Have you ever noticed an ad on Facebook for a product you were just searching for on Google? It’s not a coincidence, it’s native advertising. As consumers, we come in contact with native advertising almost every day without even realizing it.
From websites to social media apps, native advertising is used on a variety of different platforms as a clever way of advertising to consumers without it feeling forced. In this article we will define native advertising, discuss different types of native ads, and review native marketing examples.
What is Native Marketing
Different Types of Native Ads
In Feed Ads
Paid Search Ads and Promoted Listings
Content Recommendations
Popular Native Ads Platforms
Advantages of Using Native Advertising
Native Advertising Examples
Conclusion
What is Native Marketing?
Native advertising is a form of advertising where the content of the ad appears in the same format and style of the medium in which it’s published or posted. It is also referred to as sponsored content or advertorial content.
Native ads adapt to the format in which the ad is placed. They typically have a more editorial feel. When executed properly, the most effective native advertisements meet consumers where they are by blending seamlessly into the content they’re already actively consuming.
Different Types of Native Ads
There are three main types of native ads: in feed ads, paid search ads and promoted listings, and content recommendations. Let’s take a deep dive into each one.
In Feed Ads
In native advertising, in-feed ads are integrated into the publisher’s existing content so it fits seamlessly. The in feed ads can occur on social media apps, blogs, and other online publications. They take up space in between the platform’s existing content.
When we compare an in feed ad to a more intrusive pop up ad, instantly the audience feels that one is more genuine, natural, and likely to induce a click. Where a pop up ad intrudes on the audience’s space, an in feed ad simply peeks through while scrolling.
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The below example of an in feed ad comes from BuzzFeed, an early adopter of native advertising. While scrolling through a lengthy listicle from BuzzFeed, there are several ads sprinkled throughout, including this one for Ford:
Paid Search Ads and Promoted Listings
Paid search ads show up alongside other results in a search engine. Even though they are noted as being a sponsored ad, they show up in the same feed in the same format as the desired content the consumer is searching for.
Whether you’ve realized it or not, almost every time you perform a search in Google or other search engines, paid search ads are present. Below is an example of a paid search ad from Google.
The top listing is one of the search results, and the bottom listing is the native ad:
Promoted listings advertise products and services for brands instead of articles and content. While promoted listings may feel similar to in feed ads, they are distinctly different in that they appear on websites that aren’t editorially focused on content like articles and blog posts.
Promoted listings can be a helpful tool for brands to promote their products. Paid search ads are a useful tool for drawing in visitors to your website to consume your content or shop your online store.
Below is an example of a promoted listing on amazon. After searching for a garden arch and scrolling through the results, these promoted listings were nestled between them:
Content Recommendations
In native advertising, content recommendations are designed to keep the user consuming content that is related to what they’re already interested in. Content recommendations are embedded within an article next to editorial content, and they feature content from other brands that is topically related to that article.
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Phrases like, “You may also like,” usually precede this type of native ads. Content recommendations provide online publications with another, less obvious avenue for driving traffic to their website and boosting online readership.
In the same way that brands use promoted listings to promote their products, online publications use content recommendations to promote their content. The below article from Forbes had two separate examples of native advertising content recommendations in one. Here is the first example:
Below is the second example:
Popular Native Advertising Platforms
Some of the most popular native advertising platforms for social media are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For websites focused around blogs and content, BuzzFeed, Forbes, and Yahoo are a few popular native advertising platforms.
For promoted listings, ecommerce sites like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are popular platforms that utilize native advertising. The most popular platforms for search and promoted listings are search engines like Google and Bing.
Advantages of Using Native Advertising
One of the advantages of using native advertising is finding a way around the fatigue consumers experience from excessive banner ads and pop up ads. These types of advertisements are in-your-face and can become a nuisance for consumers. Native advertising helps find a way around inconveniencing your audience while still meeting them where they are.
Native advertising is a great tool for brands that have a lot of content to offer their audience. This type of advertising allows brands to showcase all of the content they have in a more natural way. Brands can draw in an already interested audience. This format is also adaptable to desktop and mobile devices, which is great for marketers.
Native Advertising Examples
When determining what is native advertising, it is helpful to review a few examples. While scrolling through social media sites like Facebook, in feed native ads are unavoidable. They blend in with the rest of the social media posts because they’re done in the same format. If it weren’t for the small “Sponsored” indication, most consumers might not even notice it.
Below is an example of native advertising, more specifically in feed ads, from Square:
While scrolling through the rows and rows of search results on Etsy, it’s almost missable that entire rows of results are paid ads by individual sellers. Below is an example of promoted listings for candles on Etsy:
Conclusion
Native advertising provides marketers with a creative alternative to traditional forms of advertising that sometimes are too disruptive to consumers. Being able to properly executive native ads as a marketing professional can naturally and effectively draw in your brand’s audience without inconveniencing them or driving them away.