In recent years, native advertising in Internet marketing has been perceived as the “new black.” Among the specialists, the demand for “native” is growing. Often, many people do not understand what it is for and how it works. This is because, in the digital environment, there is still no single definition of native advertising. Let’s figure out which ads are considered native, how to create them, and measure their effectiveness.
Which Ads Are Considered Native?
Native advertising is useful and interesting information aimed at a specific audience. It does not directly promote the product, does not disrupt the user experience, and is delivered in a way that does not interfere with user behavior in a particular channel. Marketers often use the ads tool for social media to deliver native advertising. Such ads have the characteristics of the site on which they are placed. The correct “native” does not hide its commercial purpose, but at the same time, the publication is useful to the audience. The main goal is to convince the audience that a given brand can meet their needs. Here are some successful examples from the past:
1.Guinness beer
By the way, native advertising was used in the 19th and 20th centuries. For example, David Ogilvy, in his “The Oyster Guide,” described the differences between 9 types of oysters. In this leaflet, he explained why “any oyster tastes better with Guinness beer.”
2. Michelin
The Michelin tire brand launched its first Michelin Red Guide back in 1900. The guide, which initially told motorists where to spend the night, have a snack, repair or refuel a car, eventually turned into a super-prestigious guide to restaurants, getting into which is a dream of any establishment. However, Michelin only wanted to popularize the idea of auto traveling, so it began to distribute the guide for free. The publication, which was not in demand in the first years, began to be sold only twenty years later, adding restaurant ratings there. For more than a century, the Michelin Red Star has been associated with quality, a high level of service, and delicious food.
3. Ads in Bond 007
Native advertising also includes product placement in movies and TV. The so-called “Bond formula” — advertising of watches, drinks, cars, and other accessories of the super spy brings colossal income to the producers of the movie.
How to Make a Cool Native?
Such a publication should organically fit into the overall content of the site. For example, on Facebook, you can write a post about a product in the format of a personal experience, and that’s okay: people often write their stories on social media.
Placing organic ads in the media is more difficult. Almost every publication has a set of rules — editorial policy — what you can write about, what style of communication with the audience to use, etc. Ideally, the finished material does not look foreign among other publications and at the same time contains information about the brand.
Lauren Reddy from The New York Times says that when creating native ads, the main task is to provide readers with relevant information that can help them solve specific problems. You need to give users advice that can change their lives for the better.
For organic advertising in social media, it’s crucial to ensure large coverage and a maximum number of clicks per material. Make an interesting post with beautiful pics and an engaging headline. The choice of format depends on the preferences of the target audience. For example, you can use the following formats:
- articles;
- guides;
- tests;
- cards;
- special projects;
- videos;
- podcasts.
If the audience of the publication prefers the news genre, then the ad should also be in the news format.
How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Native Ads?
The easiest way to determine the effectiveness of an ad is if the native has an active link to a product or service. It is enough to count the number of clicks on the link and the number of leads received. When ads are published in the format of affiliate content without clear calls, then the conversion is assessed thanks to the internal statistics of the store.
There are certainly pros and cons of organic advertising. For example, don’t expect your sales to skyrocket after publication. Native formats are a story about the external image of a brand. High-quality publications increase company awareness, introduce you as an expert, and familiarize your audience with the product.
If you decide to launch an advertising campaign, you should not save on this: ads must fit perfectly into the media format, and their creation requires significant resources. Do not be afraid to experiment, and people will trust you and share your content with others.
