Subtlety is the name of the game with native advertising, as it gets your brand noticed without being in your audience’s face. Native ads have come a long way from the early days of sponsored content on news websites and represent big business today.
In 2023, total digital ad revenue reached $225 billion, marking a 7.3% year-over-year growth, according to the International Advertising Bureau (IAB). Native advertising accounted for a sizable share of that spend, with 34% of B2B marketers reporting that they use sponsored content and other native ad formats, according to a 2024 report from the Content Marketing Institute.
Even though native advertising is everywhere, getting these ads right requires a careful balance between editorial integrity and monetization to achieve your business goals. Let’s dive into some of the best practices for native advertising to ensure your campaigns hit all the right notes in the year ahead.
Best Practices for Native Advertising To Follow in 2025
Choose the Right Publishing Partners
To run successful native advertising campaigns, you need to place your native ads within the right platforms. Evaluate potential publishing partners based on track record, technical capabilities, and ongoing communication.
“Partnerships really are key,” says Tim Messier, a marketing executive with Mile Marker 1 Advisors. “Marketers shouldn’t assume that they have the existing resources and partnerships in place to execute a successful native campaign. It’s important to look for partners (technology providers, agencies, content providers, etc.) who have the experience, capabilities and willingness to commit — especially when first getting started with native.”
Set Clear Metrics
More than half (58%) of B2B marketers say their content strategy is “moderately effective,” with half of those professionals saying their approach flounders because they don’t have clear goals, according to the same Content Marketing Institute report cited above. This is largely due to a lack of staffing/resources. A further 47% of marketers report that measuring content marketing campaigns posed a notable barrier.
To ensure your native advertising lands, you need clear KPIs and metrics to hitch your native ads to. Are you after impressions? Engagement? Or are you trying to get conversions (clickthroughs) to a desired call-to-action or landing page?
Maintain Content Quality and Brand Alignment
The effectiveness of your native advertising efforts hinges on maintaining high content quality that aligns seamlessly with both your brand’s voice and platform publishing standards. In fact, 56% of news executives cited native advertising and sponsored content as crucial revenue streams for 2024, according to the Reuters Institute.
To ensure quality isn’t sacrificed at the altar of monetization, successful native ad programs must follow a few key guidelines:
- Editorial quality benchmarks.
- Brand voice consistency.
- Platform-specific content requirements.
- Disclaimer and transparency standards.
Use Data-Driven Audience Targeting
The IAB’s 2023 State of Data report revealed that 83% of advertisers are increasing their use of first-party data for targeting and measurement. You should be, too: According to Jennifer Galbraith, president of Alestra Marketing, client research is a critical first step to finding the right audience for your campaign.
“You don’t go on a first date and ask someone to marry you,” Galbraith points out. “You get to know the client. You understand what their pain points are and their problems. Then, it’s helpful to have a simplistic brand script where you can explain the 20,000-feet-view — this is our story and how we come alongside our customers to help them.”
To target the right audience, look at:
- Content consumption patterns.
- Topic affinity data.
- Engagement metrics across different native formats.
- Cross-channel behavioral signals.
Future Trends of Native Advertising
What do experts see in their crystal balls for native advertising? Here are some of the top trends and things to watch in 2025 in the native ad space.
Contextual Targeting Growth
The phase-out of third-party cookies will drive what Messier calls “a contextual targeting renaissance” in native advertising. Perhaps that’s why the IAB’s report found that 65% of advertisers are investing more in contextual targeting solutions.
But what does that mean, exactly? Instead of relying on user tracking, brands now focus on placing native content within highly relevant editorial environments. This helps boost engagement because of improved content relevance and stronger alignment with user intent.
More Investment in Video and AI
Video has long been king on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. But, it’s also a key component of news websites and podcasts and, increasingly, an emerging trend on LinkedIn. Digital video advertising grew 15% year-over-year in 2023 to $54 billion and was poised to jump by 16% ($62.9 billion) in 2024, the IAB found.
Messier expects more brands will experiment with native video ads, including interactive hotspots to make product placements actionable. For example, 56% of marketers indicated that short-form video (defined as being 60 seconds or shorter) was the leading trend to which they invested resources for 2024, according to the HubSpot State of Marketing Report.
Rise of Interactive Native Experiences
Social media and digital video lead engagement metrics within digital advertising, meaning more users tend to interact with ads in those formats. These interactive formats provide marketers with the ability to create an immersive brand or product experience while maintaining the feel of the platform they appear on. Native ad experiences might include shoppable content within a Pinterest post, interactive infographics with clickable data points, or polls and surveys embedded within sponsored content.
Common Mistakes To Avoid in Native Advertising
1. Blurring Editorial Lines
Publishers and brands must perform a delicate balancing act between editorial integrity and monetization. About 68% of consumers trust native ads on news sites, versus 55% who trust social media ads, according to Outbrain.
“Keep the publishers and their consumers top-of-mind,” Messier says. “Be sensitive to the fact that publishers are going to feel that the lines between editorial and monetization are getting blurred, and that credibility is at risk.”
2. Not Devoting Enough Resources To Content
Native advertising isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it format — it requires significant resources and ongoing measurement. A successful native advertising program requires dedicated teams for content strategy, editorial quality control, performance tracking and optimization, and publisher relationship management.
You also need to ensure you have enough budget for distribution and promotion, as well as the initial content creation. “Don’t assume that your existing partners are adequately equipped to facilitate your native campaigns,” Messier says. “Stay involved, challenge, and ask questions.”
3. Neglecting the Mobile Experience
U.S. mobile ad spending crossed $200 billion in 2024, representing over half (51.2%) of total media dollars spent, according to eMarketer. Additionally, over half of mobile advertising was projected to be native ads.
It’s clear from the numbers that your brand must invest time and resources into creating a solid mobile experience when users engage with your brand via native ads. You risk missing out on a sizable audience if your native ads and content aren’t optimized for mobile users.
4. Inconsistent Brand Voice
A common issue in native advertising, especially when it’s part of a larger marketing campaign, is a lack of consistent messaging and brand voice, says Galbraith. If you don’t have your brand story nailed down, your native advertising won’t connect with audiences, she adds.
“When you’re working on an integrated campaign where you have PR and marketing initiatives, make sure that in all those touchpoints, you’re consistent and very clear and concise with your messaging, so that you’re telling the same story across the board,” Galbraith says, adding that your brand should focus on how they can solve consumers’ problems.
5. Inadequate Testing and Optimization
Launching a native ad campaign without testing and iterating is like throwing money away. Make sure you have systems in place to test native campaigns and optimize them as you go, including A/B testing headlines and content format, optimizing for user experience across various platforms, and performance tracking against your KPIs.
Conduct regular content audits and updates, and ensure that your chosen distribution channels are effective in converting your target audience to engage with your brand and take specific actions. It’s crucial to have a testing framework ready to go before launching native campaigns, so you can consistently test and track performance to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
Key Takeaways
Strategic partnerships are critical to drive successful native advertising campaigns. Establish clear metrics and communication with your marketing partners and publishers to ensure your native ad campaign is hitting the mark, and plan your resources accordingly to match the native ad campaign’s complexity, and to achieve your overall business goals. Remember that editorial integrity is key to maintaining audience trust, and your native ad placement must meet each publisher’s editorial standards.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is a typical format for native advertising?
Native ads appear as in-feed ad units, paid search, recommended reading widgets, and sponsored content, such as custom sponsored articles, interactive content experiences, or branded videos. In-feed ad units might include social media sponsored posts that match the platform’s content style, and publisher website-sponsored content appearing within article feeds. Additionally, you might see product listings integrated into e-commerce content streams.
What is an example of a native ad?
Common examples of native ads include sponsored articles on business news sites matching the editorial style of the publication, while providing industry insights. Another example are sponsored LinkedIn posts. This kind of content looks like organic posts, but is marked as promoted.
Can native advertising be useful in B2B marketing?
Yes, it can. About 34% of B2B marketers used native advertising as a paid advertising channel in 2024, according to the Content Marketing Institute. The format allows a detailed explanation of complex B2B products or services, while maintaining a professional context within relevant publishing platforms.
What is the difference between native advertising and content marketing?
Native advertising places sponsored content within third-party publishing platforms, while content marketing distributes content through owned channels (blogs, social media, newsletters, etc.). B2B marketers often use both strategies, with native ads amplifying content impressions and engagement as one tactic in a broader content marketing campaign.
