We often come across native ads and interact with them daily on the internet. However, chances are, that most people fail to notice or even realise this form of digital advertising.

In the last few years, native advertising has risen and grown in popularity, prompting the question; “why do you need to consider it for your business and marketing growth strategy?”. This article will shed some light on native advertising. Let’s dive in!

So, what is native advertising? 

Put simply, native advertising is paid advertising that seeks to match the look and feel of the media source you’re currently using. Also referred to as sponsored content, this form of marketing uses ads that align with the web page or platform on which they appear.

Unlike typical display or pop-up ads, native ads aren’t disruptive, and they carry useful information to their viewers/users, hence offering a good user experience. From articles, videos to infographics, native ads appear in different forms. Here are the three different types of native advertising:

• In-feed ads: These ads are seamlessly integrated into a website, blog content, or social platforms in a manner that aligns with the regular content. Since they blend with the platform’s content, they’re usually consumed naturally without being obstructive.
• Content-recommendation ads: Recommendation ads normally appear at the end or alongside the editorial content in the form of recommendation widgets.
• Paid search ads: These are sponsored search results that normally appear in an identical manner to the intended results on various search engines, like Google.

Pros and cons of using native advertising 

Before deciding to use native advertising, it is worth considering its benefits and limitations. Here are some pros:

1. Easier to grab the audience’s attention 

Time Inc found that up to 90% of younger internet users from Gen Z, millennials to Gen X, prefer custom content, such as native ads, over traditional advertising. Another study also found that consumers usually click and open native ads 53 percent more frequently than other forms of digital advertising. In other words, native ads are effective as they are better received by their audiences.

2. Native advertising removes ad fatigue 

Today, consumers are bombarded with marketing ads all over the internet, prompting ad fatigue. Thankfully, native ads are well received by their audiences since they align with their content. Consequently, they don’t tire users, but instead engage them.

3. Drives better performance 

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