Did you know that 47% of marketers around the globe have confidence in the effectiveness of native advertising? As a form of native advertising, sponsored content's benefits are endless when you deliver ads and messages on relevant digital publications.
That is because you deliver targeted advertising content to an audience you know is interested in your offers while also matching the publisher's editorial content to reduce ad annoyance with your message (by advertising in a way that doesn't feel like an ad). Other common goals of sponsored content are to boost engagement and brand awareness by getting your message to an audience you wouldn't otherwise be able to reach.
And you can do that and more! Here are six benefits you cannot ignore.
Fortunately, sponsored content allows your brand to build trust with the publisher's audience.
People aren't always willing to take your word that you're a trustworthy brand. However, with sponsored content, it's not your word they're considering. It's the sponsor's word! They impart their trustworthiness to your brand, helping you earn your target audience's trust.
With sponsored content, however, you can boost brand awareness among the publisher's audience.
Improving brand awareness through individual endeavors is still crucial, as it expands your reach even further in the long term. Leveraging sponsored content gives you the boost you need in the short term to establish that visibility and draw more curious shoppers to your products or services right now.
Take, for instance, a travel blog (publisher) and a destination spot (brand). In travel marketing, the travel blog would already have many trusted visitors that visit its site most days. When the destination ad appears seamlessly with the rest of the page's content, combined with a memorable image or text that catches the reader's eye, it will pique customer interest.
Sponsored content isn't limited to delivering ads on a publisher's platform but can come in various formats, like social media influencers and paid articles or guest blogging.
How does sponsored content contribute?
Readers actively engage with content from publishers they've built a connection with over time. When your content or message is delivered similarly and on the same site, those same readers are more open and engaged with your material. That is because it feels less like engaging with a brand they don't know (even if it is the case) and more like engaging with content delivered by a publisher they already know and love.
So, how do sponsored content ads do what traditional ads cannot?
They fit in with the content the reader willingly exposes themselves to without sticking out like an eyesore. The natural integration of your content makes the readers that come across your sponsored ad feel like it's a seamless part of the content. In return, your brand avoids the stigma of traditional ads.
How can you make sure of it?
With a McClatchy partnership! McClatchy delivers branded messages across the web to your target audience and can host your content within our site structure while sharing it across publisher sites. Contact us to learn more!