A report from the Online Publishers Association found that tablet users have become some of the most active consumers of web content.

A report from the Online Publishers Association found that tablet owners have quickly become more active in content consumption, and their habits have become more diverse, as more websites are entirely accessible to these mobile users. According to the OPA, content consumption is the No. 1 activity of tablet owners, with 94 percent of respondents saying they regularly read news or other articles and watch video.

Among the other activities that proved popular with tablet owners are general web browsing (67 percent) and email access (65 percent).

For marketers, the growth of tablets, in terms of both ownership and the devices’ overall capability, has made it easier and more important to create content directed at this user base. The OPA found that 31 percent of Americans currently own tablets, which represents major growth since March 2011 when 12 percent Americans used them regularly.

Moreover, 74 percent of tablet owners use their devices every day, and 60 percent said they use them throughout the day.

“The growing base of tablet users is also showing a healthy appetite for paid content with 61 percent having purchased tablet content in the past year,” Pam Horan, president of the OPA, said in a release. “Considering tablets have only been available for a little over two years, the findings of this study truly underscore the possibilities for publishers to grow their business as consumers are willing to open their wallets in order to have original content at their fingertips.”

With so many tablet owners reading articles on the web and accessing video, content marketing campaigns that provide engaging, relevant information on any number of topics will appeal to the growing audience. News content is especially valuable for targeting tablet users, with ONA finding 37 percent of respondents reguarly read news. Plus, Brafton reported recently that more than half of tablet owners said they access more news articles than they did before purchasing the portable device.

“The growing base of tablet users is also showing a healthy appetite for paid content with 61 percent having purchased tablet content in the past year,” Pam Horan, president of the OPA, said in a release. “Considering tablets have only been available for a little over two years, the findings of this study truly underscore the possibilities for publishers to grow their business as consumers are willing to open their wallets in order to have original content at their fingertips.”

For those marketers who have failed to target tablet owners with content marketing due to perceptions that these audiences are mostly using the devices for games, the OPA data demonstrates that news and information are more popular with these users. Moreover, video content that informs and entertains can also help marketers attract these prospects, with 54 percent regularly watching video content.

Twenty-nine percent of tablet owners access at least three web-connected devices every day. As such, content that can be viewed on desktops and laptops, as well as tablets and smartphones is especially appealing to this audience. According to Horan, tablet users who are also smartphone owners are more likely to make a purchase after reading about an item on their devices.

Other data supports the theory that rising content access is connected to tablet shopping. Brafton recently reported that ecommerce activity is increasingly common for tablet owners, whether for personal shopping or professional purchase research. Twenty percent of tablet owners shop on their devices at least once every week, while 21 percent do so more than once per week.

In terms of devices, Apple’s iPad continues to be the dominant player with more than 94 percent of all traffic from tablets coming from iPads, according to Chitika. A separate report from Chitika further illustrated Apple’s reign in the market, reporting that for every 100 ad impressions an iPad delivers, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab records two.

Targeting iPad users may also help B2B companies, as the device has become a primary investment among businesses. Brafton recently reported that 97 percent of all tablet activations handled by Good Technology are of the iPad.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.