Native advertising: What it is, characteristics and how to create it

Native advertising is a way of promoting products or services in the digital environment, adapting to the format and content of the platform where it is displayed. Its objective is to offer a relevant and valuable message to the user, without interrupting their browsing experience or generating rejection.

In this article I will explain what native advertising is, what its characteristics and advantages are, and how you can create it step by step to improve your digital marketing strategy .

What is native advertising and why is it important?

Native advertising is a type of advertising that integrates naturally and organically into the medium where it is published , respecting its design and editorial line.

Unlike traditional advertising, which is clearly distinguished from the content and can be intrusive or annoying for the user, native advertising seeks to go unnoticed and offer useful and interesting information to the target audience .

Native advertising is important because it allows brands to reach consumers more effectively, building trust and credibility, and bypassing ad blockers.

By offering quality and valuable content, native advertising manages to capture users' attention, increase engagement and improve SEO positioning .

Benefits of native advertising for your digital marketing strategy

Native advertising can provide you with many benefits for your digital marketing strategy, such as:

- Increase the reach and visibility of your brand , reaching a broader and more segmented audience that consumes content related to your product or service.

- Generate trust and credibility, by offering quality and valuable content for the user, without interrupting their browsing experience or generating rejection.

- Improve engagement and conversion, by capturing users' attention, generating interest and motivating action, whether visiting your website, purchasing your product or service, subscribing to your newsletter, etc.

- Avoid ad blockers, by integrating naturally and organically into the medium or platform, without being detected as advertising.

- Improve SEO positioning , by offering relevant and valuable content for the user, which increases retention time, reduces the bounce rate and generates incoming links.

What are the characteristics of native advertising?

Native advertising is characterized by:

- Adapt to the format and style of the medium where it is displayed, whether it is an article, a video, an image or a podcast.

- Offer relevant and valuable content for the user, related to the topic or category of the media where it is inserted.

- Do not interrupt the user's browsing experience , but rather complement and enrich it.

- Be discreet and subtle, without drawing attention to its advertising nature, but without deceiving the user, clearly indicating that it is sponsored content or an affiliate link.

- Be measurable and optimizeable, using analysis and monitoring tools to evaluate the performance of the campaign and improve results.

What types of native advertising exist?

There are different types of native advertising, depending on the degree of integration with the medium and the format of the content. Some of the most common are:

Sponsored content

These are articles, videos or podcasts created by the brand or the medium, which are published on the medium's platform, following its editorial line and design, but indicating that it is content sponsored by the brand.

For example, an article about beauty tips sponsored by a cosmetics brand.

Integrated ads

They are advertisements that are inserted in the medium, adapting to their format and content, but that are differentiated from the rest by a small indicator that indicates that it is an advertisement.

For example, a banner that is displayed on a web page, following the same style and color as the rest of the elements, but indicating that it is an advertisement.

Recommended ads

They are advertisements that are displayed at the end of an article or in a separate section, recommending other content related to the topic or the user's interest, but which are actually links sponsored by other brands or media.

For example, a "You may be interested" section that shows other articles or videos from other platforms, but they are paid ads.

Social media ads

They are advertisements that are published on social networks, adapting to the format and style of the platform, but that are distinguished from the rest by an indicator that indicates that it is an advertisement.

For example, a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter post that is displayed in the user's feed, following the same design and functionality as the rest of the posts, but indicating that it is an ad.

How to create native advertising step by step?

To create native advertising, you must follow these steps:

1. Define your objective : What do you want to achieve with your native advertising? Increase traffic, sales, loyalty, brand recognition, etc.?
2. Identify your target audience : Who do you want to target with your native advertising? What characteristics, needs, interests and preferences does your audience have?
3. Choose the type and format of native advertising : What type of native advertising best suits your objective and your audience? What content format are you going to use? Article, video, image, podcast, etc.?
4. Select the medium or platform : Where are you going to publish your native advertising? What medium or platform has an audience similar to yours and offers content related to your product or service?
5. Create the content : What message are you going to convey with your native advertising? What value are you going to offer your audience? How are you going to adapt the content to the medium or platform where you are going to publish it?
6. Indicate that it is sponsored content or an affiliate link : How are you going to inform the user that it is advertising content? What indicator are you going to use to indicate that it is sponsored content or an affiliate link?
7. Measure and optimize results : How are you going to evaluate the performance of your native advertising? What analysis and monitoring tools are you going to use? What metrics are you going to measure? How are you going to improve the results?

Examples of successful native advertising

Here are some examples of successful native advertising that you can refer to:

- Netflix and The New York Times : Netflix sponsored an article in The New York Times about the conditions of women's prisons in the United States, related to the series Orange is the New Black. The article included data, testimonies, images and videos, and adapted to the design and style of the medium, but indicated that it was content sponsored by Netflix.

- Airbnb and BuzzFeed : Airbnb sponsored an article on BuzzFeed about the best places to travel with friends, related to its hosting service. The article included a list of destinations, tips, images and links to Airbnb offers, and was consistent with the format and tone of the outlet, but indicated that it was sponsored content by Airbnb.

- Spotify and Facebook : Spotify published an advertisement on Facebook about its streaming music service, related to users' interest in music. The ad was displayed in the users' feed, following the same design and functionality as the rest of the publications, but indicated that it was an advertisement.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and enhancing digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.