Native advertising is making its mark on the advertising world, as the new way to connect with audiences without being too sales-y. The unique advantage of native advertising is that it matches the form, feel and style of the media format in which they appear. If native advertising is done right, it presents to the audience as a subtle suggestion, presenting the brand as superior to other competitors, and sharing some information that proves this in some way. In this post, we’ll see how native advertising can be a great addition to your campaigns.
Native advertising doesn’t really look like advertising. As we’ve already learned, it is designed to fit in perfectly with other content on the particular medium. For example, you could create an advertisement for an Instagram page that looks just like the other posts on the account. The audience consumes this as part of the feed and leaves with a small impression about the brand you are advertising. This impression could mean the deciding factor when the audience is making a purchasing decision. Native advertising is great for many reasons. It does not feel like a rude intrusion for the user, it sends its message subtly and is generally better received than big loud disruptive ads, a win for the user, the advertiser and the client.
But how effective is an ad form like this one, and why should you consider including it in your campaigns?
Here are some stats from Outbrain: Consumers look at native ads 53% more than display ads. Native ads create an 18% increase in purchase intent, and the visual engagement with native ads is the same, and even slightly higher than the original editorial content.
Apart from how effective native advertising is, it is also advantageous for a few more reasons. Native advertising fights ad fatigue, which is what happens when an audience is served too many ads and they subconsciously screen out any new ads, leading to very low ad engagement. Also, because native advertising is served in the same style and form of the medium in which it is displayed, it does not irk the consumer. Studies have shown that when consumers can tell a native ad from the regular content, they still engage with it the same as regular content.
If you have been convinced of the value and ROI of native advertising and you would like to add this to your future campaigns, it is a great place to mention that most agencies that provide native advertising have to work with owners of platforms and pay for these specialized types of ads, and this ultimately increases the budget for such deployments.
Pulse is among a very small group of advertising agencies in Africa who not only produce sterling work as an advertising agency but also are able to tap into their owned platforms and 3rd party networks to provide native advertising for clients, matching the form and function of the content to the platforms in which it appears and more importantly, removing the need and budget for a middleman agency. In most cases, the result is that the audience cannot tell advertising and content apart, allowing them to respond fully to such native advertising rather than just mentally blocking it. This is one of Pulse’s strongest unique advantages as an experienced native advertising agency.
If you would like our team to help you with your marketing, send us an email here.
Nigeria – [email protected]
Ghana – [email protected]
Kenya – [email protected]
Senegal – [email protected]