Why do 98% of Americans distrust the Internet?
I’ll give you a hint, it has everything to do with content.
A study conducted by Harris Interactive highlights just how widespread this lack of trust in information on the Internet is for most Americans.
According to the survey of 1,900 Americans, 98% distrust information found on the Internet, with 94% saying “bad things can happen as a result of acting on inaccurate information online.”
Of course bad things can happen as a result of acting on any inaccurate information, no matter the source, but if we look closer at the reasons we come to the real reason I’m sharing this article.
Reasons Americans distrust information on the Internet include: (as reported in this study)
Too many ads – 59%
Outdated information – 56%
Information is self-promotional – 53%
Unfamiliar forums – 45%
Notice #2 and #3 both have to do with content. In today’s Internet age, we’re bombarded with tons of inaccurate, promotional and bad information. The good news is that we sift through it and often ignore this type of Internet junk mail. Whether it’s in your inbox as an email, a newsletter or an ad, we’ve all ignored this type of bad information. That’s why it is so important for companies not to create flashier mailers, but to create better content.
Give the people something interesting and valuable and they’ll come back every time.
It’s online marketing 101.
