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Advertorial

What is an advertorial, and tips

An advertorial is a type of content halfway between a news article and an advertisement, usually found in a media outlet, whether digital or print.

Advertorials present products, services or companies using the journalistic “news” format, although far from being an actual news piece, the content is usually clearly promotional — even though it’s preferable that readers don’t perceive it as advertising.

In other words, an advertiser pays for space within a media outlet, writes the article, and it gets published in that space. That article is usually meant to highlight the value of a company or its products, and get the reader to take a specific action.

Tips for writing an advertorial

The main goal of advertorials is to attract customers, drive sales, or improve a company’s image, so special care must be taken when writing them, so that they succeed and are worth the cost of publishing them.

Check out these tips to help you create an advertorial that’s profitable for the advertiser and, at the same time, interesting for the reader.

  • Focus on brand recognition. Not everything is about selling right away. Think about how to grab readers’ attention and increase their awareness of your brand or product after they finish reading the advertorial. So they want to learn more about your company and consider it a purchase option in the future, or even recommend you.
  • Help potential customers. Whenever possible, provide solutions to the doubts and/or problems your customers may have. Only that way can you attract them and build their loyalty in the future.
  • It’s not just about “navel-gazing”. Avoid talking only about your own brand or the wonderful products you offer — you can use the opportunity to position yourself as a leader in the industry by mentioning other companies, making the article’s content more interesting.
  • Not without a CTA. Calls to action are essential, since they’re an element that largely allows you to measure whether the investment made in the advertorial is justified based on the defined KPIs.
  • It’s not just about advertising. Write the text not only with the intention of advertising, it should also have valuable content for readers, and you must think about the reader above all else. If it’s entirely promotional, readers won’t read it and it will cause rejection.
  • You should always be honest. The headline and intro are mainly responsible for capturing the reader’s attention, so both elements must match the text we’ll offer in the body. If you choose a headline that has nothing to do with the content, the reader will abandon the article immediately.

Advantages of using advertorials

Advertorials are advertising actions that have been used for many years, even before the arrival of digital media, and this is because they offer multiple benefits, such as:

  • They increase credibility. By offering information with apparent objectivity and providing value to the reader, it helps establish a relationship of trust with the target audience.
  • They boost sales. This is one of the main goals of advertorials, since they make readers feel that the product and/or service meets their needs.
  • They improve web traffic. They usually include links to our website or a specific part of it, which generates an increase in web traffic.
  • It’s assumed to be reliable content. Since this content aligns with the outlet’s ideology and the content it offers, it’s very likely that many readers won’t perceive it as advertising, and its message enjoys greater acceptance.

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