Recent Developments in Native Advertising

An average internet user is today so well-versed at identifying and ignoring promotional content online that digital marketers are finding it harder and harder to get their messages effectively across the virtual sphere. The rise of ad blockers and the diminishing effects of banner ads have led online marketers closer and closer towards native advertising as one of the rare effective means of online advertising. With obvious promotional content declining in significance, content that’s specifically tailored to suit and blend into the medium continues to grow in significance.

This trend is set to continue in the near future, with native advertising taking a greater and greater share of the total online marketing efforts, and publishers and advertisers joining forces to create new formats that open new avenues of opportunities for businesses to reach a greater global audience. Native advertising is the wave of the future, and over the following lines, we will examine some of the ways it will affect the marketing landscape in the upcoming period.

Personalization

With personalized ads performing significantly better than generic ones, personalized marketing strategies and ever-improving technologies will continue to come together to create an even more personalized marketing experience. The course has already been set with recent innovation such as dynamic creative optimization, and we will see plenty more soon. As a current online course in principles of design thinking explains, we must explore and understand creativity to develop solutions that will catch the attention of potential customers.

Growing mobile presence

The significance of native advertising is dramatically enhanced on mobile devices, where it’s essentially the only form of advertising with any effects. Just as we’ve seen a number of innovative ad formats in recent years, focus on creative and engaging content developed and optimized for mobile devices will continue to grow with new technological advances and improvements

Omnipresent feed

Regardless of its location, the feed is where people spend the majority of their time. It is the arena where the marketers are fighting for the audience’s attention. Both the marketers and publishers will look to develop more sophisticated and effective models of advertising within the social feeds, search feeds or any other frequently visited location. In-feed advertising will be a dynamic segment of online advertising with a number of innovations expected in the coming years.

Adaptability

The marketing industry is changing rapidly in the era of digital communication and is it no wonder that current educational curriculums are taking notice and emphasizing the need to harness technologies in order to reach the intended audience with the greatest precision. Today more than ever it is essential for marketers to stay on top of an ever-changing game and recognize the emerging marketing trends.

Quality content

Regardless of the format, native advertising will only be truly effective if it promotes quality content. There is so much of it today that it is essential to get the combination of the message and the medium just right. You cannot have only one or the other – good content in the wrong place will have no effect, while bad content in a good place will not only be ineffective but potentially even damaging to a brand. Investing in quality content will be even more essential in the coming years.

Looking beyond social media

While the social media websites still generate the largest audiences and play a major role in creating buzz and attention, they are not nearly as effective when it comes to raising the overall brand value and creating greater and more long term engagement. This segment is ruled by premium editorial websites, where advertising shows greater effect in terms of engagement and conversion. A far greater level of finesse and sophistication in pushing contextual promotional content that fits with the specific medium is expected in the near future.

As much as it feels essential right now, the field of native advertising will only continue to grow in importance. The success of future marketing strategies will greatly rely on finding ways to provide platform-native, medium-native and relevant content that will cut through the noise and reach the intended audience with strength and precision.

Jennifer Hahn Masterson is a Senior Content Strategist, holding an MA degree in business communication. She is always doing her best to help her clients find their place in the ever-so-competitive business arena.