Native Advertising: This is Not Your Father’s Ad Impression

Great innovators like David Ogilvy and William Bernbach paved the way for the creative movement in advertising during the 60s. It was their iconic campaigns that made agencies rethink their approach to marketing their clients’ products. And of course, there is also the famous line from creative director Joel Machak in the 1980s Oldsmobile ad campaign (referenced in the title of this post) that filled the television airwaves and became one of the most recognizable commercial slogans in recent ad history. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fangirl of these great (m)ad men. But unfortunately, today’s audiences have become immune to catchy jingles, witty slogans and tantalizing copy. With the introduction of social media, marketing has become more about building relationships rather than building television commercial campaigns that reach mass audiences in one fell swoop. Social media advertising, on the other hand, can allow you to reach people who are already interested in your product, while also building brand awareness. As opposed to disruptive advertising, which often annoys consumers, native advertising is a method of online advertising that is defined as when an advertiser gains attention by providing content in the context of a user’s experience. The sole purpose of this concept is to make paid advertising less intrusive, and thus, increase the likelihood a user will click on the ad. The idea is that the formatting of the ad is “native” to the content on the page, making it more consistent with the other relative media. These ads match the visual design of the web page and feel like natural content. What it Looks Like Native advertising has reached almost every social media platform out there, along with other major publications. Sometimes these ads are not so obvious. On Facebook, for example, you could easily mistake the ad for content in your news feed; hence the name native advertising. Ads for each platform are constantly changing. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all other popular social networks are constantly changing the ads they offer. If you are considering native advertising, it is important to stay on top of these changes. Here are a few examples I found while scrolling through my personal social accounts and on major online-publication sites: Facebook – News Feed Ads   Facebook – Suggested Post Twitter – Promoted Tweet   YouTube– In- Stream Ads YouTube – Ads   LinkedIn – Sponsored Post   Pinterest – Promoted Pin   Instagram– Sponsored Posts   BuzzFeed – Promoted Stories   Keys to a Successful Native Advertising Campaign Looking to start a new ad campaign? In order to execute a successful native advertising campaign it is necessary to follow these simple steps:

1. Build Trust

It has been said, “people love to buy, but they hate to be sold.” Your audience will be more receptive and pleased if your advertisements are offering them more than just why they should buy your product. Once your audience starts to feel they are being “sold,” this is where you lose trust.

2. Well Developed Content Strategy

A native advertising campaign isn’t meant to be developed overnight. It takes time and careful thought to prepare your strategy. Be sure your content is in line with your brand’s voice, tone and overall goal. When all is said and done, the content of the campaign should absolutely not be disruptive in anyway.

3. Make it Share-Friendly

Native advertising is all about being social, so you’re wise to make your content sharable. If its content posted on your website or blog, it should be set up with the appropriate plug-ins or apps to be tweeted, liked, shared, pinned, reposted and so on. A key to making your ad sharable is providing emotional and visual appeal.

4. Multi-Device Compatible

In order to get your ad out there, the native advertisement must be compatible with desktop, mobile and tablet devices. This is just to make sure all your bases are covered.

5. Measure and Analyze

In the beginning of your campaign, develop KPIs to be the baseline. Measure the campaigns data through appropriate analytical tools. Here is a great list of social media analytic tools. What’s Next? Everyone has their own opinion on the future of native advertising. If you ask me, native advertising is helping brands break the mold of what we think advertising is. This isn’t the 1960s. As consumers, we are able to turn the channel during commercials, DVR our favorite TV shows so we can skip the ads altogether when we go to watch them, or even upgrade our Pandora accounts so we don’t have to listen to ads. The new approach is to advertise your product by pairing it with relevant content, and even within a social context. Native ads are allowing advertisers to think outside the box of the banner ad and find out who their customers really are. Numerous brands are making the switch to native advertising, will you?