Native Advertising

Native advertising comes in many forms, but we would like to draw attention to two of them, as they are the ones we most often encounter.

The advertisement is inserted into the text of an article. The main rule that must be followed is that the advertising insertion must match the theme of the article. If the advertisement does not match the content theme, then it is just a regular advertisement. Most readers will simply ignore such advertising, as it is not what they are interested in at the moment.

Many “experts” on native advertising often do not fully understand what this tool represents. More often than not, many people consider native advertising to be just regular or hidden advertising. In the first case, even if the advertisement is thematically similar, but does not look like part of the content and stands out against its background, then it is just an advertisement. In the second case, if the advertisement is neatly integrated into the content, but lacks a call to action, then it is hidden advertising.

The main properties of native advertising are:

• it is designed to match the platform’s design;
• it is informative;
• it has an attractive appearance;
• it always includes a call to action.

What makes native advertising so effective?

Compared to regular advertising, native advertising has several advantages:

• Banner blindness doesn’t apply. Banner ads, for example, have lost much of their popularity because users have become so accustomed to them that they’ve developed “banner blindness.” For example, a person may be reading an article surrounded by banners that they’re not interested in. No matter how flashy the banners are, the person doesn’t really look at them; in fact, they may not even notice them. On the other hand, the reader won’t miss native advertising because it’s part of the content. Often, by the time the reader realizes it’s an ad, they’ve already read it all the way through.
• Ad-blockers are powerless. Another significant advantage of native advertising is that it can’t be blocked. Many internet users have long installed browser apps that block banners and pop-ups because they’re very annoying and uninformative. Their job is to show what the advertiser wants, regardless of whether the user finds it interesting. Banners and pop-ups are integrated into the site as separate blocks that are easily identified and blocked. Native advertising is the same block as the main content, and its content is no different from the content the reader is viewing. It’s impossible to programmatically determine native advertising, so it can’t be blocked.
• No ignoring. In most cases, regular advertising is ignored. This is because regular advertising stands out from the site’s content and is automatically rejected on a subconscious level. Advertising blocks or advertising lines are immediately skipped, and the person moves on to continuing to explore interesting content. If native advertising is embedded in the text, it must follow the theme, so the person doesn’t skip the ad and instead becomes acquainted with it because they perceive it as part of the article. In some cases, native advertising is placed as a separate block between other blocks on the site. In this case, the block must be visually similar to its “neighbors.” In this case, the user perceives the block as site content and views it.

The most important thing is to correctly identify the target audience, understand which resources it uses (websites, blogs, social media groups), and formulate a clear message. In this case, it won’t be overlooked and will produce the desired results. We’re well-versed in this tool and know how to apply it with maximum effect.