Native Advertising Definition: 5 Examples of Native Advertising

Native advertising is a form of digital advertising in which ads appear within the flow of regular content on a user’s mobile phone, tablet, or computer. In contrast to more traditional advertising—like pop-ups or banner ads—native advertising focuses on downplaying its very nature as an ad. Examples might include a sponsored post or an article written by a company for an online publisher. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), and other regulatory agencies sometimes step in to ensure native ads remain honest about the fact they’re advertisements due to how well they blend in with other content.

Native ads have become increasingly popular in recent years. Here are three prominent benefits of this form of advertising:

1. 1. Native advertising blends in. To the user, native ad placement feels like a feature of the user experience rather than a distraction. When companies display advertising within native content well, users will interact with it as if it were part of the general feed of the website or platform.
2. 2. Native advertising feels relevant. Companies focus this type of content marketing around real-time experiences for users. For example, an advertiser might pay a website centered around fixing computers to feature a native ad about why their own brand of computers requires little upkeep. This sense of relevancy makes users more likely to engage.
3. 3. Native advertising is popular. More and more companies use a greater share of their ad spend on this type of promotion because people engage with it. In short, native advertising works precisely because it doesn’t feel like advertising. Due to how well integrated these ads are, they are less invasive to many consumers than traditional advertisements.

There are many types of native ads suited to different needs and formats. Consider these five native advertising examples:

1. 1. Advertorials: This long-form type of advertising content often shows up as a written article or video ad on an internet publisher’s website. In an advertorial, marketers and salespeople work to provide detailed content relevant to the user’s interests while also connecting this content to their own product or service.
2. 2. Promoted products: Companies can feed ads to various online retailers as promoted products (relevant products on display for the user at the top of their page). This can effectively turn nearly any consumer-facing website into a natural native advertising platform. Recommendation widgets serve a similar function, although they are usually less foregrounded.
3. 3. Search engine ads: By combining search engine optimization (SEO) keywords with a native ad campaign, companies can advertise relevant products and services at the top of anyone’s search results. These display ads are nonintrusive branded content recommendations pertinent to the user’s initial inquiry.
4. 4. Social media posts: Build brand awareness by getting your ads directly into a person’s social media platform content feed. These in-feed ads can be as simple as a photo with sponsorship info or as ornate as a long-form native video that an influencer hosts. Regardless, they’ll appear as branded content in the regular flow of user content.
5. 5. Sponsored content: This type of native advertising can morph depending on where you see it online. The defining feature is some small designation saying it’s a sponsored post or paid content no matter where it shows up.

Creating native ads that work means knowing how to perfect the format. Follow these three suggestions for a chance to succeed in the world of native advertising:

1. 1. Aim for optimization. Native ad units allow for a great deal of optimization, so take advantage of software and online tools to improve your advertising. Monitor click-through rates, conversions, and other metrics to track customer interest and purchase intent. This sort of data helps with retargeting your approach if necessary.
2. 2. Choose the right platform. Before you embark on a native advertising campaign, think about which online advertising is best for the ad format you’re planning. Getting ad placement right requires knowing how to match medium to message.
3. 3. Know your target audience. When you take out native ad space, you should do so with your target audience in mind. Provide them with relevant editorial content, sponsored ads, and other native advertising that will fit in perfectly with their distinctive news feeds.

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