There’s a relatively new buzz term making the rounds with large advertisers and big brands these days:“Native Advertising”. It’s a new name for an old tactic being applied (primarily) to interactive mediums.
Simply put, native ads are ads that are designed and deployed to look more like regular (or “native”) content and less like ads. Think of an infomercial on TV or an advertorial in a magazine. You will even hear the tactic used on radio in the form of a mock interview trying to pose as a news feature but in reality it is an advertisement.
So why has this age-old strategy suddenly all the rage in marketing circles? Primarily because both social media and mobile marketing is offering new mediums and ability for people to share this content and even converse about it in real time.
The social media revolution has added an entirely new dimension to traditional marketing and advertising. Today major brands are dedicating millions of dollars to new creative formats (such as mobile newsfeed ad placements), partner integrations, loyalty programs and community building with so called native ads being a portion or even the core of their efforts.
This might sound confusing and also begs the question; does it make sense for a small business to market in this fashion?
It certainly does and the beauty of it for a SMB is that if you’re active with social media already then you are already doing native advertising. The content in your blog and on your Facebook page offers your customers and prospects value, That’s native advertising, The same goes for your tweets, pins and other social platforms for those using more than just Facebook in your marketing efforts.
A small business does not have to spend money with a media outlet to capture the benefits of native ads and shareable or viral marketing. Rather, just getting started with your social presence or enhancing it further if you are already active will have you in the native ad space for your business. At the same time, some native advertising options, particularly in the mobile medium, can be both inexpensive and very cost effective too.
The key is to get started with and establishing your social presence and then consider actual paid native media. Understanding social first will tell you if native ad placements could benefit you in the future.
– Mike Wolpert
Learn more social marketing tips for small business : https://socialjumpstart.com/free-video-series
