As I have said before, it’s been nearly three years since I have been actively involved in online marketing, content writing and publicity. This industry is always changing so I have been taking a lot of online classes and reading a lot.

In the three years that I have been away from this industry, native advertising has grown. An article in Business Insider last month indicates that 74 percent of add revenue by 2021. That number should alarm those still clinging to traditional advertising models.

Unless you are in the business you may not know what native advertising is. Many people in the industry are often unclear and sometimes confuse it with content marketing. Readers may not know it is actually advertising because it is formatted like the site on which it appears. Let me break it down simply:

• Have you ever seen a sponsored post or tweet in your social media feed? That’s native advertising.
• Have you ever seen suggested content when visiting a traditional news site such as CNN? That’s native advertising.
• Some native advertising is easier to spot. It is labeled “sponsored content.”

Native advertising works like the advertorials you may still see in some local newspapers. It looks like a real news story but it’s just there to promote a company or product.

This type of advertising does work, even on “professionals” like me who think they are smart enough to spot a sales pitch. Just this morning while reading my Facebook feed I drifted off into some sponsored content out of my curiosity about the actors in some of the high profile commercials.

Traditional media sources such as newspapers, radio and television stations have websites and are using this type of advertising as well. The use by consumers of mobile phones and computers for their content is what is driving the native advertising trend.

Have you clicked noticed native advertising and clicked on it lately?