The research – from content discovery and marketing platform Outbrain – revealed that 66% of UK consumers trust content suggested by a premium publisher; 61% feel this way about content created by unfamiliar brands that have produced content that’s ‘useful and relevant to them'; while 60% feel the same about content promoted by publishers or brands that appears in their social feeds.

Content recommendations found on publishers’ sites are considered the most interesting form of advertising ( 38%), followed by useful, non-commercial content created by a brand ( 35%) and TV ads ( 31%). 

With regard to where content is best placed, respondents to the survey indicated that when seeking information specifically about products, traditional and non-traditional publishers are considered the most trustworthy sources ( 32% and 34% respectively). 

Traditional publishers are also trusted for hard news ( 64 % trust traditional publishers and 9% trust social media) and financial advice ( 43% trust traditional publishers and 16% trust social media). 

Outbrain surveyed 1,042 UK consumers aged 18+ that consumer online content daily. 

The full report can be downloaded here.