What is Native Advertising - How it Works
What is native advertising?
Native advertising can be informational, entertaining, educational materials, life hacks, collections or reviews . Everything except outright advertising in the form of banners, contextual ads on the main pages of search engines and advertising in YAN/KMS.
Native marketing in social networks: trends 2023
According to a Facebook study, a person spends on average 1.7 seconds viewing a piece of content (relatively speaking, one image) when accessing from a mobile device. For the desktop this time is 2.5 seconds. On advertising billboards, a person’s gaze can linger longer due to less “competition” and the inability to “scroll through” the proposed content. But be that as it may, it only takes a couple of seconds for the human brain to decide whether to accept this or that visual information. Therefore, advertising has very little time, and even a chance, to interest a person.
Plus, the audience has become extremely sensitive and will certainly recognize lies and falsehoods. Let’s add “banner blindness” to this.
Let’s not get upset, because this is where native marketing comes into play. Native marketing is a special type of marketing created taking into account the format of the platform on which the advertisement will be placed. That is, the advertising content will be organically integrated into non-advertising content, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. Native advertising is perceived by the audience as useful media content and does not cause negativity. Advertising that doesn't look like advertising.
The word “native” itself translated from English means “native”, i.e. something that fits perfectly into the information conditions being viewed.
It is worth keeping in mind that native advertising does not demonstrate the product; there is no sale as such. Essentially, organic advertising is like selfless information from a brand. And selfless care is exactly what each of us craves. The power of native advertising is that publications look organic against the background of other media content. If an advertisement is “screaming and annoying”, a person will skip it, but if the advertisement is embedded in the Internet content itself, then the audience will study it, considering the material worthy.
With native advertising, the user's needs come first.
Let's take a closer look. You've probably seen similar advertisements many times: on television, in films, videos, stories and posts on social networks. The advantages of native advertising are that it is shown to the target audience in the form of content, does not interfere with work, and most importantly, it is relevant!
Yes, yes, native advertising works and does not distract people. Apart from a few hints, the user may not understand that the product or service is being advertised.
What is good about native marketing and why is it so relevant?
It makes YOUR target audience more receptive to advertising information. Native advertising increases views by as much as 53% compared to traditional advertising, and CTR is 40 times higher.
On social media, native marketing is also gaining momentum. Let's take a closer look.
Memes
Their popularity did not fade. This is both native marketing and viral marketing at the same time. Make a successful meme and send it to people - and now your target audience knows about your product or service. And if the meme is successful, then your product will be actively purchased.
Video
Videos are viewed even more often than photo content. Native marketing can be used here in any way you like, just give free rein to your imagination. Many people remember the video with a talking hamster toy in a car, the owner of which was stopped by a traffic police officer. The talking hamster repeated all his phrases after the employee, which gave rise to the virality of a funny video. Where are the results of native advertising, you ask? Talking hamsters began to be actively searched on the Internet. The company that created the hamsters secured sales of 6,000 units on the day the video was released.
Microbloggers
Native marketing works great for microbloggers. There is no definition as such, but this is conditionally the audience that has about 1,000 subscribers. Basically, this is an uninvolved audience and almost all subscribers are friends or acquaintances of the blogger who completely trust him. In the West, and even in Russia, they are already actively using this trend and promoting goods and services through such accounts. After all, people simply may not realize that their old friend may be advertising something to them. By the way, microbloggers attracted 37,000 new clients for SberMarket.
Storytelling
The trend has existed for a long time and at the same time is not losing its momentum, but is only gaining momentum. Storytelling not only keeps users’ attention on human interest, but also inspires more and more trust in the blogger. Therefore, storytelling is often used for native advertising. The blogger tells something interesting to the audience, and after a few minutes he advertises some product: be it a cream that a person simply uses to soften his hands and carefully, as if by chance, demonstrate the brand; mascara, which the blogger just uses to touch up; headphones that he puts on to talk with his subscribers, etc. There are a huge number of variations.
Live broadcasts
The essence is the same as with storytelling, only you can tell more about the product, in a cooler way, and even show how to use it if it is something unusual. And for native advertising of services, live broadcasts are much better suited due to their duration.
Mini content
Audiences have recently, also thanks to TikTok trends, become more and more interested in short and bright videos from 15 to 60 seconds. With this format, it is convenient to insert native advertising, because these can be challenges mentioning your products or services, or original videos aimed at your target audience.
Articles
Native advertising fits harmoniously into useful articles with tips and recommendations on how to fix this or that breakdown, improve the quality of life, what movie or TV series to watch, or what to do in your free time. Due to the informative nature of the articles, the CTR will be noticeably higher compared to traditional advertising. However, you need to be careful with articles. If you write in the middle of the article “A product/service will solve your problem now,” this will deceive the user, and most likely the user will quickly close the article and experience a feeling of irritation and disappointment in the brand.
Filters and masks on Instagram
Masks and filters are various visual effects for stories. Recently, they are often used for commercial purposes, and for good reason. The audience actively uses masks and filters in their stories, because at least it’s funny. You can embed a discount, promotional code, gift into the masks and encourage the user to place an order. Through them you can create a challenge, game, retouching and thus launch virality.
Instead of concluding, it is worth adding that native marketing is already actively capturing the market. And therefore, it’s time to start using it in advertising campaigns.
One thing that is important to remember is that in order for your target audience to notice advertising among the huge flow of information and different banners, you need to create exciting, worthy and relevant media content that is primarily designed to satisfy the needs of the user.
Benefits of native advertising
We have already described most of the advantages of native:
- it does not alienate the reader;
- has high involvement;
- increases trust in a brand or product;
- allows you to inform readers about the benefits of the product and its advantages;
- gives a long-lasting effect;
- often goes viral and is spread by users independently, thereby increasing its reach.
But it is important to remember that such benefits can only be achieved if the ad is interesting and useful to the reader, and does not try to manipulate or pressure them.
Requirements for native advertising
Let us remind you that native advertising should largely consist of high-quality, useful content that meets the needs and interests of the audience. It takes a lot of effort to create it. The customer should think through in advance all the steps towards realizing the conceived idea.
Basic rules for a successful advertising campaign:
- Study the audience . Which users visit the platform chosen for advertising, what their needs and interests are. It will be a success if you present the content expected by the public, which will correspond to the topic of the chosen resource and the activities of the company itself.
- Don't lose your balance . Many advertising elements can negatively affect the response of the audience, and their absence goes against the main purpose of posting the material. To evoke an association with the brand, try to present information naturally, respecting the ideology of the site, its style and visual design. Pictures should blend in with the content.
- Respect the boundary between obsessive and natural presentation of material . The main message of the text should look like a recommendation, and not an ode to the advertised product. Fresh ideas using indirect advertising techniques will help you fulfill your idea.
- Work on the details . An intrigue in the title, a fascinating introduction and high-quality graphics of the material will stir up interest. If possible, it is better to turn to professionals.
- Formulate competent messages . Avoid disappointing the user when they click on a link to your company.
- Pay special attention to the choice of format . Depending on the resource and interests of the audience, it may differ. In some places, text will bring effective results, and in others – images or audio.
- Take a systematic approach . You should not wait for a huge flow of interested customers with a one-time publication of native material. There should be a lot of ideas for a variety of platforms ready for cooperation.
Make a plan
The plan should include a list of advertising campaigns, a list of platforms, a selection of creatives, budget and KPIs. Work through each step meticulously. Don't launch ads without planning and analysis.
Native advertising is a relatively new product in the marketing world. Be honest with your audience, avoid mistakes, and then they will not disappoint you. Have a great result!