Native advertising is the natural evolution of content marketing. It is a way to promote the content your brand is already creating.
Although not an entirely new concept, it’s timely re-emergence is providing advertisers with a more direct and meaningful connection with consumers as well as having the ability to reach such consumers where they converge online. It functions without intruding upon them in the manner that large online banner ads and other forms of traditional advertisements do.
Native advertising’s importance is only expected to grow especially when you consider the effectiveness of an increasingly affluent Millennials demographic.
Millennials are the ideal audience for native advertising. They are the generation that have grown up with access to content via their mobiles or tablet devices. They are not the desktop generation who are more likely to click on banner ads.
Millennials use their devices to efficiently find what they are looking for and then they move on. They are also more likely to share content that interests them – in turn, becoming the biggest way in which native advertising is currently being utilised.
Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo are the major players in native advertising and if it’s not a part of your business’s advertising strategy you could be missing out big time!
Digital media advertising is quickly evolving with native advertising is one of the hottest topics that you should be familiarising yourself with.
Native advertising has been primarily designed to camouflage (or blend) marketing messages to appear or sound like editorial content.
By using this blending effect is it more likely that native advertising will be perceived as you intended; ultimately resulting in:
- a higher likelihood that the advertisement will be viewed, watched or listened too, and;
- if the consumer has a high level of trust in the publisher the more likely it will reflect positively on the brand.
Three key components are generally considered when creating a native advertisement. In-feed units, this includes recommendation widgets and custom placements that are directly embedded on to a site.
Although they vary in context, they all have one thing in common – the ability to use client-owned content and embed it into the overall user experience.
When content is perceived using an editorial format it makes it difficult to distinguish whether the article has been written by an independent journalist or funded by a company.
As a majority of online advertising is published through display and paid means, the content and consumer review based information found online is often dismissed as actual and arbitrary, but is it really?
Think about how many blogs, articles and third-party based websites you stumble across that are discussing particular products or services.
Now ask yourself, did you really find that website or article on your own, or is it possible that a complex web of native advertising guided you to your decision?
Native advertising does well and will continue to play a significant role in how consumers make informed online decisions, generally without their knowledge.
So, what is the difference between native advertising and an advertorial or sponsored link?
Simply, it’s ultimately based on high quality content; as in content that has the potential to go viral via video or social media platforms.
Emphasis should be focused on brands working with trusted partners to help bring their ideas to life based on measurable objectives.
They should guide the process for developing and reviewing native content, and also advise the best means for monitoring audience reactions.
Finding ways of optimising native advertising for mobiles means impact can be seen and measured, regardless of how the consumer is engaging with your content.
So what does native marketing mean for content marketing?
It means taking owned content (housed within a company’s website, content hub or blog) and giving it directly to the user, as well as amplifying the content to reach a larger audience that may otherwise not see it.
Businesses are able to see a bigger return on investment if they’re creating exciting content, engaging and connecting with their audiences in meaningful ways.
There are 3 major types of native advertising:
- Sponsored Content: includes articles and videos appearing on big time publisher websites that closely mimic editorial content but have promotional intent.
- Recommended Content: a way to recommend content for a particular visitor is to personalise content for them based on their interests.
- In-Feed Social Ads: usually where many businesses begin with native marketing. In-feed social ads are cheap and easy to set up. The message is consistent and although there is no direct offer in a majority of these ads, you can bet the landing page will ask for their contact information.
Why Go Native?
Native ads get attention. Consumers are more likely look at native ad placements more than traditional banner ads.
This leads to more clicks…….
Ensuring you provide your audience with quality and shareable content, native advertising is an incredibly powerful amplification medium that can produce outstanding results when published correctly.
If you are having trouble getting your content noticed through all of the noise that exists online, or maybe you are looking for assistance and a more in-depth understanding of native advertising, contact Arrow Digital Marketing and discuss with one of our digital marketing experts how we can assist you. Call 1300 766 665 or visit our website today!
