Decline in trust of social media channels as consumers sharpen their media choices

FURTHER DECLINE OF TRUST IN SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS AS CONSUMERS SHARPEN THEIR MEDIA CHOICES - SECOND ‘ADTRUST’ STUDY

- Degradation of trust in financial sector with 25% of consumers not trusting banks to invest their money well -

- News brands are the most trusted media and provide opportunity for financial companies to leverage -

 

Australians’ trust in social media channels has fallen in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and concerns about data privacy, while trust in newspapers, news websites, radio and television has risen sharply, the second ADTRUST study* by Galaxy Research has revealed.

Trust in media channels directly drives purchase intent, with 58% of consumers agreeing that the more they trust an ad, the more likely they are to buy a product or service.

The study has surveyed more than 4,200 Australians over the past 12 months and has now been replicated in three countries across Asia. It measures consumers’ trust in the content and advertising in the media they consume across 10 media channels, and found a direct correlation between the two.

In addition to the ADTRUST study, emma (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data^ has revealed that 58% of news media readers agree that “You don’t know who to trust these days”.

The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services sector has resulted in a degradation of trust among consumers, and particularly, readers of news media. emma data found that 25% of consumers do not trust banks to invest their money well. This presents an opportunity for financial firms to leverage the trust of newspapers and news websites to rebuild consumer trust in their brands.

Although higher earners are less prone to trust issues generally, it is these premium customers who trust the banks less when it comes to investing.  More than half (56%) of news media readers earning more than $120,000 do not know who to trust these days and 29% said they would not trust banks to invest their money. More than a third (35%) with superannuation valued over $500,000 said they would not trust banks to invest their money.

The media tested for the ADTRUST study included Newspapers (National, Metro, Regional, Community), Television, Radio, Magazines, Cinema, Outdoor, News Websites, Non-news Websites, Social and Search. Results are represented as net figures, that is, the percentage of those that trust a medium minus the percentage of those that mistrust a medium.

Consumer trust in the content on social media channels has fallen to -20 and trust in ads has dropped to -28 in just under 12 months since the inaugural study was undertaken. The majority of Australians (58%) trust Facebook less than they did six months ago and nearly two thirds (63%) said they do not trust advertising on Facebook.

Conversely, trust in the content of printed newspapers has risen 13 points to +48 and trust in ads rose 10 points to +38, again making newspapers the most trusted media for both content and ads. News websites were the most trusted digital channel for content and ads.

“Consumers are now well aware that their personal data is being commercialised and, in some instances, their privacy traded for profit and, as a result, have honed their media choices. The further erosion of trust consumers have in social media demonstrates they are tuned into the real news, nearly all of which has been revealed by quality newspapers and news websites. That’s where advertisers should be headed too and is a key opportunity for financial and banking firms in the current climate,” NewsMediaWorks CEO, Peter Miller, said.

“The facts are irrefutable - trust in content and trust in ads go hand in hand – and this drives purchase intent. And where do brands go when they are seeking to rebuild lost trust in their organisations? They run ads in newspapers – as National Australia Bank, KFC and, ironically, Facebook have done in recent months.

“Brands are indeed judged by the company they keep and we are seeing a flight to quality, with consumers relying more on established news brands they trust and proactively dismissing messages – either content or ads – they see in media they distrust.”

Trust in advertising also changes with age, with respondents under the age of 35 having higher trust in all media channels than older users, especially those aged over 55. Younger users, despite being heavier users of digital media, ranked ads in newspapers as the most trustworthy of all media, with the study recording a pronounced drop in their trust of ads in social media and non-news websites.

Sources: * Galaxy Research ; n=4200 Australians aged 18+ over 2 waves; Jun17 2 legs of n=1400 with each leg covering 5 of the 10 media types ; Apr18 1 leg of n=1400 covering each of the 10 media. ^ Attitudinal and Product analysis uses Nielsen Consumer & Media View (emma CMV) April 2018.