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 to 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 the attention of users, increase engagement and improve SEO positioning .

Benefits of native advertising for your digital marketing strategy

Native advertising can bring many benefits to 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 content of value to the user, without interrupting their browsing experience or generating rejection.

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

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

- Improve SEO positioning by offering relevant and valuable content to the user, which increases the dwell time, reduces the bounce rate and generates inbound 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 medium 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 optimizable, using analysis and monitoring tools to evaluate campaign performance 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 media outlet, which are published on the media outlet'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

These are advertisements that are inserted into the media, adapting to its format and content, but which 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

These are ads that appear 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 sponsored links from other brands or media.

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

Social media ads

These are ads that are published on social media, adapting to the format and style of the platform, but which are distinguished from the rest by an indicator that indicates that it is an ad.

For example, a Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter post that appears in a user's feed, following the same design and functionality as other 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 goal : 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 goal and audience? What content format will you use? Article, video, image, podcast, etc.?
4. Select the medium or platform : Where will you publish your native advertising? Which 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 to 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 this is sponsored content or an affiliate link : How will you inform the user that this is advertising content? What indicator will you use to indicate that it is sponsored content or an affiliate link?
7. Measure and optimize results : How will you evaluate the performance of your native advertising? What analysis and tracking tools will you use? What metrics will you measure? How will you improve results?

Examples of successful native advertising

Here are some examples of successful native advertising that you can take as a reference:

- Netflix and The New York Times : Netflix sponsored an article in The New York Times about the conditions in 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 was in line with the layout and style of the outlet, 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's offerings, and was in keeping with the format and tone of the outlet, but indicated that it was sponsored content from Airbnb.

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

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 empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.