While there are successful companies that could lay claim to virtually zero traditional advertising, the fact is that no company becomes successful without advertising of some kind – traditional or not.
The strongest businesses are the ones that advertise the best. A good ad can stick in the mind of the customer, and can create a steady stream of leads. Fortunately, advertising on non-traditional media like YouTube is less costly. It’s a platform you can’t ignore, with over one billion users worldwide.
Before you run a YouTube ad campaign, you need to know your target market, including their buying habits and general interests. It would be a waste of time and advertising money to show your video or text ads to people who have neither the interest nor the need for your products or services.
On YouTube, you can actually create a brand or a product video and call it advertising. Not sure where to start? Check out our guide to creating more effective YouTube ads below.
Image credit: YouTube
About TrueView Ads
TrueView ads are your basic YouTube ads created through Google AdWords. TrueView videos can appear on YouTube or embedded on other websites.
YouTube helps make sure you get the most out of TrueView ads by doing two things: first, it tries to match your ads to the YouTube video being shown, and second, it prioritizes showing mobile-optimized ads to people using mobile devices.
Also, you only pay for ads watched by viewers for at least 30 seconds, or if the viewers clicked on a call-to-action on your ad. This makes them pretty affordable for businesses on a budget.
If traffic and exposure are your problems, you can try buying YouTube views to generate real views. A high view count can attract people to actually click and watch your videos. Pair this with a YouTube ad, and you’re bound to attract more viewers to your YouTube channel.
There are two kinds of TrueView ads:
In-Stream Ads
In-stream video ads can be either skippable or non-skippable.
Image credit: degordian
Skippable ads can be up to 60 seconds and viewers can skip watching your entire ad after five seconds. You don’t pay for ads skipped by viewers (and again, for ads watched for less than 30 seconds). You also don’t pay more for longer videos. You do, however, have to make sure they are engaging enough to watch and that they have CTA overlays for better effectiveness.
Your goal, then, is to make videos that grab the attention of your viewers within the first five seconds and hold their attention long enough for them to click on your CTAs.
Non-skippable video ads can be up to 15 seconds only. Non-skippable ads are generally more expensive than skippable ads. As a rule, though, the more targeting options you include in your ad, the more expensive it will be.
Discovery Ads
Discovery ads are shown in YouTube search results and in the suggested video list on the right. Discovery ads also feature engagement panels or CTA overlays. Clicking on discovery ads will take your viewers to your YouTube channel and not your website.
Image credit: brite content
Creating a TrueView Ad Video
When you’re ready to create your TrueView video ad campaign, check out the technical requirements by AdWords and make sure you have your own YouTube channel to upload the video to.
You can either create the video ad yourself or hire an expert to help you do it. You can also collaborate with a YouTube creator to make more interesting ads.
Making your videos unskippable is easier said than done. However, the reward is worth it as according to Google, viewers who do not skip your video ads are 10x more likely to share your content, subscribe to your YouTube channel, and/or engage with your brand.
Image credit: WE THE UNICORNS
If you simply cannot handle making video ads right now, you can always try YouTube text ads instead and still take advantage of the 900,000,000 unique visitors that YouTube enjoys every month.
Text Ads
There are two kinds of text ads: display ads and overlay ads. Display ads appear on the right panel of YouTube, outside of a video, while overlay ads appear as a semi-transparent CTA at the bottom of a video.
Image credit: YouTube Creator Academy
It’s best to consider your advertising budget first before you settle on a certain kind of ad. Also, be sure to write effective copy and use keywords for better targeting.
Measure Campaign Performance
Don’t forget to measure your campaign performance or use tools to help you interpret the data from your campaign.
As with all advertising campaigns, analyzing the results is important so you’ll know which tactics worked and which didn’t. Needless to say, this will help you decide what kind of ad you’ll run next time so you don’t waste your time and money on those that do not work.
Running a buy-views campaign will also help your overall YouTube presence. Buy high-quality YouTube views from reputable providers who care not only about your reputation, but also theirs.
Launch an Ad Today!
Advertising on YouTube can help build your brand’s value on and off social media. Creating a time- and cost-effective video ad is difficult but completely possible.
Just remember to first understand your target market and study your advertising budget before you create video ads. Aim to create a compelling hook before the five-second mark and you’ll surely bring your viewers closer to clicking that CTA and buying your products.
Image credit: YouTube Advertising
Date: August 24, 2017 / Categories: Tips, / Author: Chell
