We’re big fans of the work Native Advertising Institute continues to do in our space, and when Jesper Laursen (its CEO) speaks, we listen.

Sometimes a native ad can fall flat. It might be that it doesn’t fit into the surrounding page content, and comes across as contrived. Or, it could be published alongside content that consumers consider inappropriate or off-limits, such as news content that is expected to remain neutral. 

If you’re confused by the term “native advertising,” well, you’re not alone. But you’re probably more familiar with the concept than you think. In fact, chances are you’ve witnessed some form of native advertising today. Native advertising can be an in-feed ads, an image tile within a recommedation widget, a suggested post on Facebook, sponsored content on a news site, or a promoted tweet on Twitter. Besides a small disclaimer, these ads usually blend almost seamlessly with the regular site content.

In a world filled with SEO, content marketing, and display ads, it’s hard to keep up. We totally get it, but faster than you can say “Siri, what is Native Advertising?” we’ll get you an answer! Okay, maybe not that fast, but you catch our drift.

So what is native advertising?

The quick and dirty answer: Native Advertising is a form of paid advertising where the ad matches the form and function of the content on the platform on which it appears. Of course, how can you really get to know Native Advertising in just one sentence? It’s like a first date . . . You might need to dig a little deeper to get to know the person (or ad) behind the name. Second date, here we come!

The beauty of native advertising is that the ad matches the look and feel of the content around it, blending in. The tricky part about this form of advertising is that, well, the ads blend in. Because of this, brands must compete for the attention of the consumer—a consumer who likely has an attention span of less than 25 seconds—and the only way to do so is by creating something interesting, catchy and of course, relevant. That’s where the headline comes in.