Native Advertising: More Effective and Less Disruptive

Native advertising provides a less disruptive online experience by showing ads in the natural context of a website. You may not even realize they are ads themselves because the imagery and content looks similar or even identical to that of the natural website content.

Some examples you may have come across include promoted content on Mashable, sponsored content updates on Linkedin and native advertising on Rick Kupchella's BringMeTheNews. The idea is that rather than distracting you from the news or design of the page, these ads actually add to the web experience. The content often is meant to more informative and helpful, rather than salesy.

As you can see above, Allina Health has a native ad within the news listing.

Here is BringMeTheNews' description of their native advertising offering:

"We want our readers to connect with sponsored content in the same way that they connect with a news story. This connection means that content is meaningful and insightful, and the experience is as seamless as possible. Because we don’t offer banner ads, page takeovers or other annoying and disruptive forms of advertising on our site, our readers find that BringMeTheNews ads are just as much a part of the BringMeTheNews experience as the latest news story."

As you can see, native advertising isn't a hard sell for brands, end users or publishing companies. Companies can gain exposure while not annoying the end user - typically a win-win-win for everyone involved.

So now that you know what native advertising is, what should you promote?

In my opinion, the best native advertising posts are ones that focus primarily on the end users and say little if anything at all about the sponsor. Here are a few examples of industries and types of content:

• Nonprofits or philanthropic organizations can write about a poignant issue or cause to help raise awareness - within the post, link out to a blog or targeted landing page that dives even deeper for those who are interested.
• Service providers such as landscapers or lawyers may post helpful and timely 'how-to's' or tips for the end-user that can help with their daily lives. Consider also embedding a video or including a downloadable, branded guide at the end.
• Larger companies and brands such as Cargill or Target can often afford to use more unique content and interactive content that is not related at all to the brand itself but may be more community based. For instance, previewing a local music festival (that they also happen to be sponsoring).

What are the negatives of native advertising?

Native advertising can be expensive, especially for small businesses as you are usually competing for space with larger brands. Also, if your content isn't liked by the end-user, they may end up bouncing away more quickly or look at your brand negatively because their experience was sub-par. Always consider your audience first to ensure you create meaningful, relevant content.  

If you need help choosing the best native advertising platform or writing compelling copy and headlines, contact us!