We’re living in the age of “banner blindness,” where internet users are either subconsciously or consciously (read: grumpily) ignoring display ads.
This means that of the small number of readers that are seeing these ads, a truly dismal percentage — 0.05%, to be exact — are clicking on them. But this wasn’t always the case. If you ask some old guard advertisers about the golden age of display ads, they might speak reverently about the pixelated 1994 banner ad (purchased by AT&T on HotWired.com) that inspired 44% of viewers to click on it. What brilliantly crafted message garnered this level of engagement, you ask? “Have you ever clicked your mouse right HERE? YOU WILL.”
Needless to say, times have changed. The drastic shift in attitudes towards display advertising boils down to one simple fact: pop-ups and banner ads aren’t the best way to tell a brand or publisher’s story. People want to know the companies whose products or services they’re purchasing. They want to know what drives them, where they source their materials from and who their employees are. Simply put: people are seeking out companies with a human face behind them, and the best way to show your humanity as a brand or publisher is through storytelling.
Content marketing has shepherded in a new era for the industry. Content, whether it comes in the form of bite-sized listicles, long-form articles, branded video series or captivating photo galleries, is king. But content has a major problem: scale.
Fifteen percent of publishers who responded to a recent Pressboard survey cite scaling content production as a stumbling block; yet, 90% expect their company’s revenue from branded content to increase over the next year. With most publishers creating content for multiple different brands and clients, it can feel like an insurmountable task to give each one the attention they deserve.
This whitepaper outlines a few ways that publishers’ studios can effectively scale their content production, ensuring that no quality is spared in the process.
Ready to start scaling your content? If you want to keep learning about doing more with less, repurposing existing content and refocusing your content strategy, then download our free comprehensive guide here.