How to advertise branded articles in Zen via VK Ads
In September 2022, VK acquired the Zen and News services from Yandex. After that, references to the previous owner disappeared from the services, but the Zen interface remained the same. A year later, the VK Ads advertising account became able to promote content from Zen. And since April 2024, it has become possible to post and promote branded articles. We will tell you in detail about the new functionality and benefits for business.
Terms of work on Zen
After the author or business created a channel on Zenit becomes possible to attract the attention of the audience and receive potential leads solely through high-quality content.
On this platform, you can be successful without paid advertising: it is enough to regularly publish interesting articles. Each author has his own “Studio”, where he can monitor the effectiveness of his content: the number of impressions, subscriptions after reading, views, audience engagement level and other indicators.
For those who are ready to invest in promotion, VK Advertising has a special tool – “Zen”. To use it, you need to link your “Studio” with your advertising account. To do this, click on the “Go to Studio” button and follow the instructions for connecting Zen to VK Ads.
There are restrictions on content parameters: titles must be up to 70 characters without spaces, and text must be without emojis and special characters.
Articles are displayed on the main Zen page, after the text in article recommendations, in tabs by format.
Benefits of a Branded Article
Let's consider how the new promotion format can be useful for business.
Adding a unique brand style. Engaging elements in the brand identity appear in the articles. Unique design attracts attention to the content, increases the number of clicks. Custom design does not disappear after the campaign is finished, but remains forever. Zen continues to spin interesting content in the feed so that users continue to receive useful information.
Fixed CPM. Articles are promoted at a fixed price per 1000 impressions. This allows advertisers to accurately plan their budget and not spend more than necessary.
Scroll-to-site technology. It allows readers to be smoothly redirected to the site: the reader scrolls down the article and at the end sees the landing page. Thanks to this technology, you can get more conversions, since the user does not need to click on the link.
Metrics in VK Advertising. The effectiveness of promotion can be assessed in the advertising account. There are various metrics that allow you to understand how well the advertising works and whether you need to invest in it. You can also add an advertising pixel to a custom article and set up target action counters. There are only three options: clicking on a link, opening an article, reading to the end.
How to Create and Promote a Custom Article
Access to branded articles is only available upon request. To submit an application, send an email to: dzen_sales@lists.vk.team. In the body of the email, you must specify the brand channel for which access to the functionality is required. After talking to a VK representative, the advertiser will be able to place branded articles and advertise them on all VK platforms.
Next, in Zen's “Studio”, click “Go to VK Advertising”. In the interface that opens, you can link two accounts. In the advertising account, you will be able to launch campaigns and statistics. You can also monitor the progress of the campaign and launch advertising in a single account click.ru.
We'll tell you how to continue working with branded articles.
1. In Zen Studio, click on the “+” next to the account name and avatar. You will find yourself in the interface for creating articles. You can also edit existing content – adjust visual elements in accordance with new features. For example, choose colors, set a cover, add an advertising pixel and Scroll-to-site technology.
2. After the article is completed, open VK Advertising. In the “Campaigns” menu, click the “Create” button. After that, in the “Awareness and Reach” tab, select “Advertising in Zen”.
The interface will change: the standard advertising objects “Channel” and “Article” will be supplemented by “Branded Article”.
3. Select the VK Advertising channel in Zen where the promoted article is posted. The “Ad impressions” action will be available.
4. Specify the dates for advertising and the budget.
7. Set targeting in VK Ads. At first, it will be as broad as possible, but over time, the system will be able to collect the necessary amount of data and find an interested audience.
8. Select branded content from the list of articles that you plan to promote. You don’t need to create an ad yourself – all the information will be pulled in automatically. For convenience, the title, description, and cover from the article itself will be used.
We launch campaigns and collect statistics. It is advisable to analyze the results and adjust the campaign settings or article no earlier than 2–3 days later – this is how long it takes for the algorithms to learn.
