Hey,
Today’s a really exciting day for two reasons:
First, we’ve made some BIG changes to the NativeAdBuzz dashboard and the way you interact with the site. Check them out if you’re already a member!
If not… you can claim a special $7 trial by clicking here.
The second reason (and the reason why you’re here today!), is the start of our new blog series, titled ‘Staying Compliant’.
Inside this five-part series, we’re going to be looking at everything you need to know before you start creating your first native ad, to ensure that you stick to both legal guidelines and publisher rules.
The first part – today’s post – looks at five best practices for creating your native ads. This isn’t legal jargon per-se (don’t worry, it’s coming!), but it will give you a good overview of how to create ads that your market positively responds to!
So… Let’s get to it.
#1 – Choosing Imagery That Reflects Your Audience
It’s important that all of your adverts feature imagery that resonates with your audience. You want your adverts to appeal to your target consumer’s desires and wants, and this can be achieved primarily through using naturalistic, and an engaging style of image.
Try not to use images of posed models and your typical ‘stock images’ – these can work in certain situations, but as a general rule of thumb, you want your audience to feel as though the advert is targeted to them, and them only.
We actually did an entire post on choosing the right imagery as part of our series ‘Creating the Perfect Native Ad’, and you can check it out here.
#2 – Integrate Your Ads With Website Content
This may seem self-explanatory, but you would be amazed how many marketers fail to ensure that their native ads match the look and feel of the sites that they will be placed.
Ideally, you’ll be able to match even the smallest of your ad’s details with the website, including the size of the headlines, the colours of the fonts, and even the text font itself.
A study from imediaconnection.com revealed that templated native advertising formats result in significantly lower engagement statistics, and if you want users to be clicking your ads, you want them to blend in as much as possible, aka making them look NATURAL!
#3 – Using Suitable Language
It should go without saying that your native adverts must speak to your audience in a tone and style that suits them. Not only does this help them to become engaged in the ad and actually take action, but it will also encourage them to click through to your landing pages, as they will genuinely be interested in finding out more.
A small bit of market research can help you to find what tone of language your audience will respond best to, and there’s a really unique trick to find out how your market ‘talk’ that not many marketers are taking advantage of.
Simply head to one of the popular forums in your niche or industry, browse through the threads, and see how your target demographic are talking.
HINT: You can also use this type of research for learning what problems your market are having – and create ads accordingly!
What words they use… What type of slang that they use – take all of these small things into account, and incorporate them into your ad – this should lead to higher engagement and a more successful campaign.
#4 – Give the Readers Value
Your best campaigns are always created when you manage to give your readers true value. Something that they will be compelled to actually follow through on and find out more about.
For example, if you are running an ad to promote a new golf club, sure, you could focus on the shiny, fancy design, and the ‘never seen before metals used’…
Or, you can show the reader how much further they will be able to hit when using the club… How much their game will improve… And how they will be able to consistently play good rounds of golf and improve their handicap.
If you are selling a product, offer a helpful and insightful message that speaks your customer’s language and resonates with them.
Remember to try and focus on selling the sizzle and not the steak – focus on how what you’re offering can benefit them, and write your advert accordingly.
#5 – Constant Optimization
If you’ve been following any of our NativeAdBuzz posts for a while, you will see that we talk about optimization a hell of a lot. This isn’t just because we ran out of other things to say…
(Or though we DO like to repeat ourselves to make sure we’re heard.)
I jest, I jest.
Anyway…
Optimization is critical to the success of your native ad campaigns, and it is one of the best tools in your arsenal to increase the effectiveness of your ads and see better results.
Optimization can take its form in many different meanings, but probably the two most common instances include testing different variations of the headline and image used.
For the headline, try to vary the length, the tone, and the’ feel’ of the headline. For example, try using a positive headline and a negative headline – see what your market responds best to, and adapted accordingly.
Regarding the imagery, see how you can make your advert more visually appealing. Do some research, ask friends to look over your ad and provide unbiased advice, and just keep testing until you start to see better results.
Just like the ‘Choosing the Right Imagery’ post we mentioned earlier, we actually created a post all about optimization in our ‘Creating the Perfect Native Ad’ series.It’s well worth reading if you’re looking to improve your campaigns and continually tweak them to see better results. You can view it here.
So there you go…
There are five of the best practices for creating a native advert.
Remember, at the end of the day, it’s important that you write for your audience and not yourself.
Give the reader as many benefits as possible as to why they should click your ad, and offer incentives where possible to get them to click through!
Our next blog post will focus on the recent updates to the FTC laws, and how you can ensure your ads are staying compliant.
Keep an eye on next Monday – it’s really important for making sure your campaigns stay on the right side of the law, and it’s something you can’t overlook as you grow your campaigns.
Until then…
