The key to successful marketing is ensuring you’re always on top of the latest trends, and it’s no surprise that’s not an easy thing to do when you’re talking about an industry that is constantly changing. It seems like every day we come in to the office there is a new trend that promises to change the way we market our businesses forever. Now, that may not always be true, but it’s our job to separate the trends from the game changers and always, always deliver those game-changers to our clients and readers alike.
So today’s game changer is native advertising. You’ve probably heard of it before and if you haven’t, you will soon. Native advertising isn’t a trend that will quickly dissipate; it’s just another chance for you to put your business in front of the right people in a helpful and effective yet subtle manner.
To put it simply, native advertising is sponsored content that is relevant to the consumer experience, not interruptive. Great native advertising looks and feels similar to its editorial environment so much so that you may not even notice it. That’s the point, so good you don’t even know it’s there, but suddenly you find yourself engaging with a new brand. Native advertising and inbound marketing are a perfect pair.
Your potential customers aren’t always interested in the same things your interested in. They are looking for information that is specific and relevant to them.
The latest generation have a few very defining qualities that makes marketing your business to them different than generations past:
- They’re incredibly tech savvy-you’ve seen the little ones in prams with ipads? Yeah, they’re that kind of savvy.
- They get their news online-buying editorial ad space? Consider online magazines, blogs and online newspapers to reach these guys.
- They prefer native advertising to traditional advertising.
Basically, if the younger generation is your target market, then we need to approach them differently. They want to be informed, entertained and engaged with your brand, rather than be sold to.
If you’re writing your own blogs or editorials then you need to know a few key items in order to best engage with these customers. So what do you need to do to have great native advertising?
- Tell a great, story that is interesting to your target market
- Entertain them, bonus points if you get your reader to laugh
- Align with their interests
- Be relevant to current online activity, don’t interrupt it
- Be honest with what you’re posting.