Native advertising is a term that is becoming increasingly commonplace around the internet. Indeed, you will have seen it, even if you weren’t aware of what it was. Have you noticed, for instance, that you see more branded content on Forbes, Buzzfeed and Facebook? That is all down to this type of advertising. Many people find it quite annoying to see these messages, although not as much as popups, for instance. Indeed, it now turns out to be one of the strongest forms of advertising around.

Yes, it is still a new concept, but the tactics that underpin it have been around for a while now. Basically, you still continue to pay for placement. However, you are no longer pushing a traditional advertisement but rather product promotions, branded articles, guides and other types of content. Nowadays, native advertising is an umbrella term that incorporates search marketing, social advertising, content marketing and in-feed advertising.

If you need help with native advertising, the following steps could be of benefit to you.

STEP 1 – What Is Your Message?

It can be very challenging to present something that promotes your service, but at the same time offers real value to the people who read it. What you need to try and achieve is to start with useful content, moving this on to a service or product. This is the opposite of traditional advertising, where you would clearly push a product. Truly good content doesn’t really sell. Instead, it links a brand back into a complete idea. A good example is provided by GE, who have a partnership with Buzzfeed for content. This content is not about the technology that GE develops at all. Instead, they post tests, articles and more fun information that links to the “imagination at work” that GE is so famous for.

STEP 2 – Who Is Your Audience?

Naturally, GE has a budget that most of us can only dream of. However, that doesn’t mean native advertising isn’t for you. You need to think about who your target audience is, and where these people go in order to find information that relates back to your industry. This could be a blog, a digital publication or a social media network, for instance. By being aware of this, you will have a better idea of where to post. For instance, if you sell a resume writing service, you could post an article on resume writing tips on LinkedIn.

STEP 3 – Get Your Data

Once you have created an informative and creative ad, you are ready to move on to the next stage. There should be a very clear and obvious call to action in your content. This could be a request to follow you on social media, to contact a sales team, to visit a landing page or to download an eBook, for instance. By having a clear call to action, you will also be able to get the data to decide whether or not you are being successful. If the number of followers on your social media page go up, for instance, you are doing things right. If not, you need to go back to the drawing board.