The usual intrusive advertising, designed for maximum coverage, has long been tired of the teeth. Each of us is exposed to marketing impact up to a hundred times a day, and this is annoying. It is for this reason that large companies are constantly looking for effective ways to promote their product so that it does not look like a banal advertisement.
Native advertising is one such marketing solution. It catches with its content without an obvious selling message. There is no call to purchase in advertising – only information about the benefits of the product and the potential of the brand. Such content echoes the information content of the site on which it is hosted. The main task is to form an understanding among the consumer that the advertised product or brand is able to satisfy his needs.
In this article, we will tell you how native advertising works, why it is needed and how best to use it.
What is native advertising?
Native advertising is a marketing communication adapted to the content of the media broadcasting it. The average consumer sometimes does not even perceive such ads as advertising. They contain a message not about the features of the product, but about its value, so the information does not cause rejection.
Help! The prerequisite for the emergence of native advertising was “banner blindness”, which appears in the consumer over time. The essence of this phenomenon lies in the fact that the effectiveness of classic advertising communications on the Internet is falling due to the fact that users subconsciously begin to ignore direct offers.
The constant impact of advertising sometimes has the opposite effect – the audience perceives the promoted brand rather negatively. Some use an additional tool to combat banners, AdBlock — special programs that block ads on websites.
Native ad features
Let’s consider the main features of native advertising:
Organic integration of the offer into the information content of the site;
Stylistic correspondence of the presentation of the material;
No calls to action, advisory nature of the message;
Advertiser openness – usually the message is labeled accordingly (for example, “sponsor’s material”), i.e. the consumer is not misled.
Native ad examples
For the implementation of native advertising, it is important to choose the appropriate format and delivery method, while it can be launched on any platform. An informational article, a banner, a photo, a video, an infographic or a post on social networks – the choice is determined by the scope and goals of the company, as well as the level of competition in the niche.
Let’s look at several examples of native advertising in various formats.
In search results
On the search engine results page, paid positions are displayed in several formats. Despite the fact that such advertising is contextual, you can also find signs of a native one in it.
Such communication is best adapted to the needs of the user, which he himself informs the system through his search query. The ad block disguises itself as a familiar list of links to relevant resources. Some do not even focus on the fact that these are paid ads, and click on them without any problems.
In social networks
On such sites, there are a huge number of ways to implement native advertising. These are, for example, paid posts in the news feed with the “advertising” marker, ideally corresponding to its subject. An additional advantage of social networks is the targeting of such publications to a specific segment of users, taking into account their interests and behavior.
The audience of social networks is guided by the so-called opinion leaders. Native advertising in this case can take the form of a collaboration when popular personalities review or use the advertiser’s product.
On hosting sites with video content, native advertising is usually implemented as a video review of goods or services. The most impressive results can be seen when the video goes viral.
In the media
Many advertisers effectively use popular platforms to keep the audience interested in their brand or product by posting relevant materials and informational articles on them. Native advertising in this case is a publication organically integrated into the media concept in one of the following formats:
Sponsor Content – An editorial-authored article that mentions the product. Its content is relevant to the request of the publication’s audience, and the link to the brand creates a strong association: the brand helps to solve the user’s problem;
Recommendation or Expert Opinion is an informational material containing useful tips and experience shared by consultants from the advertising company. An association works here: a brand is an expert in a certain topic, trustworthy and able to solve a problem;
A newsbreak or PR article is a story about a brand-related event that is planned or has already happened. Such notes allow you to create a certain image and position the company in the market;
Special project — original interactive content (competitions, games, tests, etc.) created specifically for brand promotion. The main goal of such projects is to convey information in an interesting way and create a memorable positive image;
Additional blocks “See also …”. They are not annoying because they are relevant to the interests of the user. And this is their main difference from banners.
How is native advertising different from other implicit formats?
All implicit advertising formats have a number of common features, but they also have significant differences. Let’s look at each of the three popular formats today:
Native advertising. Information published at the expense of the advertiser with the corresponding mark “Sponsor’s material”, “Promo”, “Advertising”, etc. There are no controversial opinions and reader manipulation in such content;
Jeans. Similar content without indicating that it is placed on the site for a fee. Like native advertising, jeans fit well into the media format. The difference lies in the hidden presentation of information about the brand, product or service. For the consumer, the answer to the question of what exactly is being advertised and who is doing it is not obvious;
PR materials. Such information is published in the media free of charge and is not marked as advertising. There are certain requirements for PR – no comparison with competitors or sticking out one’s own merits, expert content in the most ethical manner.
Native Advantages
Not blocked by AdBlock. This free app for the Google Chrome browser easily detects and removes banners from the screen. At the same time, native advertising remains, as it is an integral part of the content of the site;
It is not excluded from the information field of the audience with banner blindness. Due to the intrusiveness and high volume of marketing exposure, many have already developed a strong immunity to advertising. Native in this aspect is less vulnerable – it offers the consumer only the content that is of interest to him;
Often not associated with advertising. Not everyone recognizes advertising overtones in interesting informational material, often perceiving it as advice or simply ignoring it;
Has a good credit of trust. Platforms that publish native advertising are responsible for it. Fearing to jeopardize their reputation, authoritative media check the information for authenticity before publication, and the product for safety and quality level;
Format flexibility and multichannel. Native advertising can be implemented on any websites, social networks, applications and blogs. The choice of format is also unlimited: video, interview, informational article, infographic, etc.
Disadvantages of native ad format
Requires original content. Unlike banner advertising, native advertising cannot be replicated in the same form on dozens of different sites. Its content must be original and adapted to the content of each resource on which it is placed. To create such exclusive content, you need to find a professional copywriter;
High cost. This disadvantage of the native ad format is related to the previous one. For each media, it is necessary to create original content that matches its specifics. An article for a blog, a photo or post for Instagram, a video for YouTube – each of them requires certain costs. The salary of a native advertising specialist should also be included in the budget.
How to use native ads: useful tips
Only after being interested in the content of a native publication, the user will pay attention to it. Therefore, it is necessary not only to create high-quality content, but also to make the audience want to delve into it.
Let’s try to figure out how to use native advertising correctly.
Define your campaign goal
A native advertising campaign is implemented to solve one of two problems:
Branding. To evaluate the effectiveness of such a campaign, you should use criteria such as the depth of viewing the site, the average visit time, the percentage of video viewed, the level of involvement and brand awareness dynamics;
Lead generation. Here, the number of forms filled out on the site, the number of subscribed users and the level of sales are suitable for summing up.
Entertain your audience
Generate lightweight content and engage your audience in the process of creating it. Post funny photos, animated images and captivating videos. Collect some interesting facts or organize a quiz, which will be a great source of data about potential customers.
Take a tour
Everyone loves peeping. The internal “kitchen” of a business is always of interest. Organize a company tour online. A story about how the product is made and the conditions in which employees work will help captivate the audience.
Use Buzz-PR
Properly organized dissemination of well-crafted rumors and gossip can become successful. Reviews and recommendations can draw attention not only to a product or service, but even to a resort, region or country.
How to analyze the effectiveness of a native advertising campaign?
Tracking the effectiveness of native advertising is quite difficult. And the results for this format may not appear immediately. However, there are well-established metrics and KPIs that you can use to roughly understand the effectiveness of the campaign:
The reaction of the site audience. Track how many views your ad on the site has collected, likes and comments on social networks. At the stage of discussing the terms of placement with the blogger, you can agree on certain metrics – for example, advertising material will be pinned to the main page of the blog until it receives a certain number of clicks.
Traffic to the site. The easiest way to evaluate the effectiveness of native integration is to place a link to the site in the publication. By tracking the number of clicks, you can determine the price of one attracted user by dividing the amount of invested funds by the number of transitions.
Ask your clients. Connect a module on the site that will allow you to create a survey of the audience from where they learned about your company. The manager can find out where the buyer came from while talking on the phone.
Brand traffic. If the native was placed without an active link, then an increase in the share of branded queries from Google’s organic search results may become an indirect confirmation that the ad is working.
Advice! If your task is to attract the maximum number of leads, you can track the effectiveness of native advertising by offering potential customers a promotional code for ordering on the site or buying in the store.
