Native advertising. Sponsorships. Partnerships. Blogs. SEO. Who can keep it all straight? And what's the difference between them anyway. Fear not, today STRUKTR Studios is breaking down native advertising for you.
Native Ads. Defined.
Been wondering what native advertising is? Well, native advertising is type of content-based advertising where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience and content on the website in which the native ad is placed. Now in English, right? Ok so for example, say you're reading CNN. A native add on CNN will look, feel, and have the same tone as any other story on CNN. The one exception this native ad story will be about an advertiser, like Delta Airlines. Maybe now you're reading Jezebel.com. Notice how that story you're reading about the brand poo pourri has the same look, feel, and tone as pretty much every other story on Jezebel? And wow, did that story sure make you want to buy some poo pourri. Yep, that's a native ad.
Native ads are integral to any brand's content strategy. According to Forbes, native ads will be half of all display spending this year.That's $22 billion spent on native ads in 2017 alone. Yep, billion, with a "b." Why? Well because native ads can't be stopped by pop-up blockers. Native ads are also less intrusive to your audience. They present your product or service in a completely relatable way that's in line with other stories your audience is already reading about. Another way to think of native advertising is as a glorified sponsored blog post.
Creating Killer Native Ads
A well-crafted native ad means that your reader won't feel like they're reading an ad. There are four keys to crafting a truly engaging native ad for your brand:
1. Think outside the box to tell your story
A native ad is essentially a sponsored blog post. Getting a reader to digest an entire blog post about a brand, rather than a news story, is hard work. Just imagine, does that sound like something you'd be into reading? That's why it's important to think outside the box when it comes to telling your brand's story. It has to be crafted in a way that's truly engaging - likely fitting into a wider context than simply that of your product, service, and company.
2. Provide fun, value, shareability
Without any of these elements your native ad will fail to be engaging. Without an element of fun, valuable information, or a shareability, your native ad won't see much traction and will be a wasted opportunity.
3. Mimic your publication’s voice.
With a native ad you want to go - you guessed it - native. Embrace the publication in which you're running your ad. Your readers already love the website's storytelling and its voice, be sure to embrace that in your own native ad. You want to limit disruption to your reader's experience.
4. Remember that your audience comes first.
The goal of a native ad is to limit disruption to your reader's experience (trust me, it's worth repeating). While you want to share your story, its important to do so in a way that puts your readers first.
