Many are often confused by what native advertising is OR what they can do to set-up native-oriented creative.
We will cover:
- What native advertising is
- Why native advertising can work so well
- A fairly-universal advertising approach you can take to test native advertising
First, let’s talk about native advertising. The easiest way to define native advertising is that it’s a type of advertising that matches the form & function of the platform the advertisement appears. In other words, the ads closely match the content around them. For legal reasons, they typically say something like “ads” or “sponsored content”, otherwise the user might not even know they are ads. Some call this an advertorial and it could be a graphic/text ad, a video, or some type of combination. It is the advertisements you routinely see on news-type sites, etc. BUT wait, before you cast judgment on the quality of those types of placements, read on. They can be VERY effective when done correctly (and inexpensive inventory).
Here are a few examples of what native ads might look like on well-known, high traffic news or celebrity sites.
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Second, let’s talk about why native ads can work so well. Native ads are unique in that they can be focused on either the upper funnel or lower funnel. When utilizing native ads for the upper funnel, they work well with an audience that you believe has an affinity for your product, but oftentimes it’s an audience that is not aware yet of your product or “ready to buy”. Native ads work very well because they use flashy topics to catch the attention of the ready, in a place they otherwise would not be researching. By the time the user clicks on the ad, then goes through the process you’ve set up, if done right, you will have a nicely warmed lead. Native ads can be effective lower in the funnel as a site retargeting strategy.
Companies often times will simply buy native ads as direct buys or 1-off purchases. However, the most effective approach that we use and recommend is programmatic native. This allows you to only target HYPER-targeted individuals with native ads. People that have searched on relevant topics have digital behavior that aligns with your target audience or they may have even shown their affinity based on where they’ve gone (geo-targeting).
Finally, here is a solid and easy approach for most companies to test our native advertising. Take testimonials that you have permission and approval to use. Then translate the testimonial into an advertisement (see below). These types of approaches work very nicely because it starts with:
1. A flashy advertisement
2. Does a phenomenal job of warming up the lead.
3. Then (& only then) they invite the user to take action.
Testimonials work especially well because they are oftentimes aligned with the target audience. Users that read the testimonial can relate to the testimonial and easily begin to envision themselves using the product (i.e. Marketing Magic).
If you are interested in learning more about our programmatic approaches OR want to understand more about native advertising, we are an “open book”. Please set-up some time and we’d love to share what we’ve seen work.
