Say goodbye to the old-school display ads. In 2019 they are obsolete. Here’s the proof – 80% of North Americans use at least 1 ad-blocking tool. Simply put, users don’t even get to see your banners.
People are getting ‘adlergic’. There’s no denying it! Ads are everywhere and they get intrusive. Your ad campaign can lose $$$ and bring nothing to the table. At the end of the day – only brilliant, artsy and bold banner ads even stand a chance. Others go to waste.
Uhm, is there an alternative?
Yes, thank goodness. People are fed up with disruptive, boring ads. But they like stories, valuable articles & ads that align with the advertising platform.
These are called native ads.
Native ads are in!
Native ads are Facebook paid posts, YouTube videos, search ads, even sponsored articles on blogs. They are called native because visually they resemble non-sponsored content and they aren’t intrusive. Frequently even, they can be fun to read, valuable for the user, they build trust.
They look natural because they mimic other non-paid content that users consume (be it Twitter ads, search ads or sponsored content). IPG Media Group and Shareethrough reveal that users looked at native ads 53% more if compared to the standard banner samples. Convincing, right?
Sponsored articles & content win even more. For people, they look like editorial posts. Having more space, you can create amazing story promoting your brand whilst also solving reader’s problem. The legendary copywriter David Ogilvy knew this all too well. Here’s the peek at his campaign for Guinness where he tells readers everything about oysters (while promoting beer!).
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People simply love stories. Everyone fell for Dove campaigns for Real Beauty. Nike’s ‘Dream crazy’ ad starring Colin Kaepernick, P&G commercials ‘Thank you, mom’ move people around the world. Why? Because they are not your ‘classic, by-the-book’ ads. They really are stories.
Stories are the essence of native ads. Especially, if we talk sponsored articles.
How to Build An Amazing Native Ads Campaign For Your Content
You can spot native ads on every marketing channel. Every 5th post on Facebook is an ad. Paid ads are all over on Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter. Probably, you read them every day on your favourite newspapers and blogs without even noticing.
So how do you build a booming, triumphant content campaign for your brand? First off, you need to plan everything out and focus on providing value.
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#Determine your goals
This might sound too obvious and fool-proof. But setting your expectations is crucial. You won’t believe how many bloggers skip this step!
What are your goals? More traffic? High-Quality backlinks? Visits to your local store? Sales? Jot everything down with the exact numbers. Only after setting your objectives right, you can understand what budget you need and what platforms could work for you.
#Find the best websites & audience
Picture your ideal client. You might even conduct research. For example, Google Analytics gives you lots of data on your visitors – their age, gender, interests even.
Where does your target audience hang out online? These are the websites you want to advertise on. Of course, these websites should be relevant to your products and niche.
#Tailor your message for specific audiences
Before you start – you need to understand the level of awareness your brand has. Do the readers of this website have any pain points you solve? Do they know about your company and its products? The message of your campaign depends completely on this information.
The right message, that specifically targets certain users can work wonders. This is self-evident, but it’s important to keep the sales funnel in mind:
- Top of the funnel.
In the top of the funnel, people know next to nothing about your company. Your goal is to tell them about the problem that you solve. Don’t try to sell your product. Focus on creating valuable info instead.
- Middle of the funnel.
Build trust. Show that you are an expert in this niche. It’s not the time to sell your product yet, but you can teach your audience how to choose the right solution.
- Bottom of the funnel
This is where you talk about your product and its value. Tell them exactly how your product helps and explain why it’s better than the competition. Try to dispel any doubts and scepticism they might have.
#Think strategic
It takes more than 1 post to succeed. This research that we published on our site shows – users will usually buy from you after reading 3-4 pieces of content. This is what takes them from the top of the funnel to the bottom.
Enhance your Native Ads Campaign with these tools
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is an all-in-1 SEO platform. It helps you find the websites that link to your competition. This means that these blogs are likely to post about your service. Ahrefs also explores the content in your niche in its ‘Content Explorer’ tab. If you analyze these reports, you can create a complete database of websites to reach out to.
Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing app that helps to sharpen your content. It can become pretty handy for writing guest articles and native ads. Not only it proofreads your content, but also helps you adapt your writing for different writing styles.
Conclusion
Display ads are old-school, admit it. They are often disruptive and intrusive. ‘Sign up to the newsletter’, ‘Download now!’, ‘Hurry up and buy!’ are too pushy. They get a bad rap.
Meanwhile, native ads are just getting started! They are the new trend and they work so much better than regular banner ads. Skip all the banners that look and feel 2000-ish, it’s time to adapt your strategy for 2019.