{"id":13914,"date":"2023-06-18T12:20:53","date_gmt":"2023-06-18T16:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/?p=13914"},"modified":"2025-01-30T06:07:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T11:07:54","slug":"native-advertising-a-marketers-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/insights\/guides\/native-advertising-a-marketers-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Advertising: A Marketer\u2019s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does your digital marketing mix include native ads? Accounting for over 70% of total US display ad revenue in 2021 (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/appsamurai.com\/8-native-advertising-that-will-convert-you\/#74%%20ad%20revenue%20from%20native%20ads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AppSamurai<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), Native advertising is a proven method for capturing consumer attention. In this guide, we will break down everything you need to know about Native advertising so that you can get started with your own native ad campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What is native advertising?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Native advertising <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a type of paid advertising in which ads match the content, visual feel, and form of media they appear in. Basically, it is digital advertising that blends in seamlessly with its environment- web, social media platforms, or any other format online. The concept of native advertising encourages user\u2019s accept the content that belongs in-stream. Instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, native ad formats ensure readers feel that the promotional information is a natural part of their content consumption experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although they can technically appear in any medium, native ads are most often found in social media feeds, web pages, and search engines. Wherever they live, all native ads share the trait of \u201cnot looking like ads,\u201d instead choosing to emulate the media they inhabit. They are usually highly focused on light-touch content and awareness rather than hard selling. Some of the popular types of native ads include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>In-feed ads:<\/strong> These are ads that appear on social or news networks when you are scrolling. It could be Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Twitter. They merge with your feed easily and engage the reader. They are great for increasing click-through rates to offsite destinations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Sponsored content:<\/strong> These native ads could be blog posts, videos, articles, infographics, or any form of content appearing on publication or platform feed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Promoted listings:<\/strong> Any ads \u2013 audio, image, text, or video \u2013 that appear at the top of search pages you are browsing are promoted listings. These ads are attractive as they appear in front of users who have a high purchase intent.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Recommendation widgets:<\/strong> These ads appear on any website and recommend relevant products or content to improve user engagement and experience. They may lead a user to a destination on that site or platform or to an offside experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Paid search ads:<\/strong> These are text ads that are activated with relevant keywords to drive traffic and clicks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why native advertising works<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/insights\/guides\/attention-advertising\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attention: <\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like many advertising concepts, Native advertising is backed by hard data. Consumers look at native ads 53% more than display ads, and native ads create an 18% increase in purchase intent (Source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outbrain.com\/native-advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outbrain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). In an industry where an increase of 1% in email click-through or social media engagement rates is considered a huge success, native advertising boasts an incredible advantage over more traditional ad formats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumer trust<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Native advertising also has the benefit of fostering increased trust. A third of consumers were more likely to trust native advertising than traditional advertising, and clicking on a native ad driver on a premium content website had a more significant impact than clicking via Facebook (source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.nativeadvertisinginstitute.com\/new-study-native-advertising-have-the-power-to-connect\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native Advertising Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interest: <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native advertising also alleviates what advertisers call \u201cad fatigue\u201d \u2013when consumers become bored and disinterested from seeing too much overt advertising during their day. Native ads usually consist of editorial content instead of \u201chard-selling\u201d, so they have a greater ability to engage consumers, provided the content is relevant and interesting.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Non-interruptive<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Native advertising is essentially non-invasive or interruptive as the style and format blends in with its surrounding content. This boosts engagement and ensures higher quality traffic. You can also include commercial content here on social platforms in a native content format.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Native advertising vs. content marketing<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although native advertising sometimes employs content marketing to blend in and appear more \u201cnative,\u201d these two concepts are often erroneously used interchangeably. While both native advertising and content marketing employ a softer approach than traditional selling, native advertising is best understood as a concept, while content marketing is a tactic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we have learned, <\/span><b>native advertising<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> refers to any form of advertising which emulates the format of its environment through an in-stream delivery that does not interrupt a user&#8217;s experience. Native ads can include branding, product promotions, or any advertising message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, <\/span><b>content marketing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a form of marketing that focuses on creating and delivering shareable marketing materials like blogs, videos, newsletters, whitepapers, social media posts, and podcasts to establish trust and authority in a given market. It can be promoted through paid advertising, like native, but doesn&#8217;t necessarily have to.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why use native advertising?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In case you aren&#8217;t already convinced, here is some more data on native advertising and why you should include it in your digital marketing mix:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native display ad spending in the US is expected to grow 12.5% year-over-year in 2023, reaching $98.59 billion (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insiderintelligence.com\/insights\/native-ad-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eMarketer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">68% of consumers trust native ads seen in an editorial context, compared to 55% for social media ads (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outbrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Outbrain-X-Savanta-Power-of-Native-Research-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outbrain\/Sevanta<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Native Advertising sector is estimated to be worth $400bn by 2025 (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedrum.com\/news\/2019\/03\/06\/native-advertising-sector-predicted-be-worth-400bn-2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Drum<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Engagement rates are 20 to 60 percent higher on native ads than on banners and drive retention rates that are 3x higher (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/martech.org\/native-in-stream-ads-63-percent-mobile-display-2020-facebook\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MarTech<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Three real-life examples of native advertising\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><b>Buzzfeed <\/b><b>&#8211; Miracle-Gro<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16283\" src=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/37CA5A58-CB62-4DFD-9D35-3CCD4FCCF5EE-300x224.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/37CA5A58-CB62-4DFD-9D35-3CCD4FCCF5EE-300x224.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/37CA5A58-CB62-4DFD-9D35-3CCD4FCCF5EE-1024x763.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/37CA5A58-CB62-4DFD-9D35-3CCD4FCCF5EE-768x572.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/37CA5A58-CB62-4DFD-9D35-3CCD4FCCF5EE.jpeg 1296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/miraclegro\/plant-song-generator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> native ad is incredibly interactive<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and features an AI-powered song generator for plants by Miracle-Gro, a plant product brand. Readers can get a song customized for their plant which creates a positive association with the brand and makes it stick out in their mind in a crowded field of gardening products.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Wall Street Journal &#8211; Netflix<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16284\" src=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-300x134.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"134\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-300x134.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-1024x458.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-768x343.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-1536x686.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-2048x915.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FA7B44E2-47A6-4E05-8BA8-7AD86ABFCCAE-1568x701.jpeg 1568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Wall Street Journal&#8217;s <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/ad\/cocainenomics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">native ad for Narcos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 the Netflix series \u2013 engages readers with information on the economics of cocaine production and its impact globally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Reddit &#8211; Huel<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-16285\" src=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/reddit-ad-300x192.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/reddit-ad-300x192.gif 300w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/reddit-ad-1024x655.gif 1024w, https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/reddit-ad-768x491.gif 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reddit is a popular social network built on the foundation of discoverability and user generated content. Because of the niche content on the site, native ads are often placed accurately to drive action. The r\/Fitness page has a promoted post by a protein company, Huel. The ad blends so well with the other posts and draws attention from the right audiences..\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Native advertising best practices<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that the benefits of Native Advertising have been firmly established, let&#8217;s look at some best practices to keep top of mind for success when implementing native advertising campaigns.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Understand the target audience<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For any form of native advertising, it is important to <a href=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/insights\/guides\/audience-targeting-strategy\/\">understand the target audience<\/a>: the pain points, needs, uses, and general persona. This target audience needs to be the center of all content efforts. Conducting surveys, persona research, and more can help marketers learn more about the target audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Choose interest over interruption<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native ads are delivered in-stream and featured in a way that does not disrupt the user&#8217;s experience of the platform or the media itself. The power of native advertising is diminished when the ad itself is highly disruptive! As an advertiser, one must change their approach from \u201cwhat would elicit a sale from my target audience\u201d to \u201cwhat would my target audience find interesting or entertaining\u201d? Creating high-quality content that seeks to entertain or inform will help marketers generate the most impact with their next campaign.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Focus on content<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although content marketing is not the same as native advertising, the two complement each other. Blog articles, podcasts, and entertaining videos are just a few of the content marketing tools at a marketer\u2019s disposal when it comes to creating eye-catching native ads.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Test everything:<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Begin with a clearly defined goal, as well as a testable hypothesis. This can be as simple as \u201csmaller text is always better.\u201d Many advertisers choose to test only two variations through a concept known as<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchimp.com\/en-ca\/marketing-glossary\/ab-tests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A\/B testing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: they test their original ad against a new version that is different in some way instead of running three or more ad variations simultaneously. The original ad or \u201ccontrol\u201d performs an essential function because it is the baseline that determines whether further experimentation is a success or failure. Once the test is run, the only thing left to do is decide which version of the ad to continue using based on the results.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Native advertising: Concerns and obligations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native advertising is not a perfect science and comes with some issues that all advertisers must consider. Namely, there is some debate around the potential for native ads to blend into their target environments so well that audiences feel as if they&#8217;re being misled. One study found that fewer than 1 in 10 people could distinguish \u201conline sponsored content\u201d from news articles (source:<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2019-02-people-distinguish-online-sponsored-content.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Phys.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finding the balance between the interests of publishers and a marketer\u2019s goals;\u00a0 create content and ads that are of value to users and align with the overall tone and style of the website.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Failure to comply with legal, data privacy, and ethical standards such as GDPR in Europe, FTC and CCPA in the U.S. It is important to maintain transparency and state that they are viewing an ad.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Journey advertising: The future of native?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to our own Chief Strategy Officer, Seraj Bharwani, \u201cJourney Advertising is a brand&#8217;s ability to reach consumers at key moments along the journey with relevant content and creative messaging to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Native ads often do just that: they meet audiences at key moments during their journey, seeking to provide value instead of a quick sale. Looking at one\u2019s next native advertising campaign as a journey will help reveal the entire consumer relationship as a connected pathway instead of a final destination.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a conceptual framework that you can use to take your native ads to the next level. Learn more about journey advertising<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/blog\/journey-advertising-101\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Start your Native Advertising campaign today<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">illumin lets you harness the power of Native Advertising along a connected journey, allowing you to control ad creative and frequency at each stage and discover the most effective route to conversion. Find out how our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/illumin.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> connected canvas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> helps marketers place native ads across the consumer journey where they make the most sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does your digital marketing include native ads? In this Marketer\u2019s Guide, we break down everything you need to know about Native Advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":14945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,19],"tags":[142],"class_list":["post-13914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","category-insights","tag-native-advertising"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}