Native Advertising Vs. Content Marketing – What You Need to Know?

The digital marketing community has been buzzing with a dilemma on Native Advertising and Content Marketing. Though both of them share some similarities, they are poles apart in practicality. In this article, we’re going to clear the vaguely built image of both native advertising and content marketing.

Let’s begin by understanding the difference between native advertising and content marketing.

Native Advertising

Native Advertising is a type of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form as well as the function of the user experience in which it is placed. It focuses more on the beginning rather than long-term and more meaningful relations.

Let’s for a second take some real-life examples to get a clear vision on how native advertising is different from content marketing.

For example – Newly-made friends

You’ve recently made some new friends in college, and you want to charm them for which you throw a party one night. In that party, only selected people are invited; it’s more like having a fixed venue with a guest list. So accordingly you select the venue that offers your friends the perfect ambience for the party. You also select the best drinks and appetisers. For you, it’s all about the charming and making more friends. It doesn’t matter if they will be your friends for a lifetime or not. Similarly, native advertising is all about coming up with ways to attract the audience without thinking about future returns.

Content Marketing

It is a strategic marketing approach which focuses on creating and distributing consistent, valuable, and relevant content to attract as well as retain a clearly defined audience. The ultimate goal is to drive profitable customer action. Therefore, content marketing focuses on making deeper connections with the consumer in a more committed relationship.

For example  – A Childhood Friendship

Whenever you meet your childhood friends, you are more focused on working on the deeply built bonds, cherishing them and enhancing their beauty. There is a certain mindset attached to the connection that it is meant for long term. It is a bond that has been nurtured; that grows with time because you are focused on keeping it alive for a long span of time. You give your heart and soul to it.

Goals of Native Advertising and Content Marketing

Native Advertising:

• Increasing the brand value
• Addition to bringing more customers to the website
• Creating product awareness

Content Marketing:

• Creating brand awareness
• Making the website more efficient for customers
• Enhancing the knowledge of customers regarding the product

Content marketing is more focused on building the brand value by drawing more customer attention for a long-term objective. It targets more on the potential customers. Just like any other service provider, it is an ongoing process that passes through different stages, and there is no end to it. On the other hand, native advertising is more like show business. It does not have a long-term objective.  It is more focused on attracting the customer’s attention just to be noticed  by putting a relevant content or Ad on display where it matches the portal or the media it appears on.

Conclusion

Native advertising is a part of content marketing, but content marketing is not necessarily a part of native advertising. Both of them can work well together if implemented correctly as well as equally. So, it’s your choice whether to make full use of the two and make them a boon or vaguely implement them and lose the better chances of profit-gaining.