Video ads on YouTube or YouTube Ads represent a very useful tool for anyone who intends to develop a successful digital marketing strategy on said platform. Creating content that is visually attractive and generates adequate audience retention is essential for success.
For this reason, in this article, I will explain to you the importance of ads on YouTube Ads for those looking to stand out.
Why advertise on YouTube Ads?
YouTube has evolved beyond simply being a site to watch videos, becoming a search engine almost on par with Google itself. Some key reasons to consider YouTube Ads in a marketing strategy include:
- Globalized reach and diverse audience: You will be able to offer access to audiences of all ages, interests and geographic locations. This will allow you to reach specific market segments effectively.
- Engaging Video Format – Video ads have the unique ability to convey messages in a visual and impactful way. This will help you tell stories more effectively and connect with your audience in a more authentic way.
- Targeting and personalization options: YouTube is a platform that provides advanced targeting tools that allow you to reach specific audiences based on demographics, interests, purchasing behaviors, and more.
- Variety of ad formats: Using options like TrueView, Bumper Ads, and Video Discovery, you’ll be able to choose the format that best suits your marketing goals and budget. For example, there are advertisements at the beginning of the video, those that occur in the middle, or pop-up ones, which are small windows that can be seen at the bottom of the video.
Types of video ads on YouTube Ads
YouTube is a platform where it is possible to use different types of ads, as we explained before, being able to adapt to the advertising objectives of the advertisers. Next, I will share with you some of the most used types of ads:
TrueView
TrueView ads are a popular option on YouTube that allows viewers to choose to watch an ad or skip it after a few seconds. There are two subtypes of ads:
- In-Stream Ads: This type of ad plays before, during, or after other videos. There is the option to skip after five seconds (yes, those annoying ads that cut off the video when you watch it) which allows advertisers to effectively capture attention.
- Video Discovery Ads: You can see these ads on YouTube’s search results page, on the home page, or, in many cases, next to other videos as a thumbnail. You have the option to click to see the ad, being able to interact with the content in a more active way. You can see it a little later.
Bumper Ads
These ads are short video clips of up to six seconds that play before the main content and cannot be skipped. They are ideal for conveying short but impactful messages in a short period of time.
Video Discovery
Video Discovery ads, as I explained to you before, were known as video display ads, they appear on YouTube’s search results page, the home page and in the video suggestions tray. You can click on the ad to view the full content, giving advertisers the opportunity to see relevant content for themselves, without interrupting the original video.
These formats offer advertisers flexible options to achieve their advertising goals on YouTube, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving conversions, or driving audience engagement.
Creating your first video campaign on YouTube Adwords
Do you want to create your first YouTube Ads campaign? It is not something complete, standing out for being a great strategy to position your brand effectively. Here are step-by-step instructions:
Defining your campaign objective
So that you can define the purpose of your campaign, I recommend:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account or create a new one if you don’t already have one.
- Create a new account by clicking “ Create ” > “ New campaign ”.
- Select the type of campaign in the “ Brand consideration and reach ” or “ Product consideration and purchase ” section depending on the advertising objectives you have.
- Choose the campaign objective, selecting the “ Website Traffic ” or “ Conversions ” option depending on whether you want to drive traffic to your website or generate conversions.
Effective audience segmentation
Segmenting your audience is essential, since it will allow you to correctly choose the audience your advertisements will reach:
- Define the places where you want your ads to be displayed. You can segment by country, region or city.
- Specify the age, gender, and other demographic details of your target audience.
- Use advanced targeting options like interests, purchasing behaviors, and affinities to reach your ideal audience.
- Explore remarketing options, targeting people who have already interacted with your brand or website to increase conversions.
Budget optimization for maximum reach
The budget is probably the most important element of this entire process, since, without it, there would be no advertising. Optimize it this way:
- Set a daily budget, that is, how much you are willing to spend daily on your campaign and adjust it according to your objectives and available resources.
- Configure your bids by choosing between bidding strategies such as CPV (Cost Per View) or CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) depending on your campaign goals and budget.
- Perform A/B tests with different ad settings, audiences, and budgets to identify the optimal combination that maximizes your campaign performance.
- Regularly review your campaign performance and make adjustments based on analytics data to continually improve the effectiveness of your ads.
Tips to optimize your video ads on YouTube Adwords
Once you create your YouTube Ads video ads, you need to be able to adapt your targeting strategy by optimizing the video content to maximize your success. Below, I share some tips to help you achieve it:
- Use different video creatives: Create various content with different messages and aspect ratios (square, vertical and horizontal) to attract a variety of audiences on mobile and desktop devices, achieving a greater variety of visitors.
- Integrate a voice-over: it must be of high quality, used from the Google Ads Asset Library to improve the quality and attractiveness of the ads.
- Make the most of your cost per view (CPV): Adjust your CPV to ensure you get your message across efficiently. Consider factors such as ad length, creative quality, and targeting.
- Improve your ads: Create effective ads that generate a high view rate, which can result in a lower CPV. Consider estimating the duration of your ad, message, and calls to action to improve performance.
- Evaluate and improve your view rate: Study and analyze your view rate to understand the effectiveness of your ad, adjusting and adding elements such as ad duration, targeting, and messaging to increase this metric.
- Make the most of your click-through rate (CTR): Apply video ads with a clear call to action to increase CTR and drive more traffic to your website or YouTube channel.
Common mistakes in YouTube Ads campaigns and how to avoid them
Some of the most common mistakes you can make in your YouTube Adwords campaigns are:
- Not optimizing audience targeting: Remember that you should always target your ads to the right audience using advanced targeting options to improve the relevance and effectiveness of your campaigns.
- Ignore video content: This is crucial to the success of your campaign. Avoid creating content that is boring or uninformative, that fails to capture the attention of viewers.
- Avoid testing and fine-tuning: It’s important to regularly A/B test to identify which elements of your ads work best and make adjustments accordingly to improve the performance of your campaigns.
These three errors can be considered the most “serious”, but the truth is that you should follow each and every one of the practices recommended in the segments above.
Success stories: YouTube Ads and video campaigns that made a difference
So that you can use it as a reference, I will share with you some of the most famous success stories thanks to the use of YouTube Ads campaigns.
The first case of note is that of the personal care company Dollar Shave Club, which launched a clever and funny video ad that went viral on YouTube. The video, which featured the company’s CEO explaining Dollar Shave Club’s subscription service in a comical and direct way, generated millions of views and significantly increased the brand’s sales.
Another case, which is probably much better known for the impact of the brand, is that of Nike, with its “ Dream Crazy ” commercial. This is an inspiring campaign starring former American football player: Colin Kaepernick.
The ad, which addressed themes of social justice and empowerment, generated a lot of conversation and attention on social media, helping Nike strengthen its brand image and attract a more engaged audience.
Tools and resources to improve your YouTube Adwords campaigns
I’ll introduce you to some of the best tools and resources used by YouTube Ads marketers to optimize and manage your ads:
- Google Ads Editor – This desktop tool allows you to make massive changes to your Google Ads campaigns, including YouTube campaigns, of course, and can be done without an internet connection.
- TubeBuddy – This is a browser plugin that gives you a variety of tools to help optimize and manage YouTube channels, including keyword research, tag optimization, and comment management.
- Google Analytics – is a well-known analytics tool that provides you with detailed information about the performance of your video ads. It provides key metrics such as complete view rate, click rate, and conversion rate.
- Canva – is an online graphic design platform that offers you templates and tools to create attractive thumbnails and graphics for your videos.
Optimize your YouTube Ads like a pro! At MD Marketing Digital we can help you
Video ads on YouTube Ads offer you a tool to apply any digital marketing strategy. From its global reach and diverse audience to its targeting options and variety of formats, YouTube Ads provides an ideal platform to reach your target audience effectively.
It is important that you recognize the importance of having professionals who can assist in the planning, creation and optimization of YouTube Ads campaigns. For this reason, at Enjoy Minder, we have specialists in SEM and Ads campaigns, specialized in all types of platforms, including YouTube, of course.
Leave your comments, and questions or share your experiences with YouTube Ads! Your participation in the conversation is valuable and can inspire others to make the most of this powerful digital marketing tool.
