What Is Native Advertising? How to Use and Benefit from It

What is native advertising? The internet has revolutionized the way companies make ads. TV, magazines, newspapers, and radio ads still have their relevance, but social media, and website ads in their multiple formats help to reach different audiences more effectively in many cases.

Besides, the ad costs are lower. Native advertising is less intrusive when compared to pop-up format, for instance. They are developed to match the media format where they are published and, therefore, seem native.

What Is Native Advertising?#

Do you know when you are scrolling through your Instagram, Facebook, and X feed and see a suggested content signalized as sponsored? Those are types of native advertising. They are created respecting the layout and content format of the platform. It's a strategy so it feels less intrusive when you see an ad.

The sponsored search results that appear on Google and other search engines are also a type of native ad. Imagine when you are driving through a road and you see an outdoor, it's something out of the natural landscape, isn't it? The objective of native advertising is the opposite.

It's a type of ad that, without the sponsored signal, you may not even realize it's an ad. The tone of speech, layout, and visuals are designed to be more natural and aligned with the platform where it will be published. The native ad fits better the context where it's inserted so as not to disrupt the user experience.

Types of Native Advertising#

In-Feed Units#

In-feed native ads are the ones placed on the feed of social media platforms, as sponsored posts. For example, on Instagram, you will see a photo or video with the caption below, just like a regular post.

Source: Instagram

In the X platform, the in-feed native ad is published as a tweet. In TikTok, the in-feed ad respects the format as well and is published as a short video.

Source: X

Depending on the platform, it's possible to add features such as a button to redirect the user to buy a product or subscribe to a newsletter.

Paid Search#

Paid search ads are the sponsored results that appear on search engines when you search for something on Google, for example. Usually, the ads are placed on the top of the pages above the first organic results. They may also be placed on the end of the pages.

Source: Google

Recommended Content#

This is a type of advertising commonly seen in websites, for example in blogs, and news portals. The ad is placed on the side of the page or at the end of the article recommending content that is related to the topic approached.

Sponsored Content#

Companies can also pay to publish articles, videos, and other types of content on websites, which is called sponsored content. For example, when you access a blog, you will see the list of articles published and there can be sponsored articles among them.

Custom#

With the development of technology and the constant rise of new media formats, there are custom native ads too. For example, Instagram sponsored filters and stickers to be used in the stories, videos, and photos. They are a strategy to promote brands and products and also to engage with the public.

How Native Advertising Works#

When the question is "What is native advertising?" It is also necessary to learn how it works so you can enjoy this marketing strategy. Before creating the ad, it's essential to conduct market and target audience research to identify where you should publish the ad, if on Instagram, TikTok, or Google, for instance.

Once, you have defined where the ad will be published. It's time to work on its content and align it with the post format of the platform. Segment the audience to whom you want the ad to appear. As they scroll through their feed they can see and follow the call to action you define.

You can keep track of the native ad performance using analytics tools, which many social media platforms offer. It's important to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of clicks per ad, conversion rate, and number of sales made through the ad. You need to set the KPIs according to the objective of your native advertisements.

Native Advertising Benefits#

Less Intrusive#

Because native ads are aligned with the platform format where they are published, they don't disrupt the user experience. Therefore, it feels less abrupt, the user can keep scrolling their feed without the need to close a pop-up window, for instance.

Reduced Ad Blindness#

People tend to ignore ads. As soon as they identify one, it's subconsciously movement because they feel tired of having their experience interrupted by ads. The native ad format helps to avoid that, increasing the chances of catching your target audience's attention.

Promote Brand Awareness#

You can show more about your brand and present its values and benefits using formats that seem more natural to the readers than in a traditional ad format. As internet users are more likely to read native ads, you enhance the chances of getting more visibility.

Higher Click-Through Rates#

As people are more likely to pay attention to native ads, the click-through rates are higher. Also, in this type of advertising the content has to offer interesting information to the audience, instead of only offering a product.

High Segmentation#

You can choose several criteria to select the audience you want to target, therefore you will be able to reach the public that is interested in your product and services. You have the option to target the public based on demographics, location, device, intent, context, and much more.

Campaign Reporting#

You will count on detailed campaign reporting, and be able to track various important metrics such as click-through and conversion rates. Besides, you can access valuable data to understand your target audience better, such as the source of traffic, time spent on a page, and geographic location.

Start Testing Native Ads in Your Business#

Now that you have the answer to "What is native advertising?", you can enjoy its advantages to reach your business goals, Remember the importance of studying the niche you are aiming for, understand your target audience and what is appealing to them to create native ads that will drive their attention, and compel them to follow your call to action.