Updated on February 10, 2020.
Native advertising has found a comfortable niche in the marketing sphere. True to its name, native advertising is defined as an advertising tactic that is somewhat “hidden.”
Many brands invest in native advertising because it is cost effective, its entertainment factor engages audiences, and it is a great way for brands — like yours — to reflect their beliefs.
Advertorial Native Advertising
A classic example of native advertising includes the “advertorial.” Advertorials are advertisements that mimic the way a publisher’s regular content is written. The advertorial is often based on a narrative content construction.
Upworthy is a prime content provider for this kind of native advertising. The online source shares uplifting stories about good things happening throughout the world. Even their sponsored content fits this bill. Brands like REI and Hallmark have promoted their own stories on Upworthy. Additionally, this post was created in collaboration with the Gates Foundation. This specific article is part of a special Upworthy series titled “The Story of Food.”
The Importance of Entertainment
Additionally, native advertising is all about entertainment. That’s why it’s not solely based in pushing a product. Native advertising should be focused on reaching your audience. The key to the creation of native ads lies in the importance of engaging a consumer. Native advertising is a way for you to relate to your audience through common beliefs. A successful native advertisement is unobtrusive, and shared by its viewers.
Video As Native Advertising
Video has quickly become a prime medium for native advertising. Videos are highly shareable. They provide entertaining content that viewers want to see. Upworthy, specifically, is a heavily video driven content provider.
Green Buzz Agency teamed up with Cricket Wireless and Upworthy to create this branded video. Rather than promoting Cricket’s services and products, it promotes one of Cricket’s brand values: Kindness. That means there is optimal flexibility to tell an exciting story that entices viewers.
You’ll notice that this video is sponsored by Cricket Wireless, but not about Cricket Wireless.
The creation of videos like this is based in promoting a brand image. You can use these videos to convey your company’s personality. By focusing on aligning yourself with causes you believe in, you are showing your audience what you stand for. These videos are raw, organic, and relatable to your viewers.
Creating A Native Video Advertisement
Video content can, and should, be published on mobile applications. Many modern native video advertisements are mobile based. Those videos are formatted to be accessed on social media apps like Facebook.
Native videos are usually longer than normal video advertisements, which play between 15 and 30 seconds. Native videos can last up to several minutes while still being engaging to the consumer. Cisco’s 2016 VNI figures showed that, “Mobile video traffic accounted for 55 percent of total mobile data traffic in 2015.” These rising trends are all the more reason to invest in native video advertising.
Native advertising is relatively cost effective, but this doesn’t mean you should lessen the quality of your video. Keeping your content at a high quality will show your viewers that you care and make your brand appear more personal.
Overall, native video advertising is flexible and creatively free. You should take advantage of this creative freedom to create videos that reflect the way you see your brand. The more you care, the more your audience will care. And, investment in your content is sure to help your brand succeed.
Katie Murray, Marketing and Communication at Green Buzz Agency.
Emily Herman contributed to this post.