In the past, the most prevalent form of marketing and advertising online is through the use of banner ads. With the introduction and evolution of digital tools, today’s mix of digital marketing has become increasingly complex.

Advertising is now just one facet that a business has to consider in being engaged with their customers online – transforming over the years to become ever more creative and aligned with what users expect.

Disclaimer : This article was written by our marketing partners at topadspace.com.

One untapped opportunity that most businesses often overlook is the use of advertorials to create a strong impact for their business in an interesting yet natural way.

While it may seem novel, advertorials or sponsored articles, is not a new concept and has actually been around since 1946 when the term was first used.

Advertorials combine some of the best elements of advertising in how the content mimics real editorial content yet serve to accomplish underlying business goals, with readers more likely to read an advertorial as compared to an advertisement.

Here are some pros and cons of advertorials in

a nutshell:

Pros of Advertorials

More targeted

Your business has the flexibility to decide which publication or online portal you would want to associate with – this means that you can choose where your ideal target audience is most likely to spend their time online.

This increases your chances of readers converting to business leads and sales as well as increase the awareness and quality of your brand through association with the publication.

Less Expensive

Depending on the publication or online portal that you decide to have an advertorial on, it can be much more cost-effective than spending the same amount of money on other forms of advertising.

Most of the smaller online publications would also have reasonable advertorial rates depending on their search traffic and branding.

Coupled with a targeted audience, you would expect a more effective cost per business lead overall.

More Natural

Advertorials generally appear much less intrusive compared to advertisements, which make readers more receptive to reading the content and knowing more about your brand.

Better Branding

If you craft the advertorial right in a manner that adds value and usefulness to the reader, it will also help the reader perceive your brand in a better light and make them more interesting in wanting to know more about your business.

Cons of Advertorials

May Seem Deceptive

There are some who may feel repulsed if they are reading an article and realised that it has been sponsored. They could feel that they’ve been ‘tricked’, especially if misleading or click-bait headlines have been used.

However, it can be easy to avoid this situation by writing high quality content that delivers value and insights to the reader, hence leaving them grateful instead of feeling cheated.

Negative Association With Publisher

Some publishers may engage in too many advertorials on their website, leading many of their readers to become skeptical about the journalistic integrity of their content.

As much as possible, try to avoid publishers that you know are only in it to make money without delivering good value to their readers. This will help you more in the long-run.

Too commercial

Again, this depends on the style of writing for the advertorial. Your business will have to be careful to not make it too commercial or biased such as by praising only your company’s products – a ruse which can be easily seen through by most people.

Such content will not be very useful to the reader due to the lack of critical thought and may come across as misleading or dishonest.