What is native advertising?

What does native advertising mean?

Native advertising is the placement of paid ads on a website in a way that helps them blend in with non-paid content. This could mean using the same fonts, colours, or design in your adverts as the specific site they sit on. For example, you might see an ad on your social media feed that looks and feels like the rest of the content you engage with on the platform. Designed to fit seamlessly into the user’s experience, native adverts can be found across the internet but are particularly common on social media sites, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, and Meta sites.

By building an advert that blends with a site, native advertising can integrate with the user’s experience, creating a more positive customer journey with your brand. This might mean creating ads that don’t sit at the side of the page or above the content, but are instead placed among and mimic the style of the main body of content. In the same way you would automatically close pop-up ads, it’s likely you already look past banner ads with the same efficiency. Adverts that blend into the page, such as native advertising, can be more effective at combating this.

What are the uses and benefits of native advertising?

Native advertising is on the rise, and it’s not hard to see why. Below, we explore some of the reasons why it’s grown in popularity and why it’s used by many businesses today.

Higher user engagement.

Most people today would say they're good at identifying adverts on websites. While the early days of pop-up ads, flashing banners, and “Click here” buttons are long gone, we’re still great at looking past ads and focusing on the content we want. Native ads are designed to blend into the site they’re on, so they’re more likely to get past your audience’s blinkers.

Opportunities to be creative.

Your native adverts must blend into their surroundings – that’s what makes them “native” after all – but how do you do that? And how do you avoid creating something that blends in too well with the page it’s on? The short answer is, get creative.

Native ads provide great opportunities for creativity, encouraging you to integrate your message with the design of the site. While you may have existing formats and design styles, establishing your ads on another site can encourage you to think of new ways to approach customers, potentially attracting the attention of a new audience.

Chance to boost your credibility.

A well-placed ad, much like a well-designed landing page, can speak volumes about your brand, ethos, and professionalism. By working effectively across multiple channels, whether that’s social media, blogs, or news sites, you can begin to build your reputation as a trustworthy source. It’s important that you place ads on reputable sites and platforms, especially ones that your target market already engages with.

Types of native advertising.

Aside from the variation between sites, there are multiple forms a native ad can take. There are plenty of ways you can approach advertising natively, so let’s explore some below.

• Social media posts and feeds. Native ads on social media sites, whether that’s Facebook, TikTok or Instagram, are designed to feel like content rather than ads. How you do this will depend on the platform and the type of content best suited to it. This is a great opportunity to express some creativity and make posts that engage your audience. It’s worth noting that social media sites will caveat your ads with labels such as “Partner Content” or “Sponsored”.
• Videos. Videos can be found on a range of websites, regardless of topic or industry. Whether they’re used to explain complex subjects, provide tours of real-world spaces or promote products, they’re part and parcel of the user's experience. If you’re using videos as part of your native advertising, think about the ways your videos can be adapted to suit the page you’re looking at.
• Sponsored articles. These are articles written solely to promote your brand or products. You may be tasked with writing these, or they may be done by writers who work for the site. Regardless, the end result will be formatted and designed to fit the look of the page. It’s likely that the page will be marked as sponsored, but it can still feel less like of an advert than other forms of advertising.
• Paid search engine results. Adverts on search engine result pages frequently change their look. On Google, especially, they’ve gone from standing out against the search results to resembling search results. This means you can effectively create a listing that sits at the top of a Google page and is only distinguished by a small heading.

Pros and cons of native advertising.

Native advertising may sound great, but it’s not suited to every business. Before you dive in, let’s take a look at the pros and cons and see if it’s the right approach for you.

Pros.

• Less obvious as adverts. Purposefully designed to blend in with existing content, a more subtle approach can mean your intended audience engages with your ad instead of ignoring it.
• Can be used across multiple channels/platforms. The beauty of native advertising is that it can be used across a spectrum of channels. This can range from social media to article-based and news sites.
• Stronger customer engagement. It’s generally easier to trust branded content than intrusive ads. And, understandably, trusted brands are more likely to see better customer engagement.

Cons.

• Can require a lot of content. Creating adverts that fit a wide range of channels can require a breadth of content that would otherwise be unnecessary for banners or non-native adverts.
• May look underhanded if used incorrectly. Viewed through the wrong lens, native advertising could be seen as trying to trick the audience into engaging with your ads. It’s important, therefore, that you don’t pretend your advert is anything other than it is.
• Could prove expensive. If you’re creating more content than usual, and placing your ads on reputable sites, you may end up spending more money than usual, and this may eat into your profits.