Native advertisements are part of digital marketing. The increased sophistication in how audiences interact with content has led to the birth of native advertisements. It provides brands a new way to get their messages out to their target audiences.

Today, we will be showing you the different ways you can get started with native advertisements, why it is important and how you can use it to reach your business or marketing goals.

What are Native Advertisements?

Native advertisements are a form of paid marketing channel that is created specifically for the sake of fitting the form and function of the user experience on the site they are placed in. In short, they are advertisements that fit in with the platform it is advertised in.

Native advertisements can be found in many different websites, from a well-known publisher site to various social channels. Because they fit seamlessly into the user experience, they appear much more subtle to the user compared to the usual online advertisement that forces itself onto the audience. This helps to not break the trust of an audience.

This form of advertisement is also growing in popularity. According to eMarketer, native advertisements made up almost 60% of display spending in 2018.

Why Use Native Advertisements?

Consumers today are used to consuming content on a daily basis. It makes up the majority of people’s online experience.

The first thing most people do in the morning is to check their mobile phones and catch up on the world through social media or online news. From television shows to social media posts, content can be found everywhere. 

eMarketer has reported that an average US adult spends over 12 hours a day on media consumption in 2019.

Today’s consumers have essentially trained themselves to ignore the overwhelming amount of advertisements they see every day. In addition to this, there are also ad-blocking software that completely removes advertisements from any site its users browse into.

These reasons are exactly why native advertisements are an amazing choice to market with. Native ads are designed to look just like any other content on a page. This results in native advertisements receiving up to 18% higher purchase intent from consumers.

3 Types of Native Advertisements

1. In-Feed Units

An example of in-feed units are the sponsored posts in your social media feeds or a publisher’s website. They look like regular posts on a platform. However, different platforms will show different styles of in-feed ads depending on their user interface. It will usually appear alongside the word “Promoted” or “Sponsored Content”.

For example, LinkedIn has its own in-feed ad unit called “LinkedIn Sponsored Content”. Their ads look and feel just like any other LinkedIn posts.

2. Paid Search Units

Native ads can also be seen on search engines. An example of this is Google’s search results. If you have ever advertised on the search results page with Google, those are technically native advertisements. This is due to the fact that they look exactly like organic search results.

3. Promoted Listings

For any online shoppers out there, these promoted listings are what you see very regularly. They are also extremely effective for selling products. The reason for this is because promoted listings usually appear when consumers are actively searching for a related product to buy. This places the customers much further down the sales funnel.

4. Display Ad With Native Elements

These types of native ads look like a regular ad you can see online. These are usually in the form of a website banner. The reason these can be considered as native advertising is due to the fact that the ads are contextually relevant to the website they are on.

5. Recommendation Widgets

These are where you can find native advertisements on publisher sites or social media appear as a “recommended” content. These can often be seen positioned on the side of a webpage, at the end of an article, or as part of a list of articles.

By appearing as a recommended content, viewers are much more likely to see your advertisement rather than ignoring them because they are actively searching for a content to consume.

Viewers are less likely to ignore your advertisement because native ads will appear as a recommended content. Additionally, they are also actively searching for a content to consume.

6. Custom Native Advertisements

These are still a newer form of native advertising. The rapid growth in technology and publishers have allowed the boundaries of native advertising to be pushed further.

For example, Instagram and Snapchat allow brands to place native advertisements in the form of a camera filter. This form of media fits well within its platforms. It also allows the audience to interact with brands in a more engaging manner compared to other forms of advertising.

The Future of Native Advertisements

There is no doubt that social media have transformed digital marketing completely. Social media makes up about three-quarters of the US native display ad spend. This number will also likely keep growing as more brands turn towards digital marketing.

Native mobile advertisements will likely become more of a key investment area for most businesses. This is considering mobile devices account for over half of all website traffic.

Another growing opportunity is videos. According to IAB Video Ad Spend Study in 2018, half of advertisers will be increasing their ad spend. They claimed that they will be specifically spending more on video ads.

As a result, the future of native advertisements will see a lot of growth on social media platforms, mobile devices, and video ads. 

But if you are considering having an expert help you out, let MarketingGuru help you! Contact us for a free digital marketing strategy consultation today!