Native Advertising: What It Is & Why It Impacts Business Growth
Native advertising is one of the hottest trends in the world of business. A simple online ad can reach millions of people, and some of those readers might not even realize that the content contains an advertisement. More company owners now hope to use similar ads to aid with business growth.
Why Use Native Advertising?
Customers can quickly pan across an article and read the content in minutes without once noticing the ads and banners on the website. When you use a native ad, you can reach more customers, because those shoppers assume that it is part of the article. As more shoppers begin using tablets and smartphones when shopping, you can target your ads to your client base.
Note that certain types of native advertising can be controversial if readers feel they're being tricked by the ad. One notable native advertising campaign launched early in 2013 when the Church of Scientology ran an ad detailing its history and successes. However, that ad received considerable criticism from the site that ran it, and the ad was quickly discontinued. Some began to refer to January 15 as Mock Native Advertising Day. This is why it's important to be careful with sponsored content integration and related types of native advertising.
Older Ad Methods
Businesses gain customers by running ads on television, but more businesses now understand that many customers discover new products and services through the Internet. Early Internet ads were rudimentary, featuring bright colors and eye-catching graphics that sometimes turned customers off. Depending on the website and the ad colors, ads nowadays can even remain hidden on the edges of the site.
The other problem some have with traditional Internet ads is that those ads appear jumbled with others. One website might run ten or more ads, and the readers of that site might never click on a single ad. The most successful websites are those with a high click-through rate, which refers to the number of readers who click the ad banners.
Pricing and Problems
The current price of native advertising depends on the size of the ad and the number of people who visit that website. Some of the newest technologies help with business growth because they let businesses post ads on social networking sites such as Twitter and Tumblr. The main issue with these ads is that some customers might find the advertising deceptive, as with the Scientology campaign. When someone reads a large chunk of information, that person expects to find something helpful inside, not another ad.
The trick to making this type of advertising work is to target the right market. Certain websites are better suited for ads from specific companies. With technology like embedded videos and interactive maps, this advertising is a successful way to target customers. ?