It’s not surprising that native advertising is growing at a rapid clip. Although companies pay for placement of their content, they enjoy the benefits of the unpaid kind. More eyes are landing on their stories for a longer period than with traditional ads.
Native advertising looks like unpaid content that appears on social media, webpages, and search engine results. That’s what keeps viewers from scrolling past it. The fact that regulatory agencies require that it be identified as paid promotion doesn’t appear to hamper its appeal.
Yet knowing how to develop native advertising, where to place it, and how to measure its effectiveness can be tricky. That’s why most companies leave those details to a native advertising agency. But how do you know which agency is worth the investment you’ll need to make?
As you do with other vendors you engage to operate a successful business, you’ll need to vet native ad agencies. One that can give you the best and most honest answers to your queries should be a good fit. Here are four questions to ask before you join forces for success.
1. How Much Native Advertising Have You Done for Clients?
If you’re evaluating a native advertising agency, you might think this question is unnecessary. On the contrary, it might be one of the most important inquiries you could make. Moreover, you should demand proof.
Huge digital marketing agencies that purport to tackle native advertising are likely to have a division devoted to it. But smaller agencies may just assign the tasks involved to inexperienced creatives and placement employees. There are some incredibly vital reasons why you don’t want to be an agency’s guinea pig.
The fact is that native advertising done well requires a great deal of transparency. It must be clearly labeled as paid content, or you’ll run afoul of Federal Trade Commission regulations. Furthermore, you run the risk of alienating your audience if it thinks you’re trying to pull a fast one.
Demand proof that the agency doesn’t engage in deceptive practices and that it has created and placed successful native advertising content. After all, it’s your reputation and your budget on the line. If you want to go native, make sure it’s with an agency that’s already there.
2. Do Any of Your Clients Operate a Business Like Ours?
Experience creating successful campaigns for companies like yours is important. It means the agency understands your industry and your competition. If it has produced solid results for them, it’s likely the agency can do the same for you.
One of the key challenges native ad agencies face is finding the right platforms to reach your target audience. Another is creating content that matches both the audience and the platform. It takes both to deliver the results you’ll be looking for.
You should also ask this question to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. While having experience with similar companies is extremely helpful, agencies worth their salt won’t work for clients who compete head-to-head. When agency staff brainstorm ideas, you want their best ones to be implemented for you, not your competition.
If a native advertising agency has garnered results for other companies in your industry, that’s a plus. If one of those companies is a direct competitor, you and the agency should address the issue. It may be a fine line, but it’s one they should want to remain on the right side of.
3. Who Will Be Working on My Account?
Often when vetting ad agencies, your contact is primarily with a client services representative. These representatives are important because they are the conduit between you and the agency. They need to earn your trust, and you need to believe they’re listening to your input.
But client services is only one part of an agency team. You pay that team to work for you and your best interests, not their own. You need to know who’s on the team and make sure you have contact with all of them.
For example, which creatives will be writing the content for your native advertising? What’s their background, experience, and understanding of your company and your industry? Who’s working on placement of your ads, and how knowledgeable are they?
When you hire an agency, you hire a handful of individuals who will work for you. You wouldn’t hire an employee for your company without reviewing their resume and holding an interview. Your client services representative is your primary point of contact, but you’re relying on others to be your voice and strategists. Get to know them.
4. How Will We Set Goals and Monitor Performance?
One of the strengths of any type of digital advertising is its measurability. Agencies should use multiple metrics to establish reasonable performance goals, monitor progress, and provide that information to you. That’s the only way you can gauge the return on the investment you’re making.
Your agency should be able to help set key performance indicators, such as acquisition of new customers or monthly sales. Knowing whether your native ads are producing results that contribute to those KPIs is key. You don’t want to keep investing in the same content appearing on the same platforms unless those investments are working.
Measurable metrics in native advertising include viewable impressions, click-through and conversion rates, and bounce rates. Your agency should be able to tell you what metrics they’ll use and explain what they are in terms you can understand. That way, you’ll be able to determine what return you’re getting.
We are long past the days of throwing money at advertising without knowing whether it’s moving the needle. The nature of native advertising makes it inherently measurable. Make sure your agency knows how to do it.
Question Everything
If you’re searching for a native advertising agency, you’re clearly open to making a major investment. Successful results for your business depend on how successful your relationship with your agency turns out to be.
Question everything and don’t stop until you’re satisfied with the answers. An agency worth working with won’t balk at close scrutiny. It will rise to the challenge.
