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If your advertising efforts have been providing a low click through rate or poor return on investment, you may want to consider reviewing where those ads are being shown. Looking at the full picture of the user experience can be a valuable step in understanding why creative is or is not performing well. The problem could potentially be influenced within the places or the format your advertisements are displaying.

If you are trying to get in front of your personas and audiences with more targeted and helpful content, it may be time to look at native advertising opportunities. As opposed to traditional advertising which interrupts the end user with non-formatted or non-relevant messaging, Native ads are more strategically placed and helpful for end users in the research phases of purchase decisions.

What Is Native Advertising?

Outbrain describes Native Advertising as “the use of paid ads that match the look, feel and function of the media format in which they appear. Native ads are often found in social media feeds, or as recommended content on a web page. Unlike display ads or banner ads, native ads don't really look like ads. They look like part of the editorial flow of the page. The key to native advertising is that it is non-disruptive. It exposes the reader to advertising content without sticking out like a sore thumb.”

As an Inbound Marketing agency, THAT Agency is especially pulled toward native and contextually relevant content and advertisements in order to support users throughout the sales funnel to Attract, Convert, Close and Further Delight. To be helpful to the end user, you must understand the way that they search and consume content.

With that in mind, we have pulled together some examples of native advertisements.

1. Paid Search Advertisements on Google, Bing and additional search engines are one of the most popular forms of native advertising. By utilizing Google Ads & Bing Ads platforms, ads are shown in the format of organic search results with some additional features. Learn more about paid search management.

2. Social Media Advertisements on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are also created within the ads management tool within each platform and match the templates of the platforms feed. Learn more about social media advertising.

3. Sponsored Content in Publications like the New York Times or Buzzfeed. Websites or larger publications have the ability to allow guest sponsored posts or branded content specifically designed to promote businesses or products in the same format of other posts.

4. Strategic Product Placement in media, art, with celebrities and more is also a Native advertising example in most cases. Take the movie Forest Gump for an example, this popular movie features Apple as well as Nike multiple times throughout the film. These were likely native placements when the movie was being produced.

With these examples as inspiration, its important to remember to do research as to exactly where your audiences are getting information throughout the sales funnel. Not all industry and products are the same. It is likely that your audience is much smaller and more niche than Nike's.

Finding New Native Advertising Opportunities

As mentioned before, a disclaimer is that all audiences and goals are different. Understanding your audience and buyer personas is an important aspect when determining where to utilize native advertising opportunities. Using tools like Google Analytics or Google Surveys, you can hone in on those personas. But ultimately, the researched areas of opportunity that you acquire when searching similarly to your end users will be the most lucrative.

Paired with your research, Native advertising service providers like Taboola and Outbrain, can get your businesses foot in the door of much larger opportunities like publications. Additionally, a Marketing Agency has the capability and connections to strategize on a local level and get your products and services in strategic positions to win targeted audience impressions.

For more information on Native Advertising, Paid Advertising or Digital Marketing, contact THAT Agency today.