18 Aug What is Native Advertising and Why Does it Work?

This world of new content has plenty of modern terms to describe the myriad produced content. You now see phrases like “corporate journalism,” “vendor content,” and “custom content” everywhere.

But what is native advertising?

It’s a fairly new marketing term that describes the practice of using content to build trust and engagement with prospective clients and customers.

Native advertising can be a promoted tweet on Twitter or suggested post on Facebook; most commonly it is about how brands now work with online publications to reach their target audience.

Isn’t that considered a display ad? No. Display ads such as standard 300×250 ad boxes and leaderboards appear in the standard industry format: straddling the content or at the top or bottom of the page. Native ads appear in the flow of the content itself.

According to the IPG media lab, native ads are viewed for the same amount of time as editorial content and are much more likely to be shared than a banner ad.

Native ads are written with the intent on being perfect for a very targeted audience; one that delivers value and has a high likelihood of going viral.

Display ads aren’t to be completely written off, of course, as they play an important role in branding and visual recall, even if a click-through rate isn’t the highest. However, a well-written native ad can encourage engagement and sharing among your audience. As with all marketing mediums, it starts with a cohesive message and a plan that strategically has all of your media working together for your specific goals.

Do you think native ads are effective? Share by commenting below!

image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net