In recent years a lot of things changed in online marketing, but one thing that stayed mostly the same and still works is native advertising! Native ads have emerged as an incredible ad format, seamlessly blending into users' online experiences. But, like any good thing, it comes with its own set of challenges.
One of the biggest foes marketers face is native ad fatigue. The reasons behind it are simple and not completely unique to native. Imagine this: Your audience, once captivated by your dazzling ad creatives, now scrolls past them without a grain of interest. No matter how much you improve on your current formula, they are just tired of it!
Fear not, for we're here to rescue your ad campaign from the jaws of ad fatigue and guide you on a quest to refresh ad creatives and charm new audiences. In today’s article, we will cover exactly what it is and how to best avoid it in your own campaigns!
Understanding Ad Fatigue
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While this is titled “Native Ad Fatigue”, this isn't an issue that only happens with native. It's a thing that happens with all ads across all formats, and here is the general thing that you should know about it!
Ad fatigue – it's like hearing your favorite song on the radio all the time. In the beginning, you are having fun and enjoying it, but after a while, you lose interest and it becomes just noise, or even worse, it becomes annoying!
Native ad fatigue happens when audiences become immune to your ad's allure. They've seen that image a hundred times; they've memorized that tagline, they know the story you are trying to sell, and they saw the product enough time. It's not them, it's you – you've become predictable. Repeating anything enough times will cause people to get bored of it and eventually ignore it completely.
But why does this happen? Well, blame it on the overexposure to the same content, the phenomenon known as ad blindness, and the sheer saturation of content we're exposed to. The result? Lower click-through rates, reduced conversions, and a souring return on investment.
The Importance of Ad Creative Refresh
Ad creatives are the heartbeat of your native advertising campaign. They're the main and only star of your campaign– they need to evolve, surprise, and hold attention. To keep up with consumers' ever-evolving tastes and trends, your ad creatives need a makeover.
This means new angles, styles, copy, sounds, music, and everything else. The more you change, the better for the fatigue. This is the same reason most big companies change their style every few years. To keep things fresh and interesting.
Strategies to Refresh Ad Creatives
There are a lot of ways for advertisers to refresh their creatives and attract new audiences, and with today's tools, you can create variations and get new ideas in just a few minutes.
Visual Makeover
A picture is worth a thousand words, and your visual content should be speaking volumes. Swap out those tired images with fresh ones that resonate with your audience's current vibes.
This can be done in a plethora of ways, and it has never been as easy as it is nowadays to do this exact thing. In case you have photos as creatives, you can use AI tools such as Canva, Photoshop Generative Fill, Midjourney, and many others to create unique and captivating images to use in your ads. Most of these tools make creating new images as simple as typing a bit of text in a textbox.
For videos, the task is a bit harder, but AI is slowly creeping into that segment as well. Apps are being developed that include similar generative text features but for videos. There are still a few months or even years away from being actually useful, but all of this was completely unimaginable just a few years ago, so be patient!
Compelling Copywriting
"Click here!" "Buy now!" Sound familiar? It's time to up your copy game. Craft headlines that tickle curiosity, descriptions that paint vivid mental pictures, and calls-to-action that sound more like invitations to a VIP party than pushy sales pitches. Companies such as Dollar Shave Club nailed this by using wit and humor in their ad copy, reeling in a massive subscriber base.
If you lack the writing skills to create new and unique ideas, you can use online chatbots such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, and others to ensure you have a unique and well-written twist on any topic you want to cover.
The only issue with these generated texts is that they sometimes sound a bit off, so make sure you read them through and through and edit accordingly to make them sound more natural and interesting to read.
Interactive and Rich Media
Ever thought of turning your ad into a mini-game? Interactive ads turn passive viewers into engaged participants. And don't underestimate the power of GIFs and cinemagraphs – they can make your ad feel alive.
Unlike regular ads, these require users to contribute with their attention and thus make them connect more to the content at hand. They are hard to include in native ads, but there are things you can do for your LPs such as quizzes, interactive elements, and much more.
For most of these you will need skills in design and development, so if you think you lack those skills, contact a marketing agency to help you with the ads.
User-Generated Content (UGC) Integration
Your customers are your best advocates. Incorporating user-generated content into your ads injects authenticity and relatability.
With the rise of platforms such as TikTok, UGC has grown rapidly in importance and influence on users. Most users now avoid regular ads and just consider user-recommended things as they look less scripted and “salesy”.
Exploring New Audience Segments
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Finding new audiences is the key to keeping new customers coming through the door. Luckily, finding new audience segments has never been as simple as it is nowadays!
Audience Analysis and Segmentation
You wouldn't give the same gift to your grandma and your best friend, right? Similarly, not every audience segment wants the same ad. Segment your audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and psychographics.
A great example of this is companies like Nike. For their ads, Nike's segmentation strategy nailed it when they crafted tailored ads for athletes and sneakerheads, ensuring relevance. This ensured that polar opposite users both were attracted to the brand and interacted with it.
Localized and Personalized Content
Personalization is like the secret sauce of ads. Tailoring content based on geographical locations, cultural nuances, and individual preferences boosts your ad's relevance.
Most advertisers create personalized emails, addressing customers by their names and suggesting products they might like, which are prime examples of hitting the bullseye.
Expand to New Platforms
Diversify your advertising playground. Embrace emerging platforms that resonate with new audiences. TikTok, anyone? Their short-form videos have captivated the younger crowd. But remember, what works on TikTok might not fly on LinkedIn. Adapt your creatives to each platform's unique vibe.
A/B Testing and Iterative Improvement
The journey to ad excellence is a dynamic one. Enter A/B testing. Pit different ad variations against each other to find out what your audience loves. Change the color of that CTA button; reword that headline. Learn from the results, refine, and repeat.
Start with bigger changes and then slowly branch them out into more and more smaller changes. It will take a while but you can test a lot of different things and find the right combination for your ads in no time!
Monitoring and Analytics
It's like keeping score in a game – you need to track how well you're doing. Keep an eagle eye on metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, engagement rates, and bounce rates. Google Analytics and other tracking tools are your sidekicks here. Learn from the data, tweak your strategy, and watch those metrics dance.
Conclusion
In a world where audiences have the attention span of a goldfish on caffeine, combating native ad fatigue is non-negotiable. Refreshing ad creatives and exploring new audience segments are your trusty swords.
So, dare to be different, and you'll be the knight in shining armor saving your ads from falling into the abyss of indifference. Stay innovative, stay daring, and remember – ad fatigue is no match for a marketer with a mission.
Have you experienced ad fatigue in your creatives? What did you do to minimize its effects? Share your experience with us in the comments below!
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