymore.
- Explore recommendation engines and user rating
- And of course, target blogs who express opinions.
What do you think?
Ashiish K Sinha
