Social Media Advertising: Native Content Vs. Ads

No doubt about it: People love social media.

Research shows the average social media user spends two and a half hours on their favorite platforms every day, and much of that is spent watching video. In 2022, the average person watched 100 minutes of video every day.

That’s a lot of time spent consuming content.

And with so much of the day focused on social media, companies all over the world are trying to capitalize on that attention by pumping out high-quality native content and digital ads.

But which is better for your company and its marketing goals?

Table of Contents

What Is Native Content?

What Are the Benefits of Native Content In Social Media?

What Are the Cons of Native Content In Social Media?

What Is Advertising?

What Are the Benefits of Ads On Social Media?

What Are the Cons of Ads On Social Media?

Choosing Between Native Content And Advertising For Social Media

Create Outstanding Videos for Native Content And Advertising

What Is Native Content?

Native content is any content created specifically for a particular social media platform. This includes posts, images, videos, and articles that fit naturally into users’ feeds, looking less like traditional advertising and more like organic content.

Examples of native content include:

• A video shared on TikTok
• An image shared on Instagram
• An article shared on LinkedIn
• A post from a social media influencer supporting your brand

Related Reading: Incorporating the 4 Cs of Social Media In Your Videos to Maximize Engagement

What Are the Benefits of Native Content In Social Media?

Working with native content (especially video) offers a few unique benefits for companies trying to connect with audiences on social media:

1. Native content is non-disruptive. Social media users are bombarded with ads, and most do their best to skip right by them. By sticking with native content, you can promote your brand without the ad format, allowing you to connect directly with your audience.
2. Native content boosts engagement. When properly crafted, native content can get more engagement than social media ads, as it’s less focused on pushing viewers to take a specific action.
3. Native content builds trust. Native content is ideal for connecting with fans and followers, giving them a deeper look at your team, office, product, services, or values. This is critical for building long-term trust—and deeper relationships.

Related Reading: How To Use Video In Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

What Are the Cons of Native Content In Social Media?

Of course, native content isn’t the perfect solution for every company, especially because of its biggest drawbacks:

1. Native content has limited reach. Research shows the half-life of a Facebook post is only 76 minutes, which means, on average, you’ll receive half of the post’s total future engagement within 76 minutes. That’s not a very long shelf-life, so companies have to make adjustments to their overall strategy to continue reaching their followers.
2. Native content provides less data. In general, native content provides less data than paid advertisements on the same platform. Yes, you can take a close look at likes, comments, shares, and impressions, but you’ll have a tougher time attributing sales, phone calls, and inquiries to a single post.
3. Native content has less functionality. You can create incredible videos for social media, but advertising often has additional functions you can’t find in a native post. Facebook advertising, for example, allows you to show ads in the feed, sidebars, Messenger, and stories—something you can’t do with a single social post.

Related Reading: Why Keeping Up With Social Media Video Trends Matters to Your Brand

What Is Advertising?

Ads on social media are paid placements designed to stand out from the native content, often with a clear call-to-action (CTA). These can include video ads, sponsored posts, and more, depending on the platform.

What Are the Benefits of Ads On Social Media?

Advertising offers incredible benefits to companies that want more out of their social media presence, including:

2. Advertising offers enhanced targeting. Paid advertising allows you to tell social media platforms exactly who you want to see your ads, letting you get right in front of your target audience. Plus, advanced artificial intelligence is rolling out to assist in targeting even further on multiple platforms.
3. Advertising provides greater data insights. Paid advertising results in greater data sets allowing you to make strategic decisions on which content you continue to show your audience. Ad not working? Turn it off. Another ad has a high engagement rate? Increase its budget.
4. Advertising helps you reach more of your target audience. As long as your ads are turned on and have remaining budget, the social platform will continue to show them (barring any other issues). That means the half-life problem we discussed with native content is a non-issue here.

What Are the Cons of Ads On Social Media?

Of course, advertising on social media isn’t perfect. Some of its biggest drawbacks:

1. Excessive ads lead to ad fatigue. 74% of social media users say there are too many ads on these platforms, and 63% say they see the same ads over and over again. The result: ad fatigue, where users actively ignore or avoid ads. That ad fatigue can lead to wasted ad budget.
2. Advertising is a continuous expense. Advertising requires cash. If your budget runs out, the ads stop. Running a multi-week or multi-month campaign may require serious budget.
3. Advertising may lead to trust issues. Traditional ads are often met with skepticism by users, especially if they feel overly promotional or irrelevant.

Choosing Between Native Content And Advertising For Social Media

When deciding whether native content or advertising is right for your company, consider the following factors:

1. Goals – If you want to reachread new people or drive some sort of conversion (like a sale or sign-up), advertising is usually the better answer. But if you want to continue building trust and awareness with your community, native content is the ideal solution.
2. Budget – Outside of the costs of creating new video or imagery, advertising will always cost more than native posts. Once the content is created, sharing natively is free. But advertising always requires a budget.
3. Audience – Have you already assembled a meaningful audience? Or do you need to reach new potential customers? Advertising gives you access to people you might never reach otherwise.

Related Reading: Using the 8-Second Attention Span for Video-First Marketing on Social Media

Create Outstanding Videos for Native Content And Advertising

Covalent is a Pittsburgh-based creative video production company catering to B2B, B2C, and D2C companies of all sizes and in a wide range of industries. And we even focus on social media video production.

At Covalent, we’re known for creating the best corporate videos on the market by combining experience and creativity with a strong marketing mindset. We can help you film and produce everything from brand videos and TV commercials to explainer videos and documentary-style shoots.

We produce videos at different price points, always with a focus on creating the content you need to reach your business goals. Combining years of experience with cutting-edge creativity, our productions have received numerous awards and accolades over the years.

Get in touch to explore how we can help you get started with corporate video production and more exciting and engaging corporate communication!