Businesses have a dilemma. They want to create engaging advertisements that draw eyeballs from their target audience. However, consumers are inundated with advertisements, especially with the rise of digital marketing. An individual might encounter nearly a dozen ads simply by scrolling through a social media feed for a few minutes. This makes it easier for them to ignore the more traditional ads where it’s clear the brand wants a prospect to buy a product or service.
Sponsored content is a creative content marketing approach that makes up for some of the drawbacks of more traditional ads. Offering a range of content writing services to businesses across many industries, Virtucom Group explores why sponsored content is a great investment for enhancing your content marketing strategy.
What Is Sponsored Content?
Sponsored content is like an advertisement incognito. It’s an ad that a brand pays another party, whether it’s a publisher, influencer, or another brand, to create and share. Sponsored content comes in many forms, including articles, social media posts, or videos.
One of the main goals of sponsored content is for audiences to feel they’ve learned from the article or post. Brands should sponsor an individual or organization that shares their target audience for these campaigns. When the brand is mentioned, it feels more natural than in a traditional ad, and thus more credible. In other words, it establishes you as an industry leader and helps build trust with your target audience.
You may have heard sponsored content referred to as native advertising, but the two aren’t the same. While both are intended to appear more natural than other types of advertising, native ads are created by the marketing team. These might include paid search ads or promoted listings on retail sites.
Understanding the difference matters because of the impact of sponsored content vs. native advertising. It can become obvious that an advertiser created native content, and prospects might tune it out. Sponsored content can be more effective at engaging your target audience.
What Is a Sponsor Article?
As mentioned, sponsored content comes in many forms. One of the most common is a sponsor article. Potential customers may be reluctant to read a traditional ad, but many of them read editorial pieces. This is how a sponsor article reads. According to some research, most consumers can’t differentiate between sponsored content and a news article. This is good news for your business. It means you’re more likely to generate interest and keep prospects engaged with a sponsor article than a more direct ad.
How to Create Effective Sponsored Content
Sponsored content should appear natural, but it’s still marketing. So, you want to ensure your sponsor article is compelling and generates qualified leads. These tips can help ensure your sponsor article resonates with your target audience:
Respond to Customers’ Needs
You have your goals for the sponsored content, but do you know your customers’ goals? Target audiences have various reasons for reading or viewing content. They might be looking for answers or just want to be entertained. Sponsored content needs to be aligned with these goals so that prospects stay engaged.
Use Eye-Catching Visuals
Just because it’s an article doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate visuals. Images, videos, and infographics can make sponsored content more engaging. Of course, visuals need to match the quality of the written content. Blurry, grainy images or videos can diminish the impact of the entire article.
Adhere to FTC Guidelines
Sponsored content is more about providing value to your customers than selling products or services. Yet, it’s still seen as advertising and is subject to guidelines. The Federal Trade Commission creates these guidelines, and failure to comply with these standards can result in consequences.
It’s important to understand all FTC requirements, but key guidelines include verifying the content is free from misleading claims and placing disclosures on content stating that a company sponsored (paid) the partner to publish the article. Disclosures should appear in the article, often at the bottom, and be in a legible font and color (ideally different from the article’s body).
Virtucom Group recommends reviewing FTC online advertising and marketing guidelines in detail. You may also consider consulting a legal professional for more guidance on these requirements.
Improve Your Overall Content Marketing Strategy With Virtucom Group
The most effective content marketing strategies are diverse, incorporating sponsored content, blogs, landing pages, and more. If you’re interested in sponsored content but aren’t sure where to begin, you’ll find a partner who can help in Virtucom Group. Maybe your organization doesn’t have the staff or expertise to invest in content creation, or your recent audits reveal poor performance with content marketing. Regardless of the reason, our team of expert writers and editors can create fresh, compelling content with your industry’s and specific company’s needs in mind. Contact Virtucom Group today and request a demo to learn how our content writing services can help your business.
