How can you use native advertising in your media planning campaigns?

1 Know your goals and metrics

Before you start creating native ads, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Do you want to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, or boost conversions? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will show you if your campaign is successful? For example, you might track impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), cost per click (CPC), or return on ad spend (ROAS). Having specific and measurable goals and metrics will help you optimize your budget, strategy, and creative.

2 Choose the right platforms and formats

Native advertising can take many forms, such as sponsored articles, videos, podcasts, infographics, or social media posts. Depending on your goals and audience, you need to choose the platforms and formats that suit your message and offer the best user experience. For example, if you want to showcase your expertise and educate your audience, you might opt for a sponsored article on a reputable publication. If you want to entertain and engage your audience, you might choose a video or a podcast on a popular platform. You also need to consider the technical specifications, guidelines, and best practices of each platform and format.

3 Match the content and design to the context

One of the main benefits of native advertising is that it does not interrupt or annoy the user, but rather complements the content and design of the platform where it appears. To achieve this, you need to match your native ads to the context of the platform, both in terms of content and design. For content, you need to align your tone, style, and voice to the editorial standards and audience expectations of the platform. You also need to provide value, relevance, and credibility to your audience, without being too salesy or deceptive. For design, you need to follow the layout, colors, fonts, and images of the platform, without compromising your brand identity or visibility.

4 Test and optimize your native ads

Like any other form of online marketing, native advertising requires testing and optimization to improve your performance and results. You need to experiment with different platforms, formats, headlines, images, copy, calls to action, and landing pages to see what works best for your goals and audience. You also need to monitor and analyze your metrics and feedback to identify what drives engagement, conversions, and retention. By testing and optimizing your native ads, you can increase your ROI and enhance your brand reputation.