Paid, Posted, Delivered: What Does the Growth of Native Advertising Mean for Press Releases?

The blending of paid content into newspapers or magazines in a way that can be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish from independently reported stories – took a landmark step in US media this January when the New York Times greeted readers with a digital redesign and, to greater buzz, the launch of a “paid posts” feature, a variation of what is more frequently referred to as “native advertising”.

While native advertising is by no means a new trend, many journalists and media watchers reacted to the Times’ move with speculation that belied their vague queasiness at the development, worrying about the increasing lack of distinction between original reportage and paid content in one of the biggest names in news.

The Times, however, with extreme self-awareness and determination to preserve its reputation, went to great lengths to ensure that the paid content appears visibly different from articles (their success on this front of course remains subject to debate). Differentiations include borders, prominent logos and a sourcing tag for the paid content, among other factors. In the case of their first client to use the service, the posts prominently read: “Paid for and posted by Dell”.

As noted over at Contently, with Dell, the Times eased into the paid-post pool slowly, with content that was more or less generic and inoffensive to news junkies, and with so little of a sales push that Dell’s own products were barely mentioned.

For companies with a message to get out in the US, the needs of traditional newspapers to increase revenue by offering advertorials or “native advertising” will be seen as a golden opportunity to reach wider audiences with their branded content – for those who can afford it. Foremost, the credibility of the newspaper carrying the content immediately rubs off on the paid post – a trump card of which news portals undoubtedly are conscious when they start offering such content.

However, the general Times-reading population is well-aware of the difference between paid content and that which appears under a reporter’s byline, and reporters will still look to press releases for prospective stories. That’s the good news for those who like the broader reach a press release provides.

Still, this development is an urgent-but-healthy reminder that for better pick-up, enticing, attention-grabbing material is essential. Words alone increasingly just don’t cut it, and as we’ve discussed previously, the written content used needs to be clean, succinct, clever and, from the perspective of journalists hunting for stories, useful. Sending out a corporate-babble release about a non-newsworthy subject with no quote, no photo, and plenty of unimaginative buzzwords hoping to hit the sweet spots in a Google algorithm? You can send it, but your release will have a harder time competing for eyeballs against both paid posts and news writers, and worse still, readers who associate your company’s name with mundane content are less likely to read it in the future.

As the latest paid post over at the Times shows, they’re not limiting their content to plain text either. Goldman Sachs’ interactive infographic on “What are Capital Markets” is a clean, handy resource for readers looking for greater understanding on the subject in an easily digestible form – precisely the kind of content that keeps readers engaged.

While the Times’ paid posts certainly will become covetable spots on the paper’s digital front page, native advertising still has a ways to go to catch up with PR Newswire’s carefully cultivated range of distribution, the options for which can be tailored to be as broad and media-rich or as focused and concise as desired. Get in touch to learn more about what this network can do for your company.