Native advertising can provide many advantages for advertisers. These ads often have greater click-through rates than other display ad types. Most ad-blocking software doesn’t block them, and they get more attention. With all these benefits, you’ll want to recommend them to the right customers. But what industries are a good fit for native advertising?
Let’s find out!
Native Ad Spending Is Trending Up
As part of growing segments for digital display ads, native ads accounted for $2.18 billion in 2020, representing a 4.8% increase from the year before. It’s outpacing every other display ad type except video.
Image: eMarketer
Since native ads are content-focused and “blend” into the content around them, some industries will align with the tactic more than others. Additionally, native ads perform best in long-term campaigns. Those running for more than six months return a 36.4% lower CPC (cost per click) than those running for shorter periods. This stat illustrates that long-term native advertising campaigns have lower overall costs and greater ROAS (return on ad spend). They also perform better on mobile than on desktop.
All of this context can help you determine which industries are a good fit for native advertising.
Top Industries to Pitch Native Advertising
Here are five industries that fit the native advertising parameters the best.
Nonprofits
Nonprofits often have small budgets but lots of good stories. Because of this, they want to maximize their ad budget with very specific tactics. Native advertising sponsored content with emotional headlines can attract viewers and expand visibility to prospective donors. Content can educate consumers on causes and drive them to act by donating, volunteering or advocating.
Entertainment, Hospitality and Tourism
Entertainment, hospitality and tourism are all about experiences. Native ads can be aspirational and inspirational, providing a sneak peek into what a consumer can expect. Immersing them in the experience with vivid imagery and video can drive the conversion to order tickets or make a reservation.
Higher Ed
Traditional universities and colleges are seeing declines in enrollment for various reasons, and they need ways to attract students beyond just those graduating from high school. They could use native ads with an educational and promotional angle, like “10 Reasons X University Is Your Dream School.”
It’s an ad but doesn’t feel like one. Depending on targeting, higher ed could have a series of ads to appeal to different types of students.
Beauty and Wellness
This segment gets excellent returns by using native ads; according to data, it has the highest CTR. This is a very visual category. Whether it’s makeup, supplements, procedures or fitness, beauty and wellness can win with before-and-after native ads. Quick tutorials are also highly engaging. The key here is to ensure the ads are accurate and appropriate, so the content is what the user expected post-click.
Home Improvement
The home improvement industry increased its revenue throughout the pandemic, with more people at home wanting to refresh their spaces. It’s another visual genre that seeks to inspire. A great example of this is Home Depot’s Spring Reboot campaign, featured in Apartment Therapy. It’s interactive, engaging and fun.
Your local home improvement stores, interior designers, organizers and remodelers could all benefit from this type of ad on a smaller scale.
These are just a few examples of industries that fit the native advertising model. It can work for any sector but will perform better for visual and story-focused industries. Native ads aren’t traditional ad types where it’s a hard sell. Advertisers who want to educate and inform will be more inclined to test native ads.
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