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Fusing Native Advertising with Content Marketing – Part I 0

In the new world of content – the world where all organizations get to produce it – jargon is plentiful. Phrases such as corporate journalism, vendor content, brand publishing and custom content are everywhere.

In recent years, many marketing departments have turned to a relatively new type of marketing known as “content marketing” involving the creation of informational email newsletters, blogs, eBooks, videos and podcasts. Their hope is that audiences will be attracted, enticed and educated by such content, thereby increasing their inclination to become customers of the brand. In large part, this strategy has worked.  A recent survey of over 500 marketers, found that 71% planned to increase their content marketing investment this year. 

But where does native advertising play in this mix?

Put simply, native advertising is a sub-set of the catch-all content marketing, meaning the practice of using content to build trust and engagement with would-be customers.

Native advertising can be a promoted tweet on Twitter, suggested post on Facebook or one of those full-page ads between Flipboard pages, but more commonly it is about how brands now work with online publications to reach people.

They've long done so, of course, through display advertisements and various other promotions.

The difference between display ads online – the square MPU units, leaderboards that straddle the top of pages and several other industry-standard formats – and native ads is that the latter are in the flow of editorial content.

Those publications that are pioneering native ads are usually good at making sure the quality of the content is high. They won't just commission content, but work with individual writers or marketers so that it feeds an audience need.

And it seems to be working. According to research from IPG media lab, native ads are viewed for the same amount of time as editorial content and is much more likely to be shared than a banner ad (32% versus 19% of respondents said they would do so).

Though different from the value added strategy of content marketing, native advertising is still a legitimate form of marketing. The main distinction is that content marketers are aiming to build long term trust, consistently providing value for readers without asking for anything in return, while most often the goal the native advertising is to have the reader purchase a product or service before obtaining this valuable content.

Here’s a look at some other key differences:

Purpose

• Native advertising: The content may appear to provide value, but that goal is secondary to selling a product or service. Often the advertorial may try to solve a problem that conveniently involves buying the brand’s product or service. However, the content of native advertising generally does not have inherent value without the reader buying a product or service.
• Content marketing: Here, the goal is to build trust over the long term by providing relevant, useful information. Ultimately, the hope is that content marketing will help generate sales or sales leads but that’s part of a longer sales funnel. Sales are not expected solely as a result of one content marketing piece. Content marketing provides value to a reader that’s independent of them buying a product or service. The content is valuable in itself.

Tone

• Native advertising: Sometimes, native ads take a pushy and salesy tone. Or they may have a faux friendly tone to emulate the writing style of the publication.
• Content marketing: Effective content marketing takes a knowledgeable, yet authentic tone that doesn’t try to pressure the reader to buy. Instead, it acknowledges the reader’s challenges or pain points and offers actionable tips or solutions. Even if those solutions don’t involve the brand’s product or service (in fact, its better if they don’t because then it feels more genuine and less self-interested), the goal is to engage with the reader and build rapport.

Benefits

• Native advertising: Nowadays, readers are wary of being marketed to and many can smell a sales pitch a mile away, so the benefits of native advertising can be fairly limited.
• Content marketing: Content marketing done well builds trust with readers, helps create shareable content for blogs, social media feeds, email lists, and avoids some of the potential legal issues associated with native advertising because it doesn’t try to mislead.

Now that I’ve outlined some of the differences between native ads and content marketing I would ask you to consider how working with our Content Creation Team will make your brand message resonate and standout amongst the crowd.

In part II of this series next week I will detail Print advertorials along with a memorable and classic example.

How Promotional Products Complement and Supplement Marketing Arsenals 1

Nothing breaks the ice like a free gift. But promotional products do more than just introduce businesses; they enhance perceived value. In other words, promotional products reflect positively onto the advertiser by creating strong first impressions and rendering tangible brands. Ultimately, this helps unify campaigns by drawing elements of larger entities into customers’ day-to-day lives.

Usability, Durability and Longevity

Promotional products inherently possess something called pass-along value, a factor businesses can measure based on three criteria: usability, durability and longevity. An unpractical product will not resonate with customers or demonstrate quality. Nor will a functional product made cheaply or flimsily. This is because durability and longevity affect shareability—how many hands a promotional product reaches by the end of its lifecycle. The more a product is passed along, the more it does for brand awareness and recognition.

PERMACHARTS FACTOID: A Permachart in print form is copied and shared over 100 times each.

Permacharts Sales Aids from Permacharts on Vimeo.

Don’t consumers just throw promotional items away when they get home?

No, they don’t. It’s easy to dismiss branded items as “trinkets and trash” that will disappear as soon as the nearest waste can is found. Research shows, however, most consumers will keep promotional items they consider useful, such as tote bags and writing instruments. In fact, usefulness is often cited as the most important reason why consumers keep an item.

Also, keep in mind that when consumers keep a branded item they tend to keep it an average of one years. During that time, the advertiser’s brand and message are exposed and reinforced repeatedly with consumers, a unique benefit of promotional products over other types of marketing tools.

PERMACHARTS FACTOID: A Permachart has an average ownership lifespan of 7.5 years as the relevant information they contain is highly useful, informative and foundational not to mention very targeted. 

Do people really notice my logo and message on a giveaway?

Yes, and they remember it, too. A study conducted by PPAI Research indicated nearly 90 percent of people surveyed could recall the promotional product they received and the advertiser’s name. Nearly 75 percent of people also remembered the intended message.

My thoughts on promotional products are that they are a form of advertising. There are different ways they can be used. For example, given to existing customers as a reward or an incentive to shop again, handed out to potential new customers, being part of a larger promotional activity, establishing brand or product awareness, just to name a few.

If your business currently uses promotion items in your marketing or you are considering them for your next big promotion I encourage you to look to Permacharts for the best solution and if you want to find out more just click here.

How Content Marketing Can Work for You 1

Let’s talk content marketing for a few minutes. First off, here is a great description from our friends over at the Content Marketing Institute.

“Content marketing is 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.”

Basically, content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.

Content is the present – and future – of marketing

Go back and read the content marketing definition one more time, but this time remove the relevant and valuable. That’s the difference between content marketing and the other informational garbage you get from companies trying to sell you “stuff.” Companies send us information all the time – it’s just that most of the time it’s not very relevant or valuable (can you say spam?). That’s what makes content marketing so intriguing in today’s environment of thousands of marketing messages per person per day. Good content marketing makes a person stop…read… think… behave… differently.

We here at Permacharts provide our partners with just that; relevant and valuable content in an informative and fun way. Oh and did I mention that your message presented in the Permacharts format is proven to increase behavioural actions? Check out our page that outlines how our content can increase your bottom-line immediately.  

How to Land that Killer Summer Job 0

For some students finding that first summer job is a daunting experience for those looking to get their feet wet in the world of paid work. I found this article from Dr. Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. that outlines the steps one needs to take to land that perfect summer job. He has some great tips for first timers and for young adults that want to advance over their last summer job. Before you take off to read his advice, be sure to pick up our Permacharts guides on How to Write a Great Resume

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Here the link to the story: http://www.quintcareers.com/finding_summer_jobs.html

Permacharts Partners with Educents! 0

We are proud to announce that Permacharts has partnered with Educents, one of the leading provider of discounted education products to schools and homeschooler’s alike. So, how does it work?  Educents is an online marketplace for affordable educational products, providing daily deals to students, parents and educators by working with established educational suppliers. Whether it is a science kit, curriculum pack, books or art supplies, they make sure that Educents has the lowest price.

Since the launch of Educents in April, 2013, Educents has saved educators over $15 million dollars and has helped more than 130,000 teachers, homeschoolers and parents gain access to affordable educational materials.

Be sure to check them out today. The Permacharts storefront can be found here http://www.educents.com/permacharts