YouTube is a fantastic place for advertisements since it serves such a wide audience and serves so many functions, including both entertainment and educational purposes. Marketers can connect with a vast, global audience on YouTube since it has 122 million active daily users and 2.6 billion users, according to globalmediainsighs.com.
YouTube advertisements can be quite helpful with helping raise brand awareness and conversion. Check out these appealing statistics, courtesy of YouTube:
YouTube viewers are twice as likely to buy something they saw on the platform
More than 70% of viewers say YouTube increases their awareness of new brands
Viewers are four times more likely to use YouTube to learn more about a brand/product/service
Those are great statistics that showcase YouTube’s power and how advertising on the platform can truly help your brand’s goals, especially for Shopify merchants. Here are some details on YouTube ads and how to best utilize them!
THE DIFFERENT FORMS
Let’s start by breaking down the different types of YouTube ads. You’re probably quite familiar with the in-stream ads that feature skippable components. These are either before or after the video but can be skipped after five seconds. These videos are 12 seconds to three minutes in length and feature a companion banner and a video overlay displaying a call to action (CTA). These are uploaded first as regular YouTube videos.
The major downside to these advertisements is 76% of viewers ultimately skip the advertisement after five seconds, according to a 2017 report from mediapost.com. That statistic leads to the next form: in-stream advertisements that can’t be skipped. These advertisements, obviously, are displayed for the entire duration. Shorter, bumper ad versions are no more than six seconds, while other versions can be 15 or 20 seconds. Bids for these advertisements are based on target cost per mile (CPM).
Next up is in-feed advertisements
In-feed video ads “put your advertisement alongside YouTube content that is likely to be viewed by your target audience,” per YouTube. They can appear in your search results, watch next tab or home feed. YouTube says this form helps with brand consideration and can help make viewers more likely to “subscribe, share and watch additional videos” from your company.
Costs for these ads are based on cost per view (CPV) and cost $0.30 per click on average, according to creatopy.com.
These ads have either 16:9 or 4:3 dimensions and include a headline, two text lines and a video thumbnail. When the thumbnail is clicked on, it takes users to particular videos or channels.
The last form to cover is a non-video display ad. This ad, obviously, is not based around videos and is often to the right or left of the side videos. These ads include an image, ad copy and a CTA, and they are in line with other Google Display Network advertisements in terms of pricing.
AUDIENCE TARGETING
One of YouTube’s premier functions is its fantastic targeting options. There are so many different targeting options available, including demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Demographics allow you to focus on age and gender, among other factors, while interests use viewing behaviors and search history to find the right fit. Behaviors can narrow the list to viewers that have visited your site/app or have checked other videos from your brand.
CREATING THE CAMPAIGN
Creating a YouTube ad campaign isn’t that challenging for those who have already launched campaigns on other platforms. You first sign into your Google Ads account, start a new campaign and choose a goal, whether that’s website traffic, brand awareness, sales, leads, or another category.
For campaign type, choose video and then the ad format type you desire. Choose a name, set the bid strategy, ad locations, and other factors, and then you’re good to go!
Google has this handy sheet available to help you through the process.
STRATEGIES
Our first tip is one we always preach here at Digicom: Produce compelling content! It doesn’t matter what ad format you use. It needs to be compelling. Be willing to take a risk that you may not otherwise. Being bold can pay off handsomely at times.
Due to the shorter format of some ads, you need to be succinct with your advertisements. If you only have five seconds, you can’t have this huge lead-in. Get right to the heart of your message.
We recommend avoiding more “sales”-oriented approaches and instead trying to invoke emotions–again, be succinct–since that connects with individuals more. You also want to make sure your CTA is clear and easy to find.
We hope these tips and strategies have helped you understand the importance of YouTube ads and how you can use YouTube to help take your next marketing campaign to the next level. Be sure to check back at Digicom for more articles, strategies, and tips for your campaigns!
SO, WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS PARTNER?
Well, aren’t we glad you asked! We at DigiCom are obsessive data-driven marketers pulling from multi-disciplinary strategies to unlock scale. We buy media across all platforms and placements, and provide creative solutions alongside content creation, and conversion rate optimizations. We pride ourselves on your successes and will stop at nothing to help you grow.