Video advertising is perhaps one of the most if not the only effective advertising in reaching your customers. Through YouTube, you have the second largest search engine after Google which means that if you are ever planning to use digital or online marketing with videos, YouTube would surely be your first choice.
Types of Ads in YouTube
As an advertiser, you would have probably come across different types of ads that have appeared in this new media. They can be classified as follow:
In-Stream Ads
– This is considered as among the most popular type of ads on YouTube today. Your ad will appear before or during a video is played. The viewer than would be able to choose to watch the entire ad or only for 5 seconds. You will however, only be charged if the viewer decides to watch your ad for more than 30 seconds. As mentioned, In-Stream Ads are currently the most popular method used.
In-Slate Ads
– This method allows your viewer to choose at the start of the content which is longer than usual ads. This is usually applicable for ads that are more than 10 minutes long and the viewer is given 3 ads to choose. In some cases, only 1 ad is shown. The users are given the choice to watch the video uninterrupted if he chooses either one of the options.
In-Search
– This method is very similar to AdWords. The ads will appear when the viewer searches in YouTube for a certain content. Basically your video will appear in a yellowish coloured box on the top and right hand side of the results page after the viewer searches for something. If the viewer decides to click on your ad, you will then be charged.
In-Display Ads
– This is where the ads appear an unrelated ad appears in the YouTube page which was probably directed here because that particular YouTube content was embedded in their website.
Besides knowing what type of ads to use on YouTube, there are other factors that you need to consider including strategizing your ads and cost, among others.
As for Cost, you’ll be surprised!
– One of the most common questions asked by advertisers is would advertising in YouTube very costly? Like any other media, if you want an effective an impactful media, you will need to think about the investment. But contrary to popular beliefs, it is not sky-high prices where you will only pay when the requirements are met like when a certain amount of your ad was viewed.
How to Target My Viewer?
One of the significant positives you can draw from online video advertising is that you can target better as compared to any other media ever existed. You can go for the standard demographics like age and gender of your viewer. This is usually done together with keyword targeting so that you can grasp who your viewers are.
Interest-Related
– There is a clear difference between this and Topics where there will be a large group of viewers who are in a certain group of discipline like music, art, films and such. This is usually carried out with keywords like how it is practiced in demographics targeting.
Targeted and Relevant Topics
– This type of targeting is effective because your viewers will be typing in very specific topics that they want to watch like piano or football. In advertising through this targeting strategy, your ad, which is related to the topic, can be displayed.
Contextual Keyword
–This is the more common way of advertising if you have used Google before. Basically, you will specify the keywords with Google to have your ads appear with the content related to the keywords typed.
Where Should I Place My Ads?
You can use a method called ‘Managed Placements’ if you want to target your ads to specific groups. This is where you basically get to specify certain pages that you like you ads to appear in.
This is an extremely effective strategy especially if you want your ads to appear only at related videos. However, it must be noted that there are certain pages which are very popular which means they are highly demanded by advertisers. As such, you will notice that the bids can be quite costly. Generally, you can have your ads to appear in high-traffic pages where it will naturally cost more.
Will My Ads be seen on all devices?
With most of your customers today being mobile and portable, you can choose where your ads will be shown through YouTube. This means that if you only want your ads to appear on desktop computers, laptops or smartphones only, you can actually do so.
What do I need and how do I start?
The first thing you need to get started is to have a Google Account while it would be most effective to have a YouTube channel. This will ensure that you have a consistent brand management strategy where your customers can find your brand and products in one central location.
You do not necessarily need to have videos uploaded in YouTube in order to advertise in this network.
Useful TipsLength – Your videos should generally be less than 5 minutes long to captivate your audience
Language – Ensure that your language like construction of sentences and grammar are all done correctly before posting your video
Audience – Know your audience. YouTube will allow you to reach your target markets better. So before you produce your video, think about who you are reaching and cater your content to them.
Video advertising for Small businesses
Not just creating a video
Online advertising is a big industry. Not only is video a major part of advertising, it is the preferred media among consumers as well. It is extremely easy to make a video as you only need a good camera and some creativity. But did you know that the video that you create should have some important ‘ingredients’? We pull out some.
The first few seconds
You would know how the first few seconds of your video being an important part of your ad because that is the only duration you have to capture the attention of your audience. After all, most viewers will skip the ad or click away. In cases like YouTube, you only have 5 seconds to entice your viewer to watch the entire ad.
- Start with a strong statement – This will either get your viewer to continue watching or to click away
- Create interest – it could be a question, addressing a problem or sharing of important information
Note: You must know that some videos are on mute when they start so visuals will be the game-changer here.
Highlight your brand equity
Why should your potential customer like your brand? Your video must address this issue where you must put emphasis on what makes your brand (or product) the best. You want your viewers to believe that your brand is unique and that it stands out among the crowded marketplace. If possible, tell them about how successful you are.
Timing is everything
Start with the first 5 seconds, then move on to the next. Tips on how not to destroy your ad:
- Make your video less than 30 seconds. In fact, the shorter your ad the better it is. Viewers are able to see the duration of your ad and if it is too long, they will lose interest almost immediately.
- Long-winded – Ads should not be too wordy. There is big difference between informative and long-windedness. Eventually, it becomes boring
- Visuals – ensure that your ad coincides with your brand visually.
Call to action
You do not have much time with your viewer. As such, you should ensure that you have some call-to-action for them to connect with you. This usually takes place at the end of the video. If your viewer watches until the end, chances are they are already interested in you so calling them to click or to call you might not be a problem.
Explain to them why
It makes a lot of sense to explain to your customers why they are making the right choice in buying your product. There must be some unique selling point here like your patented technology, your warranty services, technical support or item return policies.
Single-liners will do. But make sure they know it. At the end of the day, they must know that you are giving them something they cannot find elsewhere.
