Here’s something that should add a little spring to your step: trust in online advertising is increasing. Let’s take a moment to let that sink in – the trust that people have in online advertising is increasing. Going up!

And that’s not the only thing. Nielsen’s Trust in Advertising report reveals that trust in ads on TV, radio and movie screens is increasing, too.

According to Nielsen, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family still reign supreme, as 84 percent of global respondents across 58 countries to the Nielsen online survey said this source was the most trustworthy. However, trust in advertising on branded websites increased 9 percentage points to 69 percent in 2013 as the second most trusted format in 2013, a jump from fourth-place ranking in 2007.

In addition, more than half (56%) of respondents said they trust consumer-consented email messages, an increase of 7 percentage points since 2007. For other online advertising, almost half (48%) said they trust ads in search engine results, online video ads and ads on social networks. More than four in 10 (42%) trust online banner ads, up from 26 percent in 2007.

This is fantastic news for marketers. That’s because it means you still have the ability to control the message about your brand in a way that the consumer considers credible. In other words, your target audience isn’t immediately writing you off as "just another advertiser” when they see your ad appear on the side of a web page.

As marketers, earning consumer trust should be at the core of everything we do. People often describe it as the holy grail of a marketing campaign. When people trust a brand, they:

• Are more likely to recommend it to other people.
• Are more likely to use its products and services more frequently.
• Will look to it first for things they want.
• Will give its new products and services a chance.
• Are more likely to pay more for its products and services.

The findings from Nielsen are encouraging and should give you increased confidence to move marketing dollars into online platforms. Now let’s just make sure that we – as advertisers – remain trustworthy so these numbers continue to climb!

(The Nielsen Global Survey of Trust in Advertising was conducted between February 18 and March 8, 2013, and polled more than 29,000 consumers in 58 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America.)

Inga Rundquist

Inga Rundquist is a Public Relations Arsonist and Co-Owner at MindFire. When she’s not dreaming up ideas that will generate publicity, you can find her knee deep in the social media world, also known as the next PR frontier.