Advertising Week, the world’s premier gathering of marketing and communications leaders, just ended last Friday, October 3, 2014. With more than 250 events featuring the industry’s best and brightest, native advertising was probably the hottest topic being discussed.
Native advertising is the term for those ads you see integrated into your social media streams. And as time spent on social media sites has officially tipped from the desktop to mobile devices, it makes sense that 2014 is being branded as the “year of social media advertising.”
Because the stream is the experience on mobile devices, native advertising is the only type of ad served here. In the near future, all advertising on social media will be native in-stream ads, even on desktops. No more right rail ads and banners.
In-stream native ads provide content in the context of the user’s experience. So, think promoted ads on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. These ads should be nearly indistinguishable from organic content. According to eMarketer report, spending on native mobile ads on social sites alone is expected to increase from $3.1 billion to $5 billion by 2017.
Native Advertising On Social Media
- Twitter started the native-social ad trend in 2010 with Promoted Tweets. This social network is among the most influential voices in arguing that TV and digital ad spending can work hand-in-hand. They target ads to users in a way that’s less abrasive than Facebook does, using data from browser histories to show ads that directly relate to the site’s users have visited.
- Facebook, as of June 2012, implemented Promoted Posts. This means it became a hosting platform for businesses to pay to feature their posts in news feeds. As of December 2013, Facebook announced the launch of video ads or sponsored videos that automatically play. in 2014, Facebook will get 10% of U.S. digital ad spending because unlike other social media platforms, users are generally actively engaged with the content. Facebook ads in your News Feed achieve 49-times higher click-through rates and a 54% lower cost-per-click than traditional placements in the right-rail sidebar on the site.
- Considering Facebook owns Instagram, it makes sense the app started using native mobile ads around the same time as its parent company. In a November announcement, they made it clear they would make sure the ads are creative and engaging. Levi’s and Ben and Jerry’s experienced increases in ad recall and brand awareness with Instagram advertising.
- Image and video-sharing networks like Pinterest, Vine, and Snapchat will soon offer some of the most effective types of native ads because photos are the most shared type of content on the Web.
What Does Native Advertising Mean For You?
All the recent growth in social media advertising means one obvious thing: your brand should be advertising on these platforms. Billions of people across the world are using these sites. And soon native advertising could account for more than half of social ad spend. At a relatively low cost, you are able to reach tons of people. At Mediaura, we not only manage your social media sites, but we will take a look at what your business has to offer, your target demographic and your goals and choose the right social media direction for you to ensure you’ve made a sound investment. Let us help turn your investment into new customers and generate the traffic you need.
