Native Advertising: A Smart Marketing Strategy or Waste of Time?

Native advertising, the practice of infusing advertisements into online articles, is not without controversy. Rising in popularity by the likes of Buzzfeed, native advertising is one of the most talked about, and controversial, new terms to hit the marketing industry. While some proponents tout it as a brilliant way to reach the masses, critics see it as a deceptive tactic for gaining online attention.

So is native advertising a smart strategy or not? While the answers to this question will continue to be up for debate, here are some basic pros and cons of this marketing strategy.

Benefits
– Increases the efforts of target customer marketing
– Offers the opportunity to inform customers on your product
– Can be a cost effective alternative to traditional advertisements
– Able to easily incorporate video, animation, and other creative content into them

Risks
– Often perceived as a repackaged advertorial with little substantive value
– Can turn off customers when they feel tricked into reading an advertisement
– Depending on how they are written and where they are placed, native advertisements can confuse the audience

Headquartered in Lake Bluff, IL, Grand Marketing Solutions is one of the leading marketing firms in the Chicagoland area. Offering a full range of services from printed materials to online customer engagement, we help our customers find the best advertising approach for their unique business plan. Let us help your company realize its true potential with proven marketing strategies.

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by Katie Zurawski

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