Commercialization and monetization guide: How to improve the eCPM of information flow advertising?

Information flow advertising is almost a must for all media. However, in the process of advertising monetization, many media have repeatedly explored how to optimize information flow advertising to maximize its monetization benefits, but they are often still at a loss...

In response to the pain points of APP media and based on our rich experience in real-world operations, Meishujun will provide you with some suggestions today. This will enable you to smoothly carry out the monetization of information flow advertising in the future and tap into the monetization potential of information flow advertising.

1. Advertisements should be like a piece of news/dynamics/video…

Information flow advertising is also called native advertising.

The so-called native means that first of all, various types of APPs need to combine platform characteristics, page layout, main content format, etc., to set unified advertising format requirements to achieve native style . For example, setting the material type (picture? video?), image and text principles (single image? multiple images? large image? small image?), material size/dimensions, text word count, etc., to form a native advertising layout.

Here you can refer to Weibo, whose information flow ads are no different from regular Weibo updates, and also include elements such as avatars, nicknames, follow buttons, user feedback, text descriptions, pictures/video materials, @ functions, #topic# functions, user interactions (reposts, comments, likes), etc., and are completely native in terms of advertising display and interactive settings, thereby ensuring the user's advertising experience and advertising acceptance to the greatest extent.

In addition to native style, it is best for media to utilize a combination of manual and machine review mechanisms to achieve native advertising content . That is, avoid the appearance of advertisers and their creative materials that are inconsistent with or contrary to the tone of the APP (for example, in educational apps, advertisements for games and medical beauty should be avoided). In addition, the overall style and connotation elements of the advertisement should be coordinated with the style of the media and its content , so that the advertisement can be naturally integrated into the media, not abrupt or alternative, while successfully locking the attention of more interested people and achieving efficient exposure.

For example, Meishu’s partner media Kuaikan Comics not only assists brands and media with strong IP to achieve cross-border cooperation and seamless integration in the monetization of information flow advertising, but also helps brands flexibly use Internet buzzwords, hot topics, comic elements and other design materials that are highly consistent with the interests of the APP and its audiences, thereby achieving native content and maximizing advertising monetization effects.

2. Ads should be useful and interesting

Nowadays, both advertisers and users have put forward higher requirements for the accuracy of advertising push.

Therefore, it is recommended that the media master and improve technologies such as big data analysis, intelligent engine recommendations, and targeted delivery, so as to push "useful" advertisements related to users' needs , and efficiently connect consumers with brands of interest (and their products). This will not only maintain the user experience, but also make brand advertising exposure more valuable, thereby enhancing the media's competitive advantage and advertiser stickiness.

When users browse their information streams, in addition to wanting to find "useful" content, they also want to find "interesting" things.

Therefore, it is also important for information flow ads to remain "interesting" . So, how can information flow advertising be made “interesting”? From the media's perspective, innovations can be made in the display style of information flow ads to attract more user attention and interest. For example, you can refer to: NetEase News's flip-up information flow ads, expanded push-down information flow ads, and comic strip information flow ads;

Tencent News' picture-based information flow ads, full-screen background/free-interactive information flow ads; Toutiao's "1+4 Headline Premium Column" information flow ads, etc., allow information flow ads to break through conventional display styles, making them more novel, cooler, and more interesting, while expanding the monetization effect of media advertising and profit growth space. (Click here to learn more about how to play information flow ads)

(Flip-type information flow advertisement)

(Comic strip-style information flow advertising)

3. Assist advertisers to optimize advertising creativity

Regardless of which platform’s information flow ads are used, good creative materials are the key to improving CTR and, in turn, increasing media advertising revenue.

The production and optimization of creative materials is not only a concern for advertisers, but also worthy of attention from the media. They should master some material optimization techniques to assist advertisers in producing high-click ads, thereby improving the monetization revenue and service capabilities of the media.

Regarding the optimization of creative materials, Meishujun makes the following suggestions based on the analysis of high-click and high-conversion information flow ads:

As for the title copy,

First, it must be able to attract the audience's attention;

The second is to be able to mobilize the audience's emotions .

Among them, in order to attract attention, it is recommended to adopt copywriting strategies such as "clever use of numbers" (5 major rules for women's winter skin care), "clever use of special symbols" ([Must Read] 5 major rules for women's winter skin care!!!), "clever use of celebrities" (Zhang Jiani's skin care tips), and "clever use of hot spots" ;

As for mobilizing emotions, it is recommended to adopt copywriting strategies such as "crowd labels/segmented crowds" (exclusive for those born in the 1980s, a must-have for fashionable white-collar workers...), "pain points + solutions" (dry and flaky skin in winter? Lancôme pink water deeply moisturizes your skin and makes it moist and tender!), "segmented scenarios" (business trips, smoggy days...), or regret (after seeing the price, many people regret buying a TV too early...)/ nostalgia (how many snacks from your childhood do you still remember?)/ curiosity (the secret to moist and tender skin in winter is actually...) to easily increase the attractiveness of the advertisement, reduce the sense of disharmony, and improve the click-through rate.

As far as pictures are concerned, a complete picture material mainly includes three elements: color, image elements, and text .

Color suggestions:

1) Try to limit the number of colors to 3 or less, one main color, two matching colors, and overall transition and coordination;

2) The color combination should be soft and comfortable, not too saturated or dazzling (for reference: red + orange, blue + green, yellow + green, white + pink, blue + white, etc.);

3) The choice of color should be consistent with the industry attributes (e.g. warm colors such as red and yellow are recommended for the catering industry; cool colors such as blue, white, and gray are recommended for the technology and digital industry);

4) The choice of color can also echo the time node, festival, weather environment, etc.

Image element suggestions:

1) Ensure that the images displayed have copyright;

2) Try to use high-definition images with clear product elements in the images to make the ad look textured; (Meishu found that images with high-quality scenes as the background and clear products will have higher click-through rates than solid color or monochrome posters. Up to 35% increase in clicks)

3) The main image elements should be highlighted to quickly attract the user's interest;

4) Different industries have different main image elements (e.g., the catering industry recommends using appetizing images; the e-commerce industry recommends selecting the most cost-effective products in the store as images; the tourism industry recommends using natural scenery or people playing as images; the automobile industry recommends choosing textured car models as images; the education industry recommends using learning status and campus atmosphere as images; the game industry recommends using game screens and game characters as images, etc.);

5) Generally, only one logo is enough.

(In the image) Text element suggestions:

1) The text is concise and direct, allowing users to quickly obtain valuable information;

2) You can use relevant preferential information to stimulate user conversion, such as limited-time discounts, gifts for purchases above a certain amount, limited-time free trials, etc.;

3) You can use call-to-action text to increase the sense of urgency and effectively promote user conversion (check it out now, click to receive it immediately);

4) The use of festival buzzwords in the poster, such as 618 and Queen’s Day, can significantly help increase clicks;

5) Brand-related words can help enhance the audience’s sense of trust and identification.

Author: Meishujun

Source: Meishu Technology