I have yet to come across or hear an adequate literal translation of the word "Native advertising" into Lithuanian. Some refer to it as content advertising, while others refer to it as self-promotion. Some people strive to differentiate or separate native advertising from content marketing and other smart labels. I'll leave the terminology to the conference theorists. It is more necessary to comprehend the format's meaning.

In brief, native advertising is the meaningful integration of content-relevant advertising and products into content, or the integration of all content into a repository of comparable material. In the United States, native advertising formats are estimated to earn around $44 billion in 2020, representing a 20% increase over 2019. Native ad impressions are around 50% greater than banner advertisements, and click-through rates are several dozen times higher.

 

Native advertising

When I look at the debate about native advertising and content marketing, I notice far too much focus on creating limits rather than the basic processes of good advertising. A relevant or contextual relationship between content and advertising, in my opinion, is a crucial aspect of a successful mechanism in both content marketing and native advertising. As a result, content marketing efforts that are aimed at molding material for target groups based on socio-demographics may be content marketing, but they are denigrating the format rather than representing it. For example, information generated by an alcoholic beverage manufacturer about the history of a place may be referred to be content marketing, but it is actually just the characteristics of modern marketing. An excellent example is when an oil manufacturer incorporates its goods into recipes for oil preservation. As a result, in my opinion, these and a few other styles are slightly distinct and may be grouped together under the umbrella term 'meaningful integration into content.'

Despite the rising dominance of the native advertising format, it is often confined to the replication of banners with article design in many areas. One reason for this is that automated native advertising platforms may be used. The accuracy of automated native advertising systems is fairly restricted, but interacting directly with publishers allows for remarkable precision.

A content banner posted on an automated platform does not closely match the substance of the article, but a greater CTR is almost likely assured with such a copycat banner. The distinction between banner and Native advertisements in this situation is that the click remains on the same portal (BBC.com), implying a better degree of reader confidence without the fear of being transported to an unknown website with unknown security.

 

Formats for meaningful integration

Even those who teach advertising and communications at universities and speak at advertising and communications conferences believe that content advertising is a long-term and gradual approach. That remark is absolutely false in my opinion, because meaningful integration forms may aid with both immediate sales and long-term image development or reinforcement. With today's format development, a content project may be established in a few hours and receive thousands of hits quickly, even on specialized portals. Advertising in online media pieces, advertising with specialized influencers, and content on trading platforms are the most successful formats for meaningful integration.

Customer advertising is meaningfully integrated into the content. It explains to the reader the advantages of the product, how to use it correctly and why it is worth paying more. Photographs and film are taken for the client. "IKS Digital project "Construction of a frame house".

 

Advertisement in online media

There are two types of online media: specialized media and news media. There are distinctions in the content, reader behavior, and methods of reaching out to them. Depending on the circumstances, different information should be created under various sections.

SimilarWeb gives information on how users arrive at delfi.lt. The majority of visitors come directly to delfi.lt. Delfi is visited by visitors on a daily or multiple daily basis. They come to delfi expecting light, occasionally beneficial information rather than solutions to everyday or long-term concerns.

This should be considered while creating material for news sites. The content should be straightforward, but not dull. Attention will be drawn to headlines that sell. The product presentation in the material should be as straightforward as feasible. The big benefit of news portals is that they may not only influence buyers seeking a product or service, but they can also generate demand. The problem is that news portals differentiate very little between distinct demand groups, with a large proportion of random people accessing the information who do not require the goods or services. True, news portals are beginning to categorize material in order to better attract purchasers in a certain location.

The reach of specialized portals varies greatly. Specialized sites are often linked to Google, the world's largest search engine. Google is eager to place powerful specialized portals at the top of search results. This creates new potential for marketers, since they may target not just the audience of the specialized webpage, but also the audience of Google. We were unable to locate Google audience numbers, but even if Google does not have the greatest overall audience, it does have the largest audience of shoppers segregated by need. This sort of data and target group are the most valuable in current marketing.

According to SimilarWeb, the majority of visits to the specialized construction website Allconstructions.com come from original Google searches. The reader is seeking thorough answers to a problem on a specialized webpage. As a result, the information must be extensive, detailed, and abundantly demonstrated with real-world instances. Google's natural search results in a highly contextualised audience, whether a new or established customer. This allows you to influence the product selection and begin the purchasing process by incorporating purchasing links.

In 2020, most businesses' sales were driven by their rank in Google search results. This was especially evident during the Covid outbreak in 2020, when corporations controlling the internet saw rapid development. Companies that are not discovered in Google search or do not invest in search positioning lose a large amount of business. Companies in modern marketing not only increase their website with SEO, but they also add another string to their bow by acquiring Google ADS. Collaboration with specialized portals brings up extra and entirely new possibilities. It is possible to not only appear in one or two rows of Google searches, but also to dominate them. So far, we still have a significant amount of "free" material that displays in Google searches without sponsorship.

The IKS portals company has three sites ranked #1 in text search in Lithuanian, capturing over half of the Google audience.

Timber frame construction articles in Lithuanian may still be discovered using over 300 distinct key words. These articles include advertisements for construction goods that are closely related to the content. The items used in the building of a timber-framed house are highlighted by describing their ease of use, efficiency, and potential, as well as potential errors in their usage. This format is transferable to a variety of different languages. The content management platform Loudpublish, which is optimized for the Google search algorithm, is one of the key elements.

 

Influencer-led native advertising

Influencers are those who generate material, typically on social media platforms, then distribute it to their followers. They can also be classified as popular content developers or specialized content providers. The most common content providers are those that create short, bite-sized, and popular pieces of material. Social networking algorithms are not designed to handle the traffic of specialized content providers. When specialized material intersects with popular content, successful examples of specialized influencers arise. Cooking, sports, beauty, health, travel, and fishing are a few examples. Many influencers concede that a single ad insertion may earn as much cash as a month's worth of other activities.

Influencer advertising, particularly from agency firms, is shrouded in mystery. Meanwhile, influencers are the same media who are just getting started on social media on the cheap. As a successful individual influencer, they establish a staff of editors and administrators, become a full-fledged publisher and frequently launch their own web portal. The actual influencers are not the mini-influencers, but the alpha-influencers.

When building an integration, the influencer's style and the content their audience enjoys must be considered.

Short texts are required for an influencer with a big amount of material, but it is preferable to spread the presentation over a longer period of time. It is worthwhile for a committed influencer to assist with further message marketing via a paid advertising network.

Because the social networking algorithm is volatile, influencers should seek for opportunities to repeat content on their own website. Plan ahead of time for the inclusion of other content providers and active advertising sales, both through content integration and their own advertising blocks. When compared to social media revenue, this can raise advertising revenue by 8 to 10 times. You may improve your earnings by 3-4 times if you establish your own website using Loudpublish for publishers. A wide range of unobtrusively integrated advertising forms is beneficial.

 

How to launch native advertising

Communicating directly with publications and influencers is the most successful strategy for placing native advertisements. Native advertising systems include Outbrain.com, Nativo.com, and Redirect.com. The automated placement of adverts on these platforms weakens advertising's real relation to content. Disagreeable material may be posted on adjacent platform blocks. As a result, direct agreements with publishers are the most successful.

IKS digital created this format and is the market leader in Lithuania. It has developed initiatives that draw 100,000 or more visits every year. In long-term initiatives, the cost of reaching one visitor/buyer is only 4 to 5 cents. Iks digital franchises similar initiatives to digital communication professionals and publishers in different areas.

One of the most serious issues is the antiquated attitude of some market participants concerning the duration of Native advertising initiatives. They make an effort to incorporate the advertising into brief TV or other media campaigns. However, in Native advertising campaigns, 90-95 percent of the expenditures are incurred within the first month to several months of the campaign, in terms of choosing campaigners, developing, integrating, and hosting material. Coordination of content and advertising consumes a significant amount of time. The expense of advertising campaigns rises significantly as a result. The expense of attracting a visitor skyrockets. Meanwhile, the information developed frequently has a long-term worth of two to five years or more. For example, throughout 8 years of broadcasting, Knauf's piece on plasterboard installation has been updated once and has had a total readership of over 200,000, who spent around 7 minutes in the material promoting Knauf's panels and profiles. As a result, if such material were aired for one month, the cost per visitor would be roughly EUR 1, for one year, EUR 0,2, for five years, EUR 0,04, and for eight years, EUR 0.02.

Content marketing for a retailer selling more costly home furnishings. Every year, the funding remains consistent, and new articles are published. This allows for an increase in traffic of between 30% and 100%. As a result, the cost of reaching a visitor is reduced by around twofold. Each year, this customer's revenues climb by around 15%.

Another issue is the advertiser's overzealous attempt to affect the promotability and, in some cases, the style of the material itself. Editors understand how to compose information that is appealing to the reader, as well as advertising that is not obnoxious and promotes a desire to buy. Publishers have a significantly higher level of SEO skill since they confront tremendous and often severe obstacles in getting their material on Google. They frequently have to deal with duplication of their material on other websites, which produces a slew of SEO issues. 

Many of these issues may be resolved by collaborating with IKS Digital, which services the IKS portal group as well as other partner portals. The organization has over ten years of expertise developing content and incorporating advertising into it. The majority of the labor is on more costly, comment-intensive items. A reasonable person would not purchase a product unless they were aware of its uses and advantages. IKS Digital's offering for timber-framed buildings is an earlier example. Recently, simplified content initiatives have also been presented. For the advertiser, articles that have previously been posted and found in Google searches are chosen. An integrated advertising campaign may be put together in a matter of days, greatly lowering the campaign's cost.

 

Analyses of native advertising

When it comes to judging native advertising, several blunders are committed. The influence of image advertising and sales advertising is frequently considered interchangeably. The SWOT analysis sample below demonstrates how different formats have varied consequences. The Native ad type with influencers, for example, has a substantial, rapid, but short-term impact on sales. And, in most cases, have little influence on brand image. Meanwhile, the traditional law of advertising states that things in a higher price range will not be purchased until they are trusted. A more expensive product campaign must begin with image building/reinforcement and progress to sales. This is often, but not always, compatible in specialized publications. The number of shoppers who visit the content and the amount of time they spend there is a critical metric for such initiatives. An example of an IKS Digital report may be seen above.
It is considerably more difficult to quantify the effectiveness of a campaign in terms of the total rise in brand awareness, because most campaigns employ many instruments and it is impossible to isolate the influence of any one of them.

The dynamics of Google searches for a certain brand may be used to predict the effectiveness of advertising efforts. It is difficult to differentiate each format's contribution, but the dynamics suggest that the mix is effective. The product's seasonality should also be addressed.

 

 

This client employs native advertising in specialized periodicals, as well as Google and Facebook advertisements, as well as retargeting. Since the commencement of the campaign, the number of brand mentions has risen and subsequently stabilized. Google Search Console delivers priceless and affordable data on changes in brand recognition.

A SWOT study of the integration potential of several content portals

 

Format	Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
News portals	High audience coverage is important not just for forming an opinion for an existing client, but also for creating demand for the product itself, as measured by Google search ranking.	Difficulty differentiating between buyer groups, increased cost of contacting consumers, reduced buyer confidence, poorly presented information, selling headlines that frequently do not match key Google search terms, short message lifespan.	Buyer retargeting opportunities have been identified, as well as statistics on the number of visits and time spent, improved content classification, and improvements in Google search targeting.	When advertising a sophisticated product with powerful delivery capabilities, product discrediting occurs.
Portals with specialized content	High shopper identification and reach, Google search ranking, long message lifespan, exceptional content trust, maximum shopper impact, and retargeting of identified shopper.	There is little opportunity to influence public perception of the new product.	Joint sales of content projects, merging many portals for an advertising campaign, and store integration.	Specialized portals chosen incorrectly by a low-skilled professional.
Popular influencers	Product delivery is immediate, and there is a big effect on buying.	Short message lifespan (24 - 48 hours), limited opportunities for text statistics, too brief interaction with advertising, limited opportunities to communicate product merits, short-term impact of advertising.	As the influencer becomes a long-term champion for the product, their delivery skill improves and the advertisement's long-term effect develops.	Product slander, fear of providing a more sophisticated product that is outside of one's regular competencies.
Mini influencers	Frequently with a devoted following.	Small audiences, limited ability to evaluate text advertising, short message lifetime on social networks.	Grow a loyal following by funding influencer promotions.	Unclear real image of the mini-influencer, unprofessionalism in product presentation, content creation, self-discrediting by carelessly touching on a questionable topic.
Specialised influencers	High trust in the content you create, with a very strong influence on purchasing.	Short message lifespan.	Extending the lifetime of the message by duplicating the extended content on the portal and by raising it in Google search.	Insufficient expertise to deliver a more complex product, difficult selection due to potential fan churn.
Automated hosting on platforms	Reach large audiences quickly with this one.	Limited correspondence between advertising and content meaningfulness, with advertising broadcast in automated blocks with a fairly strong separation between advertising and content.	Pretend that everything is fine after looking at nice reports.	The appearance of advertising next to discredited content.
Hosting by agreement with publishers	A very high and meaningful correspondence between advertising and content, and the highest level of reader confidence in the information provided.	High administration costs for short advertising campaigns, complex process of creating individual content for each publication.	Contract with IKS Digital to run a native advertising campaign among specialised publishers in Lithuania, Long-term contracts reduce administration and hosting costs and improve compatibility with editorial offices.	Lack of competence in resource selection, over-promotion of material by an incompetent advertiser, duplication of content across multiple resources