Customers gloss over bold, blinking, beeping stand-alone ads. That's why paid native ads that seamlessly integrate into social feeds and websites are having a huge moment. These ads emulate the look and feel of the media format where they appear, gaining greater acceptance and engagement than brazen banners or pushy pop-ups.

If it's been awhile since you reviewed your marketing strategy, it's time to kick it up a notch. Whether it's a holiday promotion, product launch or annual strategy, your next marketing campaign needs to sizzle. Move beyond the catchy, yet expected, social posts and standard weekly branded video spots. The basic strategy you've been embracing needs a makeover. Here's how to improve your marketing strategy.

4 Bells and Whistles to Amplify Your Approach

There's a reason respected news organizations like The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have dipped their toes into native advertising. Not only is it a lucrative revenue stream for those publications, but the creation of native ads also has a lot in common with traditional journalism.

Yes, native ads are serving a brand's marketing strategy, while journalism is designed to democratize information and report the facts. There are clear lines of division separating these two forms, but marketers would be wise to borrow the practices and policies of journalistic content and use them in their native campaigns. Here are some guidelines for applying those lessons.

Native advertising is a highly effective tactic that gives an ad the same tone and appearance as other content within a publication. You've probably seen native ads in the form of a sponsored article written to emulate editorial content or a display ad nestled among recommended content at the end of a blog post.

But while native ads give small businesses a huge opportunity to promote their products or services (while earning potentially massive brand recognition), failing to follow native advertising rules can land your brand in hot water — both with your customers and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Despite the risk, a whopping 37 percent of publishers are not native-compliant, according to MediaRadar. To meet your marketing goals without incurring hefty fines or losing customer trust, here are three things you should always do:

Native advertising has been around for years, and it exploded in popularity when social networks like Facebook began offering marketing channels that were well-suited to native content.

But the growing trend of native ads among small- and medium-sized businesses is the result of an entirely different force. According to The Wall Street Journal, native ads are gaining more prominence on programmatic ad exchanges and their share of overall ad volume is growing. Even though banners remain the dominant form of advertising sold through these exchanges, the increased role of native advertising has made it more accessible to SMBs.

That said, it remains uncharted territory for small business owners who are leery of spending their precious marketing dollars on unproven methods. But there are at least three solid reasons why every SMB should be thinking about launching their own native ad campaign.

Digital native marketing has been around almost as long as the internet itself, and even though sponsored content has taken on a lot of different permutations over the years, one thing is certain: This type of advertising is continuing to grow at a massive rate. According to Business Insider, native advertising will drive 74 percent of all ad revenue by 2021, which is truly a staggering number. With so much competition, it's easy for marketers to feel the pressure when it comes to this popular marketing method. However, by observing some interesting new trends in native advertising, marketers can stay ahead of the curve and ensure that their efforts don't get lost in the shuffle.

Sponsorships can be a great way to gain high levels of publicity and "in your face" brand awareness at all kinds of festivals, community groups or sporting events. But, is it worth it?

Let's take a step back and look at the industry sponsorship spending overall as an indicator of performance. eMarketer research shows that sports sponsorships themselves have grown by nearly 5% annually for the past 5 consecutive years and outpaced spend and growth over any other segment including entertainment, events and causes. The growth in this space, even as the advertising landscape has become more complex, points to a growing need to connect with the customer where they are. That theory is only supported by research from various sports sponsorship studies that point to what Nick Buchanan from B&T Weekly says "is one of the best ways to build a communication path toward consumers."

Online native advertising has been around in some form since the birth of the internet, but this marketing tactic picked up steam in the past decade. Now, it's considered an important component of a modern digital advertising campaign. Native advertising trends have changed quite a bit, with spammy, keyword-filled articles giving way to more sophisticated text and video content that seeks to both inform and promote in an advertorial style.

It looks like 2017 will be another transformative year for native advertising. Here are some key trends to look out for in the coming months:

In an age of pre-installed ad-blockers and near-universal rates of  banner ad blindness, it's no wonder why native advertising campaigns have experienced tremendous growth over the past few years. This style of marketing, which takes the form of sponsored content — video, text or image — fits in seamlessly with the content that frames it, and is already widely available online.

However, Business Insider reported this advertising media is projected to get even bigger, driving 74 percent of ad revenue by 2021. So with native advertising's near ubiquity looming ahead, how can you ensure your small or midsize business' native content stands out from the crowd?

Programmatic advertising allows marketers to identify and reach consumers more likely to have an interest in their brand. It has been in use for years as a way for marketers to get their messages noticed and found around products, services, and other promotions. Tuning it with native advertising can make beautiful music for your company. Here's why marketing conductors should pay attention.

Why Going Native Could Strike a Chord with Your Business

As Marketing Land reports, a study from Facebook and IHS shows that native in-stream ads will account for 63.2 percent of all mobile display advertising by 2020. Native advertising has become a highly effective and engaging ad format. It can typically be more expensive than other ad types since it needs to be custom-created for effective content integration. Adding programmatic is a simple execution creating an ideal multi-channel campaign that helps convert audiences toward your brand message.