Why Companies Should Start Investing in Native Advertising
Why Companies Should Shift Away From Programmatic and Lean Towards Native Advertising
Written by Dylan Langei
What is Programmatic Advertising?
Sounds complex huh? Or at least very calculated, and it is. Programmatic advertising is driving digital media buying practices forward by combining rich customer data with algorithmically driven buying platforms to make digital advertising dollars more effective in reaching target audiences. Whew, that was a mouth full. Programmatic ads are purchased in an auction based method, with the buyer paying whatever price an ad is worth at that given time - using surplus amounts of data to figure out the perfect ad, the right person, and the right time. As you can see, programmatic ads improve targeting while also streamlining ad purchases and transparency when it comes to a transactions particulars. Due to its effectiveness, eMarketer estimates the programmatic ad space will quadruple to $8.7 billion by 2017. Fairly large market for those annoying sidebar ads on your Pandora station, but hey, they're effective.
What is Native Advertising?
Rather than throwing ads next to relevant content, native ads are integrated directly into the content - providing a look and feel of an editorial piece. The most common form of native advertising is publisher-produced brand content, which is similar to a traditional advertorial - essentially a paid placement attempting to replicate that of an article. Meh, still think native ads will just be a passing fad? Business Insider estimates the native advertising market to reach around $18 billion by 2017. Yup, that's about $10 billion more than programmatic advertising by 2017. Oh, so now you're no longer slumped over in your computer chair?
Where Will Advertising Lean?
Advertising is always changing, because users are constantly changing their buying behaviors and how they engage with businesses. Therefore, there is no doubt in my mind that advertising will continue to move away from programmatic, and towards native. This does not mean I think native advertising is the eternal solution, but for now, it's very promising. Native advertising is less obtrusive, and feels more authentic. However, native ads can also be deceiving and pose potential problems for businesses. Even though native ads are meant to provide and feel like an editorial piece, they are still required to clearly state or display that the viewer is experiencing an ad. Failure to do so can destroy brand equity, and bring on legal implications.
As a user of the internet and any space where ads may appear, wouldn't you rather experience a native ad than a programmatic one? That's what it's all about, user experience - businesses do not choose where advertising moves, consumers do. Personally, I prefer the native ad that is validated by a reputable podcast over a pop up ad that interrupts me from reading a blog post. But hey, I'm just one user.
Where Should Advertisers Migrate Their Ad Dollars?
NATIVE ADVERTISING. If you don't believe the numbers, just think like a consumer. What would you prefer? Nearly seamless integration of ads (native), or ugly boxes injected with advertising that is somewhat related to the content you're viewing (programmatic)? Also with the continuing surge of social media engagement, native advertising will continue to take over. It is very difficult to integrate programmatic advertising on social media outlets like Instagram (which has the most engaged user base), while a native advertising strategy doesn't seem too far fetched.
Actually, native advertising is extremely prominent on Instagram. As seen above, Instagram has titled the post as "Sponsored" so the user base knows that they are ads. But the pictures and content are very native, in that they explain a scenario or a story - as an editorial would. These ads are not obtrusive, as an Instagram user can simply scroll right by them. They are also no where near ugly or clunky boxes of misleading offers. The growth of social media is the main reason I am fully backing native advertising, and you should too. Ready your troops, because native advertising is here to stay.
How a Google AdWords Certification Makes You the Modern Don Draper
The Fundamentals of the Google AdWords Exam and How to Leverage That in Your Career as a Digital Marketer
Written by Dylan Langei
What is Google AdWords?
Sounds like a board game huh? But no, Google AdWords is no board game - and we all know Google wouldn't develop a board game unless they had a chance at monopolizing the market. Google AdWords certification is a professional accreditation, awarded by...wait for it...Google. An AdWords certification allows an individual to be recognized as an online advertising professional. Who cares? Well businesses do. AdWords campaigns allow businesses to choose where their ad appears, set a budget they're comfortable with, and measure the impact of their ad.
The Exam...Dun, Dun, Dun:
There are five sections to the Google AdWords exam, covering various aspects of online advertising, essentially making you an online advertising badass. OK, not as badass as Don Draper, but we can all dream. Here are the five:
AdWords Fundamentals: This AdWords Fundamentals exam covers basic and intermediate concepts, including the benefits of online advertising and AdWords, and best practices for managing and optimizing AdWords campaigns.
Search Advertising: The Search Advertising exam covers advanced concepts and best practices for creating, managing, measuring, and optimizing Search campaigns.
Display Advertising: The Display Advertising exam covers advanced concepts and best practices for creating, managing, measuring, and optimizing Display campaigns.
Video Advertising: The Video Advertising exam covers basic and advanced concepts, including best practices for creating, managing, measuring, and optimizing video advertising campaigns across YouTube and the web.
Shopping Advertising: The Shopping Advertising exam covers basic and advanced concepts, including creating a Merchant Center account and product data feed, and creating and managing Shopping campaigns.
A Calculated Dive Into Google AdWords:
Google AdWords offers many benefits to a business aiming to gain some traction online with their ads. There are four that really sell this thing:
- Target Your Ads: ability to show your ads to reach your "buyer persona" and people with specific interests through keywords, ad locations, demographics, devices, and age/location/language.
- Control Your Costs: complete control over how you spend your money. AdWords does not require a minimum dollar amount, making the service manageable for small or large firms. Your business has the ability to select how much you spend per month, day, and per ad while only paying when a user clicks on your ad.
- Measure Your Success: everything on Google AdWords is traceable - from click throughs to purchases - allowing you to see which ads lead to conversions and which do not. This leads to boosting the return on your investment (ROI) through an understanding of the analytics.
- Manage Your Campaigns: let's say you are in charge of overseeing 100 various ad campaigns. With Google's My Client Center (MCC) you are able to easily view and manage all of your AdWords accounts from a single location. Also provided is AdWords Editor, a free downloadable app that allows you to edit your campaigns offline, and then upload the changes to AdWords.
Google also has one of the most extensive advertising networks, I mean, it's goddamn Google we're talking about. Google has two main networks - the Google Search and Google Display Network.
Google Search Network: includes the behemoth, which is Google Search, along with hundreds of other non-Google search partner websites like AOL. These sites all show AdWords ads that match search results. Say you're searching for running shoes, a Zappos ad might pop up on the side bar, since they are an online shoe company.
Google Display Network: includes a collection for Google websites like Google Finance, Gmail, Blogger, and YouTube. These ads are matched to the content that is being viewed on that particular page. If you're watching a YouTube video on how to design logos on Adobe Illustrator, an ad for a design firm might be displayed somewhere on the page.
You might not believe this, but higher quality ads can lead to lower prices and better ad positions. OK, the better ad position makes sense, but lower prices? This phenomenon will be explained in a second. The positioning of your ad is completely contingent on your Quality Score and Ad Rank. I would attempt to explain this, but I'll just let Hal from Google do the talking. I'm sure he gets paid more than me. Also, please notice the red stapler and comb over - and yes I am making a reference to Office Space.
Getting past Hal looking like Milton, he explains the AdWords Auction fairly well. Although a complex formula, it rewards businesses for putting together quality ads using a fair auction system. Love it.
Applying Google AdWords For a Client:
With a deep understanding of Google AdWords and certification in hand, the Don Draper's of organizations will see you as a valuable asset. Why? Well because EVERYTHING is moving online. Because more people are active online, businesses are moving online. Therefore, advertising is moving online.
Don Draper would absolutely be scratching his head at this statement, but it's true, the internet is consuming paper advertising. Just read my A/BAMA blog regarding Barack Obama's 2012 reelection campaign, and how he leveraged online advertising to beat out Mitt Romney. If the President of the United States is advertising online for his reelection campaign, you better be comfortable with the digital realm of advertising - or you'll end up defeated by your competitors. Being able to run and manage an effective ad campaign could increase a firms ROI, brand awareness, customer loyalty, and engagement with customers. These are all valuable assets to be able to bring to a business. Shoot, if you are able to effectively translate these benefits to clients and show success, you might just become the next Don Draper.
To take the Google AdWords exam, sign up for Google Partners.