Native advertising contents are dominating the online platform today with platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter), where advertisers are seamlessly integrating ads into their content.
Research today shows that native ads perform better with an average CTR of 0.8% in comparison with other advertising methods such as display ads or banners.
On average, the CTR for display ads is 0.09% that shows that native ads outperforms by almost 8 times when it comes to online ads!
WHAT IS NATIVE CONTENT?
Native content is a type of marketing strategy that focuses on blending advertisements naturally with the surrounding content. The main goal is to craft the marketing content so that it is organically part of the related media subject.
Today you can often find native ads on website articles, e-commerce products and social media posts which will be subtly labeled as “sponsored” or “paid content”.
Native content advertising can also be referred as:
- Paid partnerships
- Sponsored ad
- Paid content
To ensure transparency, most native content includes a disclaimer to inform readers that the content they’re viewing is part of a paid partnership on the platform.
WHY POST NATIVE BASED CONTENT?
The objective behind native content is to integrate the brand message into the media that users consume on a daily basis. When you include your branding discreetly in the posts, it will have a subconscious effect on the readers’ mindset.
When users are on a certain platform, they tend to have specific and different reasons for going on each platform.
For example, people may go on Pinterest for aesthetics and ideas; Instagram for messaging and pictures; Tik Tok for short form entertaining videos and YouTube for long format informational videos.
Here are 3 reasons why native content marketing might be ideal for your business:
User Friendly Experience
Native ads are more user friendly than other typical forms of advertising, this is because by having the contents fit seamlessly with ads, users tend to accept these posts without having a negative perception.
Studies show that more than 80% of consumers prefer native advertising content over the conventional form of ads as it is more engaging. Native content is also less intrusive than normal ads which helps to reduce ad fatigue.
Personalized Content
Since native content is inserted seamlessly together with other related contents, the ads are more tailored and can be very specific. Hence, the ads are directly related to consumers interests and needs, leading to a much higher conversion rate.
Build Brand Awareness
Using native advertising campaigns will be more relevant in building your brand awareness. This is because native campaigns will have your products or services aligned with the other published content which are relevant. This is very favourable as by associating your brand with the relevant content, it creates a lasting impression in the minds of consumers.
Considering Meta being the most used platform with 20 million Malaysians on Facebook and 13.9 million on Instagram, it’s only reasonable that marketers should focus their content strategy on Facebook videos.
THE DOWNSIDE OF NATIVE CONTENT
Several disadvantages of using native content is that it will lead to drawbacks such as:
- Ethical concerns
Some people might have the perception that indirectly putting ads in organic generated content might be unethical. This issue of transparency can be solved by labeling posts as “sponsored content” or “paid content” on the particular post.
- Costly
Native ads might be more costly than other ads due to their naturalness in integrating with the other contents. On average it costs around RM0.80 to RM8.00 per click, which in comparison to paid ads (depending on the industry) might not be cost effective.
- Can be overlooked
Sometimes the content itself can be overlooked by consumers because it blends it too well with the other editorial content which may be more attracting. This itself is not ideal as then people will not click on the ads, as such marketers are better off using other effective ways for ad visibility.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO START NATIVE CONTENT MARKETING?
As marketers, we need to tap into native advertising as part of our content marketing strategy. This could be in the form of video, articles or even products depending on your business nature. This is important because we want our audience to be engaged with the content as much as possible.
- Add a compelling CTA
This must be clear and concise enough so that the audience knows what to do. The content itself may also affect whether the audience will follow through the link so make sure you create high quality and attractive content.
- Choose the right partner to advertise your content
Depending on your industry, selecting the right partner or platform is very crucial as your content has to match your intended target audience. This can vary for example if you are selling e-commerce products, native content on Tiktok shop might be more relevant than google shopping ads.
- Create thumb-stopping video content
Short format video has lately been the trend. There are a lot of factors that can make or break the first 3 seconds as well as the whole video. Consider the editing and design of the video as well as the dimensions based on the particular platform. Keep in mind mobile optimization as well.
Want to Start Native Marketing? Engaged With Us Today!
It takes quite a bit of strategizing and resources to create thumb-stopping native content.
But with a dedicated team by your side, your content will attract even the fastest scroller on the net!
Just schedule a FREE consultation with the top SEO company and digital marketing agency in Malaysia to know more.
