Why Native Advertising is the Future of Content Marketing

Native advertising is a revolutionary approach to content marketing. And yet, many marketers still haven’t heard of it. Of those that have, it is only a relatively small number that truly understands it. This is often the case with new technologies and techniques; it takes a little while before the market catches up with the development.

According to at least one piece of research, in addition to 49% of marketers having never heard of native advertising, only 24% of the overall number are familiar with the concept. Another 24% describe themselves as being ‘somewhat familiar’ with native advertising.

That leaves just 3% of marketing professionals who understand the intricacies of this new content marketing approach. The good news is that any business who wants to adopt this revolutionary new system can do so.

What is Native Advertising?

Native advertising is advertising which is suited to the form and function of the platform it will ultimately be displayed on. Don’t worry if that sounds a little vague, let’s dig into it a little deeper.

Let’s say you manage an online publication that features a number of blogs. A native advertisement would resemble one of the usual blog posts you put on your site, except it will actually be an advertisement. Ethically, you should always mark native advertising as being such, as your regular readers won’t appreciate the perceived deception.

Search Engine Native Advertising

Perhaps the most common example of native advertising, an example with which we will all be familiar, is that of sponsored results on search results listings. When you search for a particular term on Google, you will often find a selection of sponsored results near the top of the page. These are marked as being advertisements, but otherwise appear identical to other results listings.

The idea of native marketing is that it appears as organic as possible. Even though they are marked as marketing materials, your audience will be more receptive to marketing materials which seem more natural and less forced.

On Social Media

Social media is one of the most important marketing platforms for any modern business. But marketing effectively on social media requires a considered approach. Producing native advertising for social media platforms requires some knowledge of how those platforms operate, and what content they favor.

Again, even though native advertising should always be marked to show that it is marketing material, creating organic feeling adverts is an important step towards using social media properly. As long as you make an effort to ensure that the content of your native advertisement is worthwhile in and of itself, it won’t lose any value by being marketing material.

Why It’s So Effective

In short, native advertising works well because it is organic. The advertisements feel natural, whereas most marketing is surreal and abstract. It allows you to connect with your customers in new ways and gives you the perfect way to combine marketing with quality content.

Native advertisements are the future of content marketing. Their natural feel makes consumers more trusting and makes the messages they contain stick with you.