Majority of Americans want original content from brands

NEW YORK, USA: A recent WP Engine study found that the majority of Americans (62 percent) want to see content directly from their favorite brands. This was followed by tips on using a brand's products (44 percent), stories from customers like themselves (34 percent), and anything that does not blatantly "sell" a company's products (18.6 percent).

Surprisingly, nearly all consumers (96 percent) do not want to see stories about how celebrities use a company's products.

Highlighting consumer's desire for original content directly from the companies themselves, nearly half of respondents (46 percent) read the blogs of their favorite brands. The survey also shows that 2 out of 5 consumers prefer to read content directly from a company blog rather than a news magazine or website.

Additionally, a majority of Americans (60 percent) said they want to see content directly from brands including articles on important issues (27 percent), research on the company's industry (16 percent) and funny stories (12 percent).

In addition to consumers frequenting the blogs of their favorite brands, half of consumers (48 percent) said that it is important for brands to produce content on their blog for reasons such as:

• It provides consumers with the most up to date information - 32 percent

• It gives consumers a more personal connection with the company - 16 percent

• It gives brands a voice - 15 percent

Inversely, nearly half of consumers (40 percent) said that there are negative effects if brands do not produce content on their blogs, including:

• The brand loses communication with its customers - 19 percent

• The brand may lose customers to its competitors - 16 percent

• The brand looks lazy - 12 percent

• The brand becomes less relevant - 10 percent

Interestingly, even with the prevalent use of social media a majority of consumers (52 percent) still prefer to go directly to the company website for content about the brand while only 25 percent go to social media and 22 percent go to third-party articles. Additionally, women more than men were inclined to visit social media sites for brand content (30 percent vs. 19 percent).

The survey also examined the specific styles in which consumers like to read content from brands and found that consumers preferred to read content in news article style such as the New York Times (25 percent). This was followed by feature article style like People Magazine (21 percent), short blogger style (17 percent) and a fun "listicle" style such as Buzzfeed (11 percent).

"It's never been more important for brands to stay relevant by producing their own content," said Heather Brunner, CEO of WP Engine. "Consumers demand content and the research shows that even with various outlets they can go to, consumers still want to hear directly from the brands. It's important for companies to share their thoughts as it gives them a personal touch with their customers allowing more meaningful conversations to arise."