What Are Native Ad Formats & How Can You Use Them For Your Own Benefit?
Ever since digital advertising emerged, ad-promoting tools have undergone a radical transformation, changing the nature of the advert as we know it. Consumers are faced with a huge number of choices and ad formats, and this poses a challenge, as they can be as annoying and distracting to viewers as they are attractive and informative.
Different ad formats produce different results and you need to understand exactly how they function. This is because the response they generate, positive or negative, will go on to determine your revenue potential. Therefore, utilizing varying ad formats is important towards ensuring diversity of revenue and thus success.
The Native advertisement, a subtle format that has proven to be popular amongst media consumers, is one such type that you should use. Let’s take a look at why.
What is Native Advertising?
Today’s viewers are tech-savvy enough to use a number of methods to avoid irritating ads. One of those is ad blocking, which has become a serious challenge for marketers and advertisers, directly affecting their ad ROI and click-through rate (CTR).
To get around this, marketers are increasingly using native ads as they fit perfectly into the host website’s content. This makes them hard to recognize as an ad because of their natural integration into the platform, and so they escape the blockers. They also don’t disturb the viewer with annoying blinking text or pop-ups.
As you can imagine this has significantly increased their popularity amongst marketers, and 47% of them feel confident about their effectiveness. According to one eMarketer report, in 2021, native advertising spend in the U.S. jumped 37% and is expected to reach $98.59 billion by the end of 2023. When it comes to programmatic advertising in the US, native ad spend reached $83.4 billion in 2022.
5 Types of Native Ads
Based on native ads, marketers can create strategies that will generate considerable income by publishing ads across different channels and media placements. That’s why it is vital to understand what types of native ads you can utilize to suit your channels.
Let’s look at the five main types of ads used in native advertising and their advantages:
- In-feed ads
These are one of the most popular types of native advertising. This ad format is displayed along with the publisher’s content and appears in the news feed of social media platforms.
The benefit is its natural fit in the content flow. This all but guarantees that a consumer will find it by scrolling down their feed.
- In-app ads
Marketers have found it simple to succeed with their ad campaigns through mobile apps, thanks to their profitability. Many consumers are addicted to apps, which almost guarantees a captive market.
According to Statista, mobile advertising spending worldwide is to increase to almost $400 billion by 2024. This highlights the efficacy of the format and its wider popularity.
- Content recommendation
This format typically appears as a catchphrase on news feeds that does not force a reader to action, but instead leaves them curious to learn more. For example, such ads can be labeled as ‘recommended for you,’ ‘you also might like,’ and so on.
These recommendations inspire more confidence than other types of native ads. However, they are obviously less direct, so it’s best to use them as part of a combined marketing strategy.
- Sponsored ads
Sponsored ads are created by brands and publishers in collaboration with each other. They offer a good opportunity to promote a particular message in detail, however, they must clearly be labeled as ‘sponsored’ or ‘promoted.’
- Email widgets
A newsletter subscription is another way to build a native advertising strategy. People subscribe to publishers’ websites and regularly receive emails with valuable content and ad widgets.
There is a big advantage to email widgets – they resolve the issue of impression waste. Ads are served only when a user opens an email, and the user can also share their email with their relatives and friends.
As a result, email widgets can increase conversion rates and lead to a higher ROI. Also, including native ads in email marketing is a profitable approach as the email marking is thriving.
Display vs Native Ads: What is the Difference?
When it comes to implementing ad formats, it is essential to understand the difference between display vs native ads. This is because display ads, also called banners, stand out from original website content. They usually appear at the top of a web page or are posted alongside a website’s content.
Both ad formats are available in various sizes and shapes depending on their promotion objective. They are both used in online advertising, but yield different outcomes.
Display Ads: Pros and Cons
Display ads come in different types with respect to their function and targeting options. They might include images, audio, and video content to allow them to reach and even interact with consumers. Regardless of the specific type, they always carry a link to the advertiser’s website.
The benefits of display ads include the following:
- Easy to establish: Creating and placing banners is not complicated as it doesn’t require integration with a website.
- Effective attention capture: Display ads carry special features to attract customers’ attention like animation, 360-degree videos, high-quality images, and interactive elements.
- Better brand recognition: With the embedded brand logo in a banner, it’s easier for viewers to remember your company and recognize it immediately.
- Reasonable prices: When running an ad campaign with display ads, it is possible to adjust it according to your budget.
However, display ads also have some drawbacks:
- Vulnerable to ad blockers: Like many other forms of adverts online, display ads are vulnerable to ad blockers.
- Banner blindness: Due to the range of choices they face, consumers often become jaded and ignore these ads.
- Low CTR: This metric is lower for display ads compared to other formats of online advertising.
Native Ads: Pros and Cons
Native ads pop up in different forms but generally look like they are part of a website. As such, native display ads have become a valuable instrument in promoting products and appealing to new audiences.
The main advantages of native banners include the following factors:
- Easy targeting: Native banners are excellent at attracting potential customers interested in a particular product or service, especially if it’s niche.
- High visual engagement: Unlike display ads, native ads are more engaging. According to one study, website visitors look at native ads 53% more frequently than banner ads.
- Reliance: People are used to trusting content designed by both publishers and advertisers, rather than only by media sellers.
- High CTR: Native ads have a high CTR rate thanks to their popularity amongst media consumers.
- Anti-ad blockers: Due to their format, native ads can’t be dismissed by ad blockers, making them more reliable.
However, there are some downsides to consider:
- Editorial similarity: Due to the similarity with editorial content, people might confuse native ads with original content creating extra responsibility for publishers.
- Time consumption. Most often, each publication requires special attention making it too complex for big campaigns.
- High price: This ad format is costly compared to other types of ads.
The Takeaway
Any brand that wants to increase its recognition, attract as many customers as possible, and encourage them to purchase its products, needs to design high-quality and engaging ad content. With the growth of digital advertising, every media seller can benefit and grow their business to generate higher revenue.
Native ads represent the best option for increasing ROI as well as your conversion rate. By using native banners in your marketing, you will benefit from a range of advantages including:
- Better viewer engagement as native ads are less intrusive
- Improved audience experience
- Higher user retention with in-app ads
- Increased brand awareness and credibility
- High CTRs
- Accurate viewer targeting
