A Beginner’s Guide to Native Advertising
Are your customers turning into unresponsive creatures? DO you feel your marketing is becoming a bit stale, and EXPENSIVE!? Well, in the age of online marketing, consumers are inundated with advertisements and brand messaging calling for their attention and custom. What will stick is that content that inspires trust, is authentic, and – most importantly – does not interrupt the consumer’s content consumption journey.
Enter, Native advertising. The efficient form of paid media that is in harmony with the platform on which it appears. It’s estimated that native ads in the US will be responsible for 74% of all ad revenue by 2021. So, where are you going to be spending your marketing budget?
Native advertising 101
Who of us has not come close to clicking on an article headline, only to realize that it was sponsored content? Not yours truly for sure! Native advertising has the same format and feel of editorial content. It is often well-disguised as organic to the platform it is published in, yet it is a paid placement that is not as easily detected as other advertisements. Native can take the format of a creative article, an informative video, or an infographic. It is intended to attract an audience and raise their curiosity to wanting to know more about the brand whose services, products or ideology have been implicitly articulated in the content they came across.
Stories not data!
People are influenced by stories, not data! Native advertising, a well told narrative, will influence purchase behaviour. It can be created in a multitude of formats making it easier for brands to amplify their content. It entails them to tell their story, promote their products, or simply connect with the audience by sharing a meaningful and relevant message. It allows brands to speak the language their customers want to hear without being intrusive. The branded content may be used on social media feeds like Facebook and Instagram, as paid search ad on search engines, or as promoted post on a publishers’ website.
How effective is it for brands?
According to a research by IPG Lab, consumers look at native ads 53% more often than regular display ads; and native ads produce 18% more purchasing intent. When presented to the right audience, Native is a win-win. It offers valuable information to the customer while, at the same time, boosting brand affinity. Leading companies including booking.com, MSN and Netflix – to name a few – engage audiences with cleverly designed and authored content. Moreover, not only does native advertising help content go viral but it also generates higher click rates than other mobile ads.
Let Saba Consultants help you go native.
Why don’t you give Native a go, and explore how this marketing approach could uplift your brand? The first native article is on us, free to you! All you need to do is fill in this form and be ready to go native!