Planning to attend the Content Marketing Conference is Las Vegas says something about you. It says you have initiative and want to develop a marketing strategy to create solutions that move your business forward. It also shows you want to be a native – who knew, right?
This isn’t about moving your business to Nevada: not that that kind of native. It is about monetizing a platform and creating marketing plans that speak to the target audience.
Native advertising offers a unique way to distribute content with greater reach. Heading to Las Vegas? Good, now get a taste of what the Content Marketing Conference has to offer with some native advertising education.
What is Native Advertising?
It means to construct ad campaigns that match your platform’s style. How about an example? Online magazine The Atlantic provides sponsor content. This is advertising content that companies like IBM pay to publish on the site.
The top of the page carries the “Sponsor Content” label and under that is an ad that promotes IBM. The page has an article on it relevant to that company following the native style of the online magazine. It is written like an editorial authored by a VP of IBM.
Through native advertising, IBM creates a memorable marketing asset that would appeal to anyone who frequents this platform. The average visitor of The Atlantic may skim over ads and other types of marketing clutter, but he or she will stop to read an editorial.
The Onion
How about another formidable example? Online humor magazine The Onion provides similar sponsored posts. For this platform, you want an ad that is satirical. H&R Block’s approach was to create a news article about a woman taking a break from filling out the name and address on her tax forms. The top of the page announces the sponsored post, underneath is a humorous ad just to remind you who the sponsor is and then the satirical news article.
Native Ad Methodology
Not all native advertising is this elaborate. Just keep the “When in Rome” concept in mind when planning your marketing campaigns.
- Tweet on Twitter
- Post stories on Facebook
- Create videos for YouTube
- Make pins for Pinterest
These are all examples of native advertisements. You could do videos on Twitter, but that is not what the platform is known for, so it is not the best option. Give the reader what they want, so you don’t interrupt their day.
Tips for Effective Native Advertising
It can‘t be said enough, focus on what the reader expects to see on the platform. Make your content relevant and in line with the style of the host. The other important thing to remember is this is still advertising. The content needs to point back to your business and be measurable. Without analytics, you won’t know the value of the campaign.
Native advertising is just one of many tricks you will learn when taking advantage of the Content Marketing Conference in May.