Although nearly everyone with an internet connection has seen a native ad, not everyone knows what they are. As an industrial marketer, you probably already know that native advertising is a company-sponsored article that is designed to look just like the other content of the publication in which it’s featured.
Native advertising is proven to be highly effective. It isn’t disruptive and doesn’t interfere with the flow of the user experience. It’s also much less vulnerable to ad blockers than other types of display advertising.
According to Business Insider, native advertising will make up 74 percent of all display ad revenue by 2021. Additionally, research from marketing firm Contently indicates that consumers who read native ads that they identified as high quality reported a significantly higher level of trust for the sponsoring brand.
Despite the high potential for success, native advertising is not without its challenges. Let’s discuss potential hurdles and how to overcome them.
A perfect fit for the industrial market.
Native advertising is an excellent vehicle to give engineers and technical professionals what they’re constantly seeking out during their buy cycle: reasoned, educational, and informative content.
However, you want to make sure that your native advertising program continues to uphold your reputation as a trusted provider of your products, goods, and services. The Contently research found that there is significant confusion on the part of readers as to what constitutes an article and what constitutes an ad, and consumers often have a difficult time identifying the brand associated with a piece of native advertising. Forty-eight percent have felt deceived upon realizing a piece of content was sponsored by a brand.
The key to success with native advertising is to make sure you work with a reputable publisher that has experience in native advertising and will ensure that your ad follows FTC guidelines. According to the FTC, “Advertising and promotional messages that are not identifiable as advertising to consumers are deceptive if they mislead consumers into believing they are independent, impartial, or not from the sponsoring advertiser itself.”
The FTC guidelines are anchored less on what type of content is acceptable in native ads and more on displaying and labeling them as advertisements. For example, native advertising should be clearly labeled as sponsored content. The use of the advertiser’s logo also helps clarify the publisher-advertiser dynamic, as well as helps build brand awareness and visibility for the advertiser.
Media partners can help guide you
The benefits of native advertising definitely outweigh any risks—especially if you execute properly. One recommendation is to work with a media partner and publisher that knows and adheres to FTC guidelines for native advertising. Whether your ad is native or not, you want your content displayed to your target audience and only on those sites or pages that are relevant to them. That might seem obvious, but some publishers don’t offer careful targeting—or clear labeling— of native advertising.
The content of a native ad remains up to you. It’s your chance to connect with your audience to demonstrate expertise, thought leadership, or other value propositions. A savvy and experienced media partner should also be able to assist you with content, which will add another layer of confidence that you’re not creating a deceptive or misleading ad.
Native advertising is one tactic that IEEE Engineering360 Media Solutions offers in its comprehensive portfolio of content marketing solutions targeted exclusively to your audience of engineers and technical buyers. Learn more about native advertising opportunities.
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