21 per cent of people in the UK have mistaken an advertorial native ad post for editorial content, and an additional 30 per cent are unsure if they have done so.

Thats according to research by native ad firm Vibrant Media, which also found that 49 per cent of confused Brits felt as though they had been misled by the content.

“This research clearly shows the need for effective mechanics that communicate the source of long-form native advertising,” said Vibrant Media executive chairman and founder Craig Gooding. “Consumers find great utility in advertorial – it’s informed, in-depth and retains the integrity of brands’ messages. However, irresponsible use of advertorial can be brand damaging. Brands must use the right labelling and transparency mechanics to ensure consumers do not get annoyed because they feel that brands or publishers have set out to mislead them.”

47 per cent said they believe it’s important to feel informed that an advertiser has paid for content to be displayed to them on a website. With most users not believing text labels on posts are transparent enough, only two methods were considered effective by the majority of respondents. These were displaying the advertiser’s logo (54 per cent) and telling users that were launching an ad (50 per cent).

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