What is Native Advertising? And How Can it Enhance Your Full Funnel Marketing Strategy

Writer: Luis Reyes
Date: November 14, 2024

In today’s competitive marketing landscape, getting results requires more than just catching attention; it’s about guiding consumers through a seamless journey from awareness to action. That’s where a full-funnel marketing strategy comes in, nurturing every stage of the customer journey—from initial engagement to conversion and beyond. One standout element of a full-funnel approach is native advertising—an innovative tactic favored by agencies of all sizes for its ability to connect with audiences across multiple touchpoints.

What Is Native Advertising?

Native advertising is a paid media format that blends seamlessly into the platform where it appears. Unlike traditional ads, native ads match the style, environment, and tone of the surrounding content, making them less intrusive and more likely to engage users in a meaningful way. Rather than disrupting the user experience, native ads enhance it, providing relevant and valuable content that feels organic.

Why Native Advertising Is Essential for Full-Funnel Marketing

A successful full-funnel strategy engages your audience at every stage, from early awareness to final purchase. Native advertising, with its non-disruptive integration, supports each step of this journey by delivering contextually relevant ads that feel natural to the viewer.

Here’s why it’s an invaluable component:

• Enhanced User Experience: Native ads blend in with the surrounding content, improving the user experience by offering valuable information that feels less like an ad and more like part of the platform’s content.
• High Engagement Rates: Studies show that consumers trust content found in organic environments, with more audiences finding native ads informative. Even users who typically dislike ads are more receptive to native formats that are relevant to their interests.
• Increased Brand Trust: Native advertising fosters trust by delivering content that aligns with users’ interests, making it an effective tool for building relationships and guiding consumers along the journey to conversion.

Native Advertising’s Role in Full-Funnel Success

Awareness: Engaging New Audiences with Contextual Relevance
Native ads excel at capturing attention without feeling intrusive. By integrating seamlessly into the user’s content experience, they are well-suited to drive brand awareness without breaking the flow of the viewer’s engagement.

Tip: Use visually engaging native display and video ads to boost awareness. Place these ads on contextually relevant websites to capture attention naturally.

Consideration: Building Trust Through Quality Content
As users become more aware of your brand, native ads can offer deeper, valuable content that helps consumers weigh their options. This approach enables you to build trust by delivering relevant information and solutions that match their interests and needs.

Tip: A native ad highlighting customer success stories or educational insights can help your brand stand out as a trustworthy choice.

Conversion: Closing the Deal with Targeted Messages
When consumers are ready to make a purchase, native ads can deliver the final push with personalized, contextually relevant messages that drive them toward conversion. This stage benefits from data-driven targeting to reach users with precise messaging based on their previous engagement and browsing behavior.

Tip: Use native high-impact units to create an immersive experience that inspires action and boosts conversion rates.

Key Metrics for Measuring Native Advertising Success

When evaluating the success of native advertising campaigns, consider metrics that capture more than just total clicks. Here are some of the most valuable indicators:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Native advertising often achieves above-average CTRs, with industry benchmarks starting at 0.20% and higher.
• Engagement Score: Simpli.fi’s proprietary Engagement Score factors in key post-click metrics, giving a fuller picture of how users interact with your content beyond the initial click.
• Conversion Rate: Track conversions attributed to native ads to understand their impact on your bottom line. Look at metrics like cost per conversion to gauge the effectiveness of native ads compared to other formats.

Making the Most of Simpli.fi’s Native Capabilities

Our brand is uniquely positioned to empower clients to harness the full potential of native advertising through expansive inventory access and industry-leading optimization tools. As Grace Dominique, Senior Sales Director at Simpli.fi, notes, “Native ads seamlessly blend with their placement sites, making them non-intrusive. The ability to scale locally while targeting niche audiences is invaluable. Our clients appreciate our comprehensive support, from native display to high-impact units, and the added value of a dedicated asset creation team.”

With native display, video, and high-impact units, our platform enables clients to maximize engagement at every stage of the funnel, driving meaningful connections with their audiences.

• Contextual Targeting: Simpli.fi’s cookieless targeting technology empowers advertisers to reach audiences based on contextual relevance rather than personal data, aligning seamlessly with today’s privacy-first marketing standards.
• Publisher Supply Quality: Native inventory on Simpli.fi’s platform is customizable for optimal viewability, brand safety, and fraud protection, ensuring quality and peace of mind for every campaign.
• Creative Support: Our dedicated in-house creative team provides a swift 48-hour turnaround for native assets, delivering impactful creative support for brands aiming to make a lasting impression.

In the evolving world of digital marketing, native advertising is a powerhouse tool for agencies and brands aiming to engage audiences across the full funnel. By blending seamlessly into the user’s experience, native ads create meaningful connections that go beyond mere impressions, driving engagement and building trust. With Simpli.fi’s advanced platform, marketers can leverage native advertising to maximize reach, relevancy, and results—offering a customer-centric, solution-oriented approach that meets today’s advertising challenges head-on.

Native advertising isn’t just an add-on; it’s a strategic advantage. Embrace its potential to elevate your full-funnel marketing efforts and drive impactful results across awareness, consideration, and conversion stages.

 
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Luis Reyes Sr. Manager of Content Marketing | Simpli.fi Luis Reyes is a dynamic leader in content marketing, recognized for strategically elevating brand presence and driving impactful results. As the Senior Manager of Content Marketing at Simpli.fi, he leverages extensive expertise gained from previous roles, including Senior Client Success Manager for national advertising agencies and enterprise clients, Marketing Content Creator at a leading healthcare services provider, focusing on brand mergers and project management, and Sales Account Manager at a prominent digital marketing firm, where he secured and managed national and regional digital marketing campaigns along with creative work. His diverse experience and forward-focused approach solidify his status as an authority in today’s competitive marketing landscape.