Sunday,
November 5, 2000
Over 80% of Web Sites Use Promotional Content
More than 80 percent of consumer Web businesses utilize online promotional
content on a regular basis to build awareness, maximize site traffic,
and drive action, but few recognize its power to influence overall
consumer activity online and off-line, according to a new report
from Jupiter Research, a worldwide authority on Internet commerce.
With nearly all businesses using scattershot promotional content
tactics, Jupiter analysts advise sites to refocus efforts so they
align with overall business goals. Both online and offline impact
should be used in measuring success rates.
Jupiter analysts coined "promotional content" to
describe the gray area that straddles the promotional
goals of merchandising, advertising and utility functions,
but appears more like content to site users. Promotional
content, which is actively sought by online users,
not passively consumed like advertising, should engage
consumers through entertainment, creating an emotional
bond or encouraging participation through incentives.
Some of the most common deployments include online
events, guest chats, original online-only content,
and branded games.
A recent Jupiter Executive Survey found that 81
percent of Web sites regularly deploy these types
of content features, but most do so on a scattershot
basis with little understanding of what to use, when
to use it, or how it affects consumers. Jupiter data
also reveals that sites neglect to see the impact
online promotional content can have on off-line and
cross-property consumer behavior. Further data reveals
that the surveyed executives view promotional content
primarily as a way to increase site traffic and gather
rich data through increased site registrations. But
few sites recognize the impact these tools can have
on building off-line subscription bases, increasing
consumption of traditional media and promoting brand
interaction on a daily basis.
"While we are seeing more and more sites deploying
some form of promotional content, it is apparent
that executives continue to view it as a tactic to
reach online-only goals," said Stacey Herron, an
analyst with Jupiter Research. "Although promotional
content can accomplish specific online acquisition
and retention goals, influencing overall consumer
activity – online and off-line - should be the prime
motivator to provide promotional content. In this
way, executives will be able to reach consumers in
a different medium and encourage consumers to interact
with their content or brand online."
Herron believes that promotional content is most
powerful when tied to an off-line counterpart, seasonal
theme, or event. A Jupiter Consumer Survey found
that more than one third of users said they visited
a Web site to receive a promotional item, a higher
percentage than any other activity. Survey findings
support that consumers respond to original online
content and rewards --such as having an influence
on programming, receiving items, or obtaining simple
acknowledgement.
Reaching those goals will become more difficult
as more sites increase the amount and variety of
promotional content they offer. Players must focus
on breaking through the clutter by providing consumers
with innovative and engaging content to spur desired
consumer activity. Web executives also must pay attention
to driving traffic to both on and offline properties,
and focus on matching the goals of promotional content
to the quantitative metrics that flow from wider
content distribution.
Sites should continue to focus on metrics such as
duration of site visits and amount of traffic, and
continue to seek rich consumer data through site
registration, while broadening their focus and incorporating
off-line metrics. For instance, direct actionable
results--such as an increase in subscription for
online periodicals or sales following an online promotion--evaluations
of consumer feedback through email or postings on
message boards as well as results of consumer surveys
and focus groups.
