In today’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it media landscape, engagement drives business. How you engage with your audience is the powerful engine behind native advertising, the ad strategy where sponsored content is designed to look and feel like native content with which the user is already engaged. There are plenty of ways to create effective native advertising. Adding the power of social can be a powerful tool to make your message go even further.
At the StoryStudio, we’re experts at building fully realized native campaigns and our suite of social products is designed to amplify the reach and effectiveness of your ad spend. Here’s what to know about harnessing the power of social media.
Sponsored Posts vs Traditional Ads
A sponsored post is an advertisement on a social media platform whose reach is amplified. Traditional ads don’t consider the target audience of the content, while sponsored posts do. If you want to make sure your brand’s sponsored content gets seen over and above the reach of a traditional native advertising campaign, using sponsored posts is a powerful tool.
StoryStudio offers several effective social media strategies to fit need, reach, and budget. Sponsored posts find your audience on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Sponsored carousels amplify the reach of a sponsored post leading additional targeted audiences to any landing page. Make your content easily accessible with an Instant Experience Ad which expands a traditional Facebook ad into a unique full-page view that includes customized teaser content of the full story.
Native Content and Sponsored Posts: Better Together
They say two is better than one. In advertising, partnering the effectiveness of native advertising with the power of social media through sponsored posts and creative elements can extend the reach and engagement of your content. This combined strategy increases your content’s reach and visibility, leading to higher engagement rates compared to traditional ads.
When you partner with the StoryStudio to create sponsored posts for your native campaign, your sponsored social runs on Hearst media platforms, adding a level of credibility versus a brand doing sponsored posts on their own social channels.
Crafting Effective Sponsored Posts: A Quick How-to
Creating effective sponsored posts requires a sharp eye and quick wit. Remember, a solitary post can be ephemeral; your content needs to grab attention with a striking image then keep them engaged with incisive commentary. Here are three guidelines for crafting effective posts:
- Create Authentic Content Make the post feel natural and relatable, not overly promotional.
- Use High-Quality Visuals Ensure images and videos are eye-catching and professional. Always use high-resolution, on-brand images that resonate with your audience.
- Incorporate a Clear Call-to-Action Keep copy concise, authentic, and aligned with your brand voice. Include a compelling call-to-action and make sure to engage with comments to foster interaction.
Why Integrating Social Works
Integrating sponsored posts on social media into your native advertising strategy works for three reasons:
- Cross-channel promotion amplifies reach Social sharing can increase the reach of native ads, leading to more organic views and interactions, which are harder to achieve without social media integration.
- Effectively leverages existing assets from your native strategy Get the most out of your content. Using social in conjunction increases engagement and improves brand recall.
- Enhanced Targeting Social media allows for precise targeting based on user data, which can significantly improve the relevance and effectiveness of native ads. Campaigns that leverage this data typically see better performance metrics, such as higher conversion rates and higher click-through rates.
Native advertising is an effective way to increase brand awareness and drive business. Sponsored posts — when crafted properly and executed to the right targeted audience — are proven to lead to better campaign outcomes.