Content Moments: Inspire at the right moment

Internet users consume less content in the morning than in the evening.The "Content Moments" are intended to provide advertisers with a guide to help them find out how to address their target group with the right content at the right moment. To do this, advertisers have to evaluate more and more data and draw the right conclusions. This includes socio-demographic data, historical information about previous user behavior and much more, but why exactly do consumers interact with certain content in the first place? The study by AOL investigates this question and has uncovered the motivations and motives of consumers. In today's world, consumers often make their purchasing decisions very spontaneously within a few seconds and it is therefore important to reach them with the right content at the moments when they are most receptive to it.To understand the motivation of users in the various moments, advertisers need to look at more than just the content itself - namely the specific situations in which consumers find themselves at the time of interaction. Each content moment consists of four elements before, during and after the interaction: (1.) the motivation to trigger the content experience in the first place, (2.) the emotions that play a role during it, (3.) the results that are achieved by consuming the content, and (4.) the topic of the content.Depending on the constellation of the four components, the following eight Content Moments are created:

• Inspire - look for new ideas, try something new
• Be in the Know - be up to date, find relevant ideas
• Find - search for answers or advice
• Comfort - Looking for support or insights
• Connect - Learn something new, be part of a community
• Feel Good - Improve your mood, relax
• Entertain - Take a time-out or a mental break, laugh
• Update Socially - stay up to date, take a mental break

How Internet users consume contentInternet users spend an average of twelve minutes in a content moment consuming content. A content moment lasts the longest between 11 a.m. and 2 a.m. - 18 minutes on average - while a content moment lasts only eight minutes on average between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. and is therefore the shortest. The variations by age and gender are only slight. However, there are differences depending on the mobile device: the larger the screen size, the longer the time spent in a Content Moment, and the more emotional the Content Moment, the longer consumers linger. The content moments "Entertain" and "Find", in which the motivation for content consumption is relaxation, therefore usually last longer - 16 and 14 minutes on average for Germans - than the moments "Be in the Know" (average duration of seven minutes) or "Comfort" (average duration of ten minutes), which are primarily about absorbing information. In addition, the content varies depending on the moment and the action following the content moment.Inspire14% of Content Moments fall into the "Inspire" category. Product searches and photo galleries or slideshows on the topics of travel, fashion and food are primarily consumed in this content moment. 25% discover a service or product that they are thinking about buying.Be in the KnowEleven percent of content moments fall into the "Be in the Know" category. Consumers primarily use online information and articles about current events, the weather and politics for this purpose. 34 percent of consumers come directly via an app or a landing page.Find17 percent of Germans' content moments fall into the "Find" category. Top content includes products and online information, articles and blogs on technology, weather and health/wellness.ComfortThree percent of Germans' content moments fall into the "comfort" category: in these moments, users consume content primarily via social networks. It is therefore hardly surprising that the sharing rate is highest following this content moment: 27% of respondents stated that they share the content online after the interaction.ConnectFive percent of Germans' content moments fall into the "Connect" category. Online videos from the areas of comedy, entertainment and fantasy are consumed in particular. Following these moments, consumers increasingly click on ads or download an app.Feel Good16 percent of content moments from Germans fall into the "Feel Good" category. Top content includes photo galleries and slideshows as well as social networks. In terms of content, these moments are characterized by the topics of music, sport and games. This moment is the most likely of all to lead to the purchase of a product.Entertain18% of German content moments fall into the "Entertain" category - making it the most common content moment. Consumers mainly engage with online games or online videos and nine percent of consumers then share their experiences with a person.Update Socially17% of content moments from Germans fall into the "Update Socially" category. The top content includes social media, short videos and galleries or slideshows. The topics are mainly sports, friends & family and games.AOL has also developed a four-step approach that serves as a guide for creating content marketing campaigns:1. the consumer's needs determine the brand attributes, because the story should come to the user and not be expected to come to the brand.2. the topics and formats of the content as well as the content moments in which they are played out should vary. This allows advertisers to reach more users.3 The desired result should be precisely defined in advance. To do this, advertisers should know the mindset of users and make it easy for them to interact.4. data and creativity should go hand in hand and complement each other: To achieve the greatest possible campaign effectiveness, insights from the eight content moments help to inspire with creative, in line with the consumer's needs.