Native advertising is still one of the most underrated business-to-business (B2B) ad formats. The B2B ad space is super competitive, so finding underexploited avenues is necessary if you want to gain an edge over your rivals.

As we have mentioned previously, native advertising is a type of online advertising that blends ads with the surrounding content of a website. As a result, these ads are far less intrusive because they don't interrupt the user experience.  

B2B content marketing is all about establishing trust with your target audience. Faith and credibility are crucial if you want to drive loyalty and compel your customers to invest in high-value products. Native advertising is an essential contributor to this because it appears alongside content that your audience already has an affinity for and places it in websites and online publications your prospects already trust.  

Some schools of advertisement suggest that if your ads are to be effective, they need to grab the audience's attention in any way possible. While this may have been true in the past, modern audiences are adept at tuning out even the shiniest or most provocative banner. Banner blindness and ad fatigue are real problems that B2B marketing teams need to overcome.

Successful B2B sales require a more subtle and sophisticated approach that doesn't harm the user experience. That is precisely what native advertising provides, thanks to its ability to blend in with surrounding articles. In fact, these qualities make native advertising a perfect partner for B2B content marketing.

Another thing to consider is that B2B buyer personas differ from their B2C equivalents. One of the most evident differences is that B2B customers tend to take more time to evaluate purchases. They are less impulsive about purchases and have longer decision-making processes that involve numerous stakeholders.

Considering all of this information, there is a solid argument to be made for using native ads for B2B sales. Alternative forms of advertising just don't optimise reaching and converting a B2B target audience as much as Native Advertising does.  

Why B2B companies need to implement native advertising as part of their 2023 sales strategy

Customer acquisition costs (CAC) are rising, ad targeting is becoming less precise, and recession worries are in the news daily. The ad strategies that succeed in 2023 will need to be more efficient and effective than ever.

Here are a few of the best reasons why native advertising will be crucial for B2B businesses in 2023.

#1. Native ads increase engagement by providing value to the B2B consumer

‍The primary goal of native advertising is to enhance engagement. Native advertising professionals encourage their target audience to learn and read as much as possible about their niche by creating interesting educational content.

Native advertising works because it generates helpful and highly relevant ad content. Instead of distracting B2B visitors with banner ads that break the user experience flow, native ads provide their audience with information that actually aids them in the decision-making process.

The B2B buyer's journey is long and complex. As we mentioned earlier, it's less impulsive and spontaneous. B2B buyers need to be shepherded along the path with relevant content. Native ads bring higher engagement, more clicks, and, as a result, more sales. Engagement is crucial to native advertising, particularly in the B2B world.

B2B marketing is usually full of great information for end users. Boosting engagement brings a higher rate of audience participation and provides an ideal scenario for developing positive relationships with leads, customers, and users. Native advertising does this to the extreme.

#2. Increasing brand credibility

As mentioned above, native advertising's primary purpose is to support brands in showing their content in a way that is not frustrating to read or delivered out of context. Together with increased engagement, this kind of distribution increases a brand's credibility.

When brands get their native advertising right, it transforms their position into a company that is competent and professional and offers its target audience solutions as if it were a business partner or advisor rather than just another advertiser.

One aspect of using Readpeak to distribute your native advertisement that you should be aware of is that any content you submit needs to go through a vetting policy. Any content must be checked by every publisher for quality and consistency before being approved for final publication — just like any other article.

This happens because our main goal is to provide both advertisers and agencies with a premium native advertising setup. Similarly, we want our users to have a choice of credible publishers. By getting both of these elements right, we can provide an exclusive communication environment.

The procedure gives the content and the brand a lift while helping boost audiences' perceptions of integrity and credibility.

#3. Increasing brand awareness and recognition of B2B brands

As you can see from the first two points we have listed above, native advertising has the potential to improve B2B brand awareness and public perception.

If your ad appears in the right context, for example, a prestigious publication, it can cast your brand in a favourable light by association. These situations can improve the customer's perception of your brand.

Some of the most interesting studies on the role of native advertising in brand management strategies reveal that these ad types can increase brand affinity and purchase intent when compared with audiences who have not seen a native ad.

Pro Tip: Another great benefit native advertising offers is boosting brand awareness through storytelling. The foundation of native advertising is generating informative content, and storytelling can help you drive awareness about your brand and increase user trust and engagement.

Engaging and innovative storytelling increases the likelihood that your audience will remember your ad and your message and instantly recognise your brand in the future. It also increases the chance of your target audience forming an emotional connection with your brand.

Here is what you need to implement a strong B2B native advertising strategy.

1) Get your marketing team together.

2) Set the SMART goals you want to achieve. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

3) Assign a budget to your native advertising strategy.

4) Find and select the right publication where you can reach your target audience.

Pro Tip: Always look for publications that offer channel transparency and control over your advertising initiatives.

5) Schedule the creation of the educational content you want to distribute to your target audience. Additionally, think about the website links or landing pages that you'd like to link your content to.

Pro Tip: Segment your audience and provide educational content such as blog articles, eBooks, and to-do lists targeted to these cohorts. Personalisation is a huge part of modern marketing, so use audience data to offer content that is super relevant to your prospects.

For example, you should target key decision-makers with industry-specific case studies and feature-related guides. Creating and sharing engaging content is key to converting prospects with native advertising.

Check out this article if you want to choose the best content for your native campaigns. The piece is full of expert tips and tricks that will teach you how to match the right pieces with the right customers.

6) Sign up for free at Readpeak and start reaching your target audience on their favourite publications with relevant, helpful content.

Conclusion

As the industry matures, companies in the B2B space are increasingly turning to native advertising. The reasons are clear: native advertising allows businesses to connect with their audiences in a subtle, nonintrusive, and effective manner.

As we've covered earlier in the article, B2B consumers are careful decision-makers. They study the market and engage in research before rushing into big purchases. If advertisers want to engage their buyers with native ads, they need to understand their buyers and their needs.

If you want to beat your rivals, you need to target your audience with rich, educational, and relevant content. That is the type of content that native advertising excels at because it drives engagement and credibility and leads the end user to make purchases with more confidence in their decisions.

While native ads blend in with their environment, it's not about camouflaging or tricking your audience. It's about placing your native ads in an environment where B2B decision-makers actively seek information about your products or services.

Native advertising is growing in relevance in B2B sales. Businesses have two options: sit back and watch or integrate native advertising into their marketing strategies. With more B2B marketers implementing unique content strategies for 2023, it's time to give your killer content a sponsored boost to reach your target audience, generate leads, and boost that ROI.