Throughout the past decade, the internet has inherently impacted the way business owners market their products and services. It has opened the doors to a variety of online advertising opportunities ranging from geo-fencing to retargeting, both of which will be saved for later discussion. Whether you run a century-old business or a start up, you must adapt with the crazy online world we live in and find ways to stand out from competition. One great tool that we’ve been utilizing for our clients over the past few years has been online native advertising. In case you’re wondering just what native advertising is, we’ll take some time to discuss.

What is Native Advertising?

Online native advertising has been around for a handful of years. It’s a simple, yet unique concept. Essentially, it is a form of advertising that replicates the platform in which it’s on. The most primitive example is an article written by an advertiser to promote their product or service that uses the same form as an article written by the editorial staff of the particular website. To make a native article stand out from an editorial article, most websites label it as “sponsored content”. Some businesses may think this would hinder article clicks. However, the sponsored content is placed strategically and isn’t too noticeable to the average user. Locally, in the Fargo/Moorhead market, native advertising has struggled to gain as much traction as it has nationally. Speculations are that a variety of businesses don’t know what it is or how it can really help them differentiate their business from their competitors. Some business owners also have their tried and true methods of advertising and have a negative connotation of online advertising. Well, we’re here to crush that stereotype and prove that native advertising shouldn’t really be looked at as online advertising. Why? Let’s find out.

Content is King

Most businesses have a set budget each year for both advertising and public relations. In most instances native advertising can be put into the yearly PR budget, freeing up advertising dollars for elsewhere. Native advertising is unlike any other type of advertising out there. It takes careful thought and consideration to put together a respectable native advertising campaign. Since native advertising is essentially an article on a website, it needs to be well written and highlight aspects of the business that are essential to meeting its goals and objectives. Content surely is king when it comes to native advertising. Businesses must figure out what their goals and objectives are and match that with what is written in the article. The article must also be intriguing enough to entice users to click the link in the article and go to the businesses website for more information. Although it seems easy, native advertising takes time. A relevant headline and eye catching photo are key to getting users interested enough to click and read the article. It takes time to create well-written content the user will find beneficial. It also takes time to create an infographic to go along with the article. Once these have been successfully implemented the campaign is essentially out of your hands. As you can see, more time and effort is put into the content of the article than the placement of it. This potentially allows for some businesses to put it into their PR budgets rather than advertising budgets. Now that you have an idea of what native advertising is, let’s take a look at how a successful campaign is implemented.

How Native Advertising Can Be Successful:

Throughout the past year, we’ve been working with a local home builder in the market to promote their business online. We’ve found unique online advertising avenues, including native advertising, to showcase that they are the premier builder in the area. One thing that sets them apart is their home building process. To showcase this process we thought it would be a great idea to create a native ad. Details aside, the campaign proved highly beneficial. Users spent approximately two minutes reading the article on the website in which the ad was placed. In addition, those that clicked through to go to the businesses website spent an average of six minutes there. Having users spend nearly eight minutes of their time on our client’s article and website made native advertising a great investment. With the right content any business can have the same results.

Final Thoughts

Although native advertising may not be on a lot of businesses radars, when used properly, it can be beneficial. Most businesses have goals and objectives that they’d like to reach throughout the year. Native advertising can be a great way to help reach them. Be unique. Use photos and infographics in the native article. Go ahead, tell a story. Next time you want to think outside the box, think native advertising. It’s here, and it’s time to embrace it.

Need some guidance with your native advertising efforts? Give us a call at 701-478-1111 or visit absolutemg.com/contact to get started! We would be happy to help!