Millennials trust newspapers, no one trusts emails and other shocking truths

Which age group has the greatest trust in content they read in newspapers: Millennials (aged 21-34) or those over 65?

The answer may surprise you: it is the younger generation who has the greatest trust in the most traditional media. That is one of the findings of the Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey that was published last year and deserves a second or third reading.

Nielsen polled more than 30,000 consumers in 60 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The information they gathered was wide ranging and their insights into forms of media and trust is particularly noteworthy – both for how the various formats rate against one another, and how trust differs across age ranges.

Age concerns

68% of millennials trust editorial content, such as newspaper articles. That number drops as age increases with just 55% of over-65s having the same faith in newsprint.

This trend of the young having greater trust than the old is repeated across the board. Generation Z (aged 15-20) is 22% more likely to take what they read on branded websites at face value than the ‘Silent Generation’ of over-65s.

Millennials are 23% more likely than older consumers to trust consumer opinion posted online, and 24% more likely to have trust in messages accompanying brand sponsorship.

While these large differences are noteworthy, it is also useful to see where there is little difference in perceptions of trust across the generations.

Trust still diminishes with age, but the difference between Millennials and the Silent Generation drops to less than 10% when they are asked about their trust in personnel recommendations and emails they have signed up for.

The most trusted content formats

Such first-hand recommendations earn the highest trust (around 80%), followed by branded websites and online consumer opinions (think TripAdvisor and Amazon reviews). Editorial content is mid-table and emails that were signed up to come near the bottom of the pile.

The fact that recommendations are 30% more trusted than emails is something to focus the minds of content marketers. It is also further evidence of the importance of advocates in getting your message across.

The strong showing of branded websites is also noteworthy. If you can get people to your site, they will trust what they read there – much more so than if you share that information in an email.

Keep an open mind to age and content mix

So what do you do – or not do – with this information?

You don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to the ways you deliver content. You don’t underestimate the faith that younger people have in your message, and how that turns to skepticism with age.

You do use traditional media to communicate with the young as well as the old, and you ensure that you filter your data about clicks and opens through the lens of perceived trust to help gauge the impact you’re making.

An integrated, multi-channel approach just got more complicated – but if there’s one take away to all this then it is the need to build advocacy for your message.

View the full report here: https://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/apac/docs/reports/2015/nielsen-global-trust-in-advertising-report-september-2015.pdf

Image: Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey, Q1 2015