Native advertising is paid media that is tailored to the content of a media source. Paid video content on the YouTube app is an example of mobile native advertising. This media is intended to mimic the visual look and functionality of real content and will appear in your recommended video stream.

Native advertising allows you to communicate with users in the format of your choice. Native advertising is also less invasive than typical advertising forms such as banner ads. Furthermore, because of the ad’s contextual relevance, native advertising can generate a high Click-Through Rate (CTR) and increase conversions.

These forms of ads offer wonderful potential for creative exposure, and advertisers can be confident that users will love the format in which the ad is displayed. Native advertising options such as recommendation widgets and in-feed shopping are popular, but advertisers may also use the technology to offer innovative, customized in-app content.

Native advertising also presents a number of issues, owing to the fact that these ads necessitate a ‘native’ grasp of the platform. The more an advertiser knows about a platform, the better their native advertising will be. The benefits, however, exceed the complications of these challenges. By customizing advertising for a platform’s forms and features, you can expose visitors to unique material that is especially appealing to your target audience.

Native advertising frequently outperforms traditional advertising. According to studies, even when viewers are aware that the content was paid for, native advertising generates more engagement than standard advertising tactics. This could be due to the fact that the content can be absorbed in a manner that is natural and intuitive to a user’s typical media intake.

Top Reasons to Use Native Advertising

Native advertising belongs in every marketer’s media mix in a digital-first, cross-device era. Native advertising is designed to match the style, form, and feel of the media medium in which it appears. Native ads, unlike banner or display ads, do not appear to be advertisements at first glance. They mix in seamlessly with the internet information that a person is watching.

This programmatic channel combines the power of programmatic technology with customized native content. Native advertising is very scalable, therefore it is advantageous to use it in a multi-channel strategy. This is most likely why native display ad spending in the United States has been consistently increasing. Spending is expected to reach $109 billion USD by 2024.

Here are 8 reasons to use native advertising in your next digital campaign:

 1. Higher Click-Through Rates

Native advertising can produce a high click-through rate (CTR) because ads are tailored to match their surrounding content and context. As a result, native ads fit into the user journey instead of interrupting it.

To achieve high CTRs with native ads, the key is to ensure the native ad content adds value to the user’s experience. Native ads are meant to seamlessly blend in, rather than disrupt a user’s page experience.

Regardless of whether your native advertising campaign goal is to build an audience or drive an action, the first step is to have an engaging piece of content for users to click through to. 

2. Cost Efficient

Particularly when you compare native ads vs. display ads, native advertising is much more cost-efficient. This is because the CTR is likely higher. Since ads are typically purchased on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis, the higher CTRs can drive down your cost per click (CPC). With conversion rates held equal, the cost per action, whether it’s getting the user to spend time on the content or to complete a form, will also be lower.

3. Sophisticated Targeting

Another one of important reasons to use native advertising is the sophisticated targeting capabilities of programmatic. Your ad spend isn’t wasted because you’re able to target the right audiences for your messaging.

Read Also: How Effective is Native Advertising?

Native advertising allows for various types of targeting, including contextual targeting, demographic targeting, location-based, device-based, or intent-based targeting. Users will always prefer ads tailored to their interests and shopping habits, and so personalized targeting through programmatic native advertising is key to winning new customers.

4. Non-Disruptive Ads

Native ads are non-disruptive because they act as an extension of the browsing experience. By fitting the form and function of a given webpage, native advertising fits seamlessly into the browsing behavior of the average web user, making them more likely to take an interest in your content.

5. Various Native Ad Formats

The term native advertising is broad and it’s always evolving. When this ad format first emerged, it was seen as a modern version of the advertorial. But today, it’s considered to be a separate channel designed to deliver high-quality, value-adding branded content..

This channel is versatile because there are various native ad formats that marketers can choose from. Below are three categories of native ads that you can leverage in your programmatic campaigns.

• In-Feed Native Advertising 

In-feed native advertising is the most common form of native ads thanks to its “mobile-first” approach and ability to drive users to advertisers’ owned-media properties. It includes promoted listings and paid results.

• In-Ad Native Advertising 

If you’re using StackAdapt, you can leverage in-ad native. This format uses the elements of a native ad, including image, headline, body, and brand logo. In-ad native ads appear within the display inventory of a given page. You can achieve greater reach while using elements that make native ads so engaging when native inventory is limited.

• Content Recommendation Widgets

Content discovery widgets are typically found at the bottom of a web article. Typically considered a means for publishers to drive traffic and monetize their content, some marketers see value in reaching a wide audience in a cost-effective manner through content recommendation.

6. Increased Brand Loyalty

Native advertising presents a unique opportunity to share your brand story. The combination of imagery, headline, and description allows advertisers to succinctly state their message, represent their target demographic, and even give extra information on the benefits, values, and story behind the product or service. Beyond the ad, the click-through content presents the opportunity to push the message even further.

7. Campaign Reporting

Since native advertising is powered by programmatic, it comes with detailed campaign reporting. You have the ability to track campaign metrics that are most important to you. When programmatic campaign reporting is set up effectively, it will provide you with insights that are necessary to drive increased performance. Metrics can be pulled from campaign results and then used to help you narrow down who, when, and where to target in your future campaigns. 

8. Great For Multi-Channel Campaigns

This might be one of the absolute most important reasons to use native advertising. It’s the perfect channel to use as part of a multi-channel campaign. A multi-channel strategy enables you to reach consumers throughout the entire funnel. 

The goal of this strategy is to create a cohesive story across various programmatic channels like video, connected TV (CTV), and audio. Native advertising is the perfect channel to add to your multi-channel campaign because it will help to increase the percentage of the total target audience that you can reach, and it helps you to craft a brand story throughout the entire customer journey.

What is The Future of Native Advertising?

If you’re still skeptical about the effectiveness of native ads, it might calm your doubts to know that spending in this category has been trending up in the past few years. And projections estimate it will only get higher. In 2018, native ad spending hit $35 billion in the U.S. This number was expected to surpass $52 billion by the end of 2020.

In 2021, advertisers spent nearly $120 billion on native display advertising. This was a massive increase compared to 2020, which shows just how promising this avenue was becoming for advertisers and publishers. As of 2022, native display ad spending is forecasted to increase by almost 15% compared to spending in 2021.

Of course, there are many different types of native advertising to consider in these numbers, and some perform better than others. For instance, native ad spending on social media platforms and mobile devices has increased due to the growing usage of these channels.

If you’re trying to target a specific consumer, most likely, they will either engage with your ad through their smartphone or on a social network. Native social display advertising is expected to grow by over 17% by the end of 2022 and almost 14% by the end of 2023.

Here are the following trends in native advertising that your company should watch for.

Mobile outreach

In 2021, there were over 7 billion mobile users. As the time users spend on mobile devices increases, so will ad spending on this advertising channel. Native advertising is designed to enhance the mobile browsing experience and avoid disrupting consumers’ visits to certain pages or platforms. One report found that almost 90% of all native ads in the U.S. were delivered on mobile devices in 2020 compared to about 85% in 2018.

As mobile users generally rely on apps for social media networks and web browsing, spending in this category has also seen record growth, with over $40 billion spent in the App Store in 2021 compared to $34 billion in 2020. Native advertising on mobile devices is a popular trend to target consumers who are already looking to spend money.

Video distribution

Video is another popular trend in the digital marketing industry. With the rise of social media, video as an advertising format is growing every year. In fact, since 2017, native video ad spending has continually grown, reaching 38.7% of total video ad spending in 2020.

With Instagram reels and TikTok videos gaining quick traction and success for businesses, this avenue may be ideal for some publishers to test new ad formats. Videos shown through in-feed native ads are often quicker, easier to digest and more interactive, which are all beneficial elements for companies attempting to increase sales.

Programmatic automation

Programmatic advertising utilizes AI technology to automate the ad-buying process so publishers can continue to target specific audiences. Without this solution, publishers in programmatic buying may have difficulties finding common ground for the design, look and feel of native ads with advertisers.

It’s common for native ads to be purchased programmatically, and this occurrence will continue to grow. The number of programmatic native advertisers grew from 926 to 1,900 between 2020 to 2021. The total spend in native programmatic ads grew from around $62 billion in 2019 and is expected to surpass $140 billion by 2023.

First-party data strategies

First-party data is another trend to watch out for in the native advertising world. This data, unlike third-party data, is unique to every company. First-party data is information that businesses collect — with consumer consent — through various interactions on websites, apps and emails. This helps advertisers and publishers to create more personalized ads and promote relevant content through methods such as retargeting campaigns. The end goal is to convey the right message to your target audience!

Before you launch your next campaign, it’s essential to know how your company can make the most of your advertising investment with native ads. Here are the top reasons your company or brands should go the native ad route:

• They’re a cost-effective way to advertise: With native advertising, inventory tends to be sold based on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis. This means your brand only pays when a consumer shows interest in your ads.
• They help drive company growth: When users click through sponsored content, they’re often directed to the brand’s website, which is a perfect opportunity to capture valuable information, engage with your audience and drive sales.
• They don’t disrupt a user’s experience: Perhaps the most distinctive feature of native ads is they don’t interrupt the user with pop-ups as they’re scrolling online. Native ads don’t force consumers to watch videos or tap through a bunch of survey questions, making their experience with your brand more positive.
• They make it easier to scale: Native ads help deliver fantastic results across various platforms, so your business can adjust to any demand. If your brand’s current offerings have an added value, in-feed native advertising can help make an uninterested consumer into a buyer. This is an especially scalable option via programmatic channels.