How To Use Native Advertising To Further Amplify Your Content

You’ve been here before. Yet another one of your compelling articles was picked up by that highly acclaimed publication you targeted. The article gained great traction and the shareability rates went through the roof. It was even syndicated across multiple blogs. While monitoring the article’s activity on buzzsumo, you’re yet again ecstatic about the engagement your content managed to spark.

After doing your utmost to promote the article on your owned channels, you see the momentum starting to fade. Despite the fact that the article will live on forever online, you wish you could continue to ride this wave of success and spread the value of your content (and promote your brand) to even more people.

Here is where native advertising comes in.

Spreading your content via earned and owned channels is a cost-free way to test how well your content can perform. Despite the power of UGC (User-Generated-Content), paid channels (native advertising) allow you to control exactly where your content gets “exposed”. Contrary to earned media; native advertising gives you the freedom to place your pre-tested content in the hands of influencers of your choice.

It is all about scale. Instead of your article being syndicated from 1 online publication, by transforming it to a native placement, it can now be syndicated from 25 different publications. For example: Your content is now moving from being amplified by 350 influencers and consumed by their 70,000 end consumers to being amplified by 8,750 influencers and consumed by their respective 1,750,000 end consumers.
 See the difference in numbers here - If your content was compelling/entertaining/insightful/interesting enough to be forwarded by 350 influencers in the first place, why would it not be worth spreading to more influencers and a bigger pool of consumers? It is all so simple. Spread the wealth.

Set up your content via native

In order to maximize the output when implementing your content through native platforms, there are some steps to consider.

1. Identify your content

Before you even select a native ad platform, you need to consider the type of content you’re intending to distribute. If your content is an article, Nativo is a good platform to use while Virool would be the platform of choice for any video content. With a wealth of options it is imperative to choose the platform that can deliver your content in the best way possible to the right people at the right time.

2. Enhance your content

You are now paying to distribute this piece of content. Consider all options of enhancing your content to maximize benefit, but be careful so that it does not remove the novelty nature that made the content so extraordinary in the first place. For example: Consider embedding links and buttons to drive the reader directly to the landing pages of your choice. Give your content additional editing rounds to ensure it is completely spot-free.

3. Implement your content

When you are uploading/setting up your content to the native ad solution make sure that the current format fits the template of the platform to prevent the risk of any aesthetic issues. Create a compelling native ad unit that uses a variety of different headlines and imagery that are consistent with the story of the content. Think of creative ways to find new copy. 
For example: What did the previous influencers have to say about your content? If there was something said that was smart, funny, insightful – maybe it can work as a terrific headline. Just be sure to give the influencer credit.

4. Target your new influencers

Now you have a vast selection of options where to place your content, but choose wisely. Ask yourself what type of influencers you are looking to reach and identify the type of influencers who previously interacted with your content. Use resources like quantcast to quickly find out the demographics, interests and behaviors of influencers by domains. You now have the opportunity to spread your content across influencers and consumers at a scale your earned media efforts could never even dream of achieving.

Now release your content and watch it be embraced once again. Only this time it is being embraced by a much larger audience. Congratulations, you have successfully prolonged the impact of your content and established a new solid trust in your brand.

This can now be your new content marketing mantra – Test your content with earned/owned efforts. Promote your best content with paid efforts.

Photo: Neil Williamson