Content Marketing vs. Native Advertising

Content Marketing and Native Advertising have many thematic similarities, but there are still clear differences in their exact interpretation. An overview

Since 2016 at the latest, the (buzz)word Content Marketing has been on the lips of modern entrepreneurs everywhere. Content – Content – and more Content. But who delivers the journalistic quality that is the decisive key to success for a marketing strategy? Are there really enough PR journalists in Germany who stand out for their high level of creative quality and are always ready to work for companies? More often, it seems the quality of the content falls by the wayside, causing the entire marketing approach to falter. In addition to the search for high textual quality standards, the marketing departments of many companies repeatedly face another decision in this context: Traditional Content Marketing or Native Advertising? Which of these marketing/distribution strategies is suitable for them? The main criterion for this decision: The budget and the target audience that should be reached in the long term.

The Difference: The Definistribution

So far, there is a lack of a universally valid definition of both advertising forms, which cannot be clearly distinguished from each other anyway. Additionally, Native Advertising is considered an essential component in the distribution of Content Marketing and is thus also classified as Paid Content.

Content Marketing

The Content Marketing Institute defines Content Marketing as "a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action."

Primarily, Content Marketing is about creating and designing content of all kinds that should primarily not appear promotional but offer the reader a real added value. This content is then distributed for free on the company's own blogs and social media channels, providing an already established target audience with relevant information.

Native Advertising

According to Sharethrough, the official definition is: “Native Advertising is a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.”

Native Advertising is thus the placement of created content in a thematically appropriate and paid environment, so that the advertising text seamlessly integrates into a medium and is perceived by the reader as little to no advertising. An example of this is content like launching an "editorial article" for a new windshield heater in the print edition of Auto-Motor-Sport.

This reaches a niche target audience in their native environment. However, Native Advertising must always be labeled as advertising or an ad in this country and can be published by third parties such as news sites, blogs, or even publishers.

Which format, whether paid or unpaid, is right for your company can be roughly outlined with three simple points:

Objective and Success Measurement

The relevant metrics for measuring the success of the entire strategy should first be defined in advance, bringing you one step closer to choosing the format:

If you want to increase brand awareness, Native Advertising might be the right choice, as the resulting traffic generates numerous impressions since the content is played out in a suitable environment. Native Advertising content is usually placed by a third party. So before you also place it natively, you should first inform yourself about the available metrics of the respective provider.

For higher audience engagement, traditional Content Marketing proves to be effective. Facebook allows precise targeting of ads to a precisely defined audience and offers precise analysis options for campaign performance. Thus, it is a cost-effective alternative as part of your Content Marketing strategy.

Budget

For Native Advertising, a significantly larger budget is needed than for promoting content via social networks or other platforms. An English study by Moz shows that major publishers like Times, National Geographic, or CNET charge between $50,000 and $200,000 for native campaigns on their portals.

The minimum investment for such a campaign on common portals currently averages around $25,000. Such high sums can only be managed by SMEs in the rarest cases – and they probably won't even reach their relevant target audience.

In many cases, social media like Facebook or Instagram prove to be a better alternative for your Content Marketing, as campaigns there cost only a fraction of what a publisher would charge for Native Advertising, yet still reach the crucial target groups.

Target Audience Approach

If targeting the audience is to work well and the potential customer should become figuratively "hot" when seeing your offer, so that as many leads or conversions as possible are generated, the target audience must be defined as appropriately as possible in advance.

Here lies the difference:

If you control and promote your content yourself, the new platforms offer precise targeting. Content Marketing campaigns allow you greater control over who sees the content and when.

With Native Advertising, a larger audience can be reached, but it is unfiltered since the campaigns run through a third party. Different publishers offer different options to determine the audience – but incorrect targeting in Native Advertising can quickly become very expensive. For this reason, you should ensure that success measurement, budget, and target audience approach are satisfactory.

Whichever format you choose – first and foremost, your campaign should always reach a large, suitable audience. In the end, it is therefore a mix of the available budget and the right marketing mix that guarantees lasting quality and visibility.