Advertising works. Especially effective is social media advertising. Facebook, for example, can give you a remarkable ROI. With the number of users and types of ads, it is one of the best platforms to start an advertising campaign. There is one problem, though.
Nowadays, in the 21st century, most people, especially millennials, are well-educated and savvy. Thus, they notice a marketing message in an ad within a second, get annoyed and decide not to respond.
Now, the question is: is there anything you can do about it? As a matter of fact, yes, there is. You can go native.
Let’s take a look at five real examples of native ads and content marketing on Facebook and see what we can learn from them about creating such ads.
Native ads on Facebook: Here’s how it works.
Imagine checking your Facebook in the morning. Besides some funny photos of your friends, there’s nothing really interesting. Ads, ads and even more ads. You’re attacked by such phrases as “buy now” or “there’s a discount on… Hurry…”. How irritating, isn’t it? Now, when you’ve almost lost hope to find a “normal” post on Facebook, you notice something cool.
An automobile company posted a video in which they test their new car in an extreme environment. Despite the fact that the video takes nearly 10 min, you watch it till the end. You laugh. You enjoy your time. You Like the video. Then, you think: “(the name of the brand) really makes badass cars.”
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No CTAs. No catchy sales slogans. No desperate attempts to sell you a new product. Just an entertaining video. That’s it. Who would have guessed that its main purpose is to increase brand awareness? Well, not the user, for sure.
That’s the power of native advertising.
Now, let’s take a look at five real examples of native ads and content marketing on Facebook and see what we can learn from them about creating such ads.
Tell a story and show your audience that your products are special.
1. “Every Rolex Tells a Story” campaign.
Sometime ago, Rolex started a new campaign called “Every Rolex Tells a Story.” The main focus of the campaign was to present the achievements of famous people and how a Rolex watch helped them remember the best moments of their lives. One of such people was Lara Gut:
In their native video, Rolex tells the story of how Lara Gut won a World Cup Super-G race. Only in the second part of the video you learn that it isn’t just an ordinary video, but also an ad.
Thus, at the end of the video, Rolex communicates to their audience that their watches are made for special moments.
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They help you remember your victories and important moments from your life. Thus, a Rolex watch is not a product, but an emotional symbol. Smart, isn’t it?
Lesson: in your native ad, tell a story and show your audience that your products are special. For more engagement, promote the post.
Use your logo to increase brand awareness and expand your customers’ imagination with your ads.
2. Terry the toucan from Tucan Travel.
One of the most creative, cute and thought-inspiring native ads can be found on Tucan Travel FB Page. It features a picture of a soft toy, toucan, in an exotic place:
Now, there are no CTAs or marketing slogans encouraging you to buy a trip on the target site. Only an innocent information that Terry the toucan was seen in Costa Rica. That’s an absolutely ingenious idea for an ad. Simple, but powerful.
The picture not only strengthens brand awareness (after all, toucan is featured in the logo of the company), but also, makes you think. How much would you give to also “be spotted” on that beach? Well, Tucan Travel can surely help you make it happen.
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Lesson: use your logo to increase brand awareness and expand your customers’ imagination with your ads.
UGC can be extremely helpful in native advertising: it shows that people are happy to use your products and that they do use them. It builds trust with a brand.
3. Muse Salon & Spa and their user-generated content.
Another idea for a native ad comes from a salon and spa business. To encourage people to come to their salon, Muse shows their customers that only professional hairdressers work for them and can make hairstyles perfect for special occasions, such as photography sessions:
You can notice that the above photo wasn’t taken by the salon, but by a photo company for the customer. Thus, to promote their business, Muse decided to take advantage of user-generated content (UGC).
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Now, UGC can be extremely helpful in native advertising: it shows that people are happy to use your products and that they do use them. It builds trust with a brand.
Lesson: take advantage of UGC in your native ads. Also, add some hashtags to increase engagement.
When users read the post, they expand their knowledge.
4. Thrive Themes and their blog post.
In their Facebook post, Thrive Themes encourages users to visit their site and learn how to create a perfect homepage. All you need to do is to click on the ad and read their new post:
Now, you may wonder in what way does the above ad work as an ad. After all, it doesn’t seem to have a sales message. Well, the main purpose of the above ad is to drive traffic to the blog and increase engagement.
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Next, when users read the post, they expand their knowledge. However, in order to apply that new knowledge and create a great homepage, they are indirectly encouraged to download Thrive Themes’ plugins and use other services on the site. Great strategy, wouldn’t you say?
Lesson: use Facebook to drive traffic to your amazing blog posts and offer your audience something for free in your native ads (e.g. knowledge). You can also add special buttons, such as “Sign Up” or “Download”:
Start a conversation with your audience.
5. Keith Krance and his live video.
Recently, Keith Krance, the founder of Dominate Web Media, published a live video on FB. The main purpose of the ad was to interact with users through a quiz.
Thus, Keith asked his audience a question and told them to contact him in Messenger. To encourage people take part in the quiz, he also offered a prize (if your answer is correct, you can win his new book).
Did the ad work? Looking at the number of shares, it definitely did. The question is, what’s so special about the ad? Three things:
- It features a live video, so people see a person and not a corporation behind a brand.
- The content of the ad is closely related to the services on Keith’s site.
- The ad’s both intriguing and entertaining.
Lesson: feature live videos in your native ads and make a quiz. Start a conversation with your audience.
Since many people are irritated by advertisements, going native in your ads can be the right choice.
Ready to start your Facebook native ad campaign?
Since many people are irritated by advertisements, going native in your ads can be the right choice. Native ads are powerful. Since they don’t look like ads, they draw people’s attention much easier and can increase traffic to your blog, brand awareness and inspire trust with your brand.
To make your native ads special, remember these tips:
- Tell a story.
- Use your logo.
- Use UGC.
- Offer something for free.
- Feature a live video.
Native Advertising Institute