Let’s discuss a concept that has been changing the advertising landscape: native advertising. If you’re not yet leveraging native ad networks in your strategy, you could be passing up a goldmine of opportunities! Native ads are like the chameleons of advertising — they harmoniously drape themselves over whatever the person is reading about, whether it’s a news story, a blog post, or even a recipe. 

No obnoxious banners, no stale pop-ups, just pervasive and engaging content delivered more smoothly than you can experience.

But why should you care? Native ads offer a cost-effective, innovative way to reach audiences as social media platforms are tightening targeting and ad costs are reaching record highs. Let’s go into what native ad networks are, why they are so effective, and what you should be using them in 2025.

What are Native Ad Networks?

Native ad networks allow you to run advertisements that appear to be part of the publisher’s standard fare. Their ads match the form, style, and tone of the platform they appear in. You’ve likely seen these ads without realizing it. Some well-known native advertising examples are the “recommended for you” articles at the end of a news story.

Native ads are magical because they’re not like, “HEY, I’M AN AD!” Instead, they say, “Psst, this is of interest to?you.” And guess what? People listen, literally.

Why do Native Ads Work So Well?

• Native advertising receives 53%more views than traditional display advertising.
• Users devote 20% extra time to native ads over banner ads.
• Native ad spending should reach $1 trillion worldwide by 2025, constituting more than 65% of total display spend.
• Native ads drive an 18% increase in purchase intent and a 9% increase in?brand affinity for brands.

Why does this work? It’s because native ads go where the people are. Native ads feel organic. Whether someone’s reading about the latest tech trends, checking sports scores, or browsing through a blog, they feel part of the experience. They’re not intrusive; they’re helpful. And that’s why they’re so good at this.

The Best Native Ad Networks In 2025

Okay, let’s get to the meat and potatoes. To help you sky-rocket your ads game, here are the top native networks you should be using:

1. Taboola

Taboola is the OG of native advertising. Founded in Israel in 2007, it has established itself as the leading content discovery platform, with a staggering 1.4 billion unique users getting served 450 billion recommendations monthly. That’s billion with a B.

What makes Taboola stand out? Big-name publishers like NBC News, Business Insider, and USA Today, among others, trust it, which adds credibility to your ads. Their AI-based framework can learn from billions of interactions monthly to precisely target your message through sophisticated content targeting, behavior analysis, and real-time optimization. 

With each interaction, the platform boasts algorithms that continuously learn and improve your advertising campaign performance, targeting, and engagement. 

2. Outbrain

With an annual revenue of $136.7 million and 3 trillion ads served to 1.3 billion users, Outbrain advertising is one of the best self-service native ad platforms. It drives over 9 billion conversions into one-third of the world consumers found online, linking brands and extending their reach 9 billion times globally. 

Partnering with premium publishers such as Sky News, Men’s Health, CNN, and The Washington Post, Outbrain delivers traffic quality through native widgets like in-feed ads, video ads, and content recommendations. Outbrain native ads seamlessly integrate into the editorial content, including images, headlines, and brand logos. 

For advertisers, Outbrain provides Fraud-Free Premium Inventory, SmartFeed, lookalike audiences, and native video storytelling. Whether trying to boost audience or blow out performance against defined goals, Outbrain offers flexible solutions with top traffic built just for your native advertising.

3. MSAN

Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN) better known as MSN, might seem like your grandma’s homepage, but don’t sleep on it. Microsoft’s MSN is one of the most visited news sites in the world and a hidden gem — it’s the?game-changer brands have been waiting for! MSN delivers, too: a staggering reach encompassing a billion people monthly (October 2023) across the Microsoft brands, a steady 3-year growth through a publisher network, and higher CTRs than traditional display ads.

What’s the secret sauce? MSN’s all-of-Microsoft integration (Bing,?LinkedIn, Edge) and AI targeting reads as nearly psychic. (Adaptative creative tools tailor advertisements on-the-go making real connections?that develop throughout a user’s journey.)

As marketers enter the complex landscape of 2025, MSN is more than just an alternative; it is redefining?the game.

4. Pocket

Pocket is a native advertising powerhouse with 5 million+ engaged, active readers via their email digest Pocket Hits. Sponsored content is second among the top-visited content, user, and editor-curated content, allowing maximum visibility in a clean, simplistic experience.

Your ads can?appear in users’ saved content or recommendations on mobile and desktop or even in the Firefox New Tab, reaching 100 million daily active users. Pocket’s unique placement means you can catch readers at the top of their?journey, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with premium, curator-selected stories.

With privacy-respecting user personalization, Pocket delivers transparency and clutter-free environments for intuitive engagement with curious, high-intent audiences. Through dedicated sponsored emails or domain-specific content?insights, leveraging 4 billion pieces of analyzed data, Pocket creates value for brands to drive engagement and results.

Why you need Native Advertising with GeistM

Now, you may be thinking, “This all sounds wonderful, but how can I actually implement this to work for my brand?” That’s where we come in. Native advertising is in our blood at GeistM.

Here’s what we?have to offer:

• Customized Strategies: No cookie-cutter plans here. All campaigns are tailored to your objectives. Plus, our expert growth analystsknow native platforms inside and out.
• Creative Focused on Converting: Our in-house content and creative teammock up ads and create personalized content your audience will respond to.
• Data-Driven Insights: Our sophisticated targeting ensures your ads reach the most relevant audience at the most opportune moment.
• Full-Funnel Expertise: We cover everything from competitor research to creatives and content production to campaign launches and optimizations. We take care of everything from start to finish.

Conclusion

Native advertising is not just a fad —?it’s a game changer. With Taboola, Outbrain, MSAN, and Pocket advertisements, you can reach your audience in a million different?ways without being too pushy or distracting. And the best part? It works.

So, if you want to take that advertising strategy one step up, let’s talk. At GeistM,?we’ll help hit the gas on the full potential of native ads to drive legitimate results for your brand.

Written by: Brent Barnhart

Diversifying networks has never been more important for marketers. 

Meta has long been the go-to for digital advertising or even information gathering. But, they’ve had a number of struggles over the last few years, and consumers have been moving to different platforms to get their daily dose of brand knowledge. 

Take Gen Z, for example, who predominantly gathers information from TikTok, with 35% expressing that a potential ban would critically impact their access to information, underscoring the platform’s engaging and interactive nature.

Advertising platforms are subject to shifts due to various demographic preferences and other factors. The unpredictability of networks means that relying solely on one could risk obsolescence. Diversification is not just beneficial; it’s essential for staying relevant in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Essentially, you need a mix of social media advertising and native networks:

What is the difference between social media advertising and native networks?

“Social media marketing is a type of digital marketing that uses social media platforms to promote your brand and offerings to your ideal customers. Your posts will likely include a combination of text, images, videos, and stories that position your brand in a positive light and capture a relevant audience. Depending on your budget and particular goals, social media marketing might also include paid social ads that allow your brand to appear in front of the right people at the right times.”

According to Forbes 

“Native advertising is a paid strategy where ads fit seamlessly with organic content. Users most commonly see them as social media ads in their feeds, but they also appear on blogs and news websites, looking like other editorial posts. Native ads are subtle and use content that better engages users.” 

According to Single Grain

They are both different but also similar in many ways. Hence, the perfect marketing strategy balances the two well — relying on one marketing network simply isn’t enough anymore. 

Here at GeistM, we take that into consideration, offering a range of networks to help diversify your marketing strategy: 

5 Native Networks to Add to Your Marketing Strategy

TikTok

While you might think TikTok is only for GenZ and dance videos, you’d be surprised to find that all age ranges exist on the platform. While 36.2% of their audience falls within the 18-24 age range, forming the majority, it’s crucial not to overlook the 7.9% aged 45-54 and the smaller, yet still significant, 6.2% who are 55 and older.

Although it might be one of the newer platforms, with over 150 million users in the US and an estimated 55.5 million users making purchases through the platform in 2023, TikTok Shop is a great place to make a mark for your brand. 

It’s not just a platform that people doom scroll on. The viral #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt tag shows that it’s a great platform to advertise. In June 2024, the beauty brand, Canvas Beauty, set a TikTok US record with a 6-hour live stream that generated $1 million in sales.

Nextdoor

The neighborhood network is real. You can reach your consumers where they are by targeting them through location, demographic segmentation, and interests. With over 88 million users (known on the platform as “neighbors”), it’s a network with great potential. 

According to Nextdoor, 25% of all conversations involve neighbors asking for recommendations for local businesses. And 79% of customers say they trust online reviews as much as the personal recommendations they receive from those in their network. So, if you can get one neighbor talking about your brand, chances are you can get the whole neighborhood to chime in.

Pinterest

Pinterest is an exciting platform that depends heavily on engagement. Half of its user base considers it a shopping destination, and users save over 1.5 billion Pins across more than 10 million boards every week. 

It’s a platform that relies on visuals, and the more engaging the visual, the better the performance. Plus, its “ready to buy” consumer base is great for traffic and sales for premium products. A study by Pinterest recently showed that “content related to the seasons, holidays, or other everyday moments is incredibly popular on the platform. If your business offers products or services that fall into these categories, you’ll see 10 times more awareness and 22% more sales.”

Taboola

Many of us might not have realized, but Taboola has been around for years — a decade, in fact. It’s one of the most dominant native networks for advertisers, reaching over 1.4 billion unique monthly users. According to data released by Taboola, “it serves a staggering 450 billion content recommendations every month.” 

Taboola excels in advertising, offering robust ad placements and audience targeting options complemented by a user-friendly interface. What truly distinguishes Taboola ads is their credibility. Endorsed by leading publishers such as NBC News and Business Insider, these high-profile affiliations underscore Taboola’s reliability and effectiveness. This makes it an essential tool for anyone looking to enhance their content marketing strategy. 

Outbrain

This independent native advertising platform hosts thousands of publishers, enabling businesses to place native ads across the “open web”—beyond the confines of paid search and social networks. This strategy allows companies to engage with a vast consumer audience directly on their preferred websites, where they are spending increasing amounts of time. 

According to Outbrain, “these ads reach approximately 1 billion consumers each month outside of social media”, offering significant exposure and engagement opportunities. 

When a consumer clicks on a native Outbrain advertisement, they are directed to a content page—be it a blog, video, or product information page—tailored by the advertiser. A well-executed Outbrain native ad can significantly capture and hold people’s attention. In fact, Outbrain reports that native ad campaigns benefit from 28% higher time spent and 180% higher leads.

Why GeistM for Native Advertising? 

Incorporating a diverse range of networks into your marketing mix enhances stability and reach. At GeistM, our growth analysts possess extensive expertise that enables your brand to advertise across multiple networks effectively. We’ve cultivated strong partnerships with these platforms, ensuring a seamless integration of your campaigns.

Moreover, our in-house content and creative team specializes in crafting targeted content uniquely tailored for each platform. Leveraging our expansive network of owned and operated publishers, we can revolutionize your performance marketing strategy to not only identify but also directly engage your audience across various networks, maximizing your marketing impact.