Youtube Ads… six billion hits a day… need we say more?

Six Billion (6,000,000,000) hits

…every…single…day

One Billion (that’s right – 1,000,000,000) unique users access YouTube every month;

…and the total time spent watching YouTube content equals about 1 hour, per month, for every person on the planet!

So if you aren’t already using YouTube as a key tool in your marketing strategy…frankly…. YOU ARE BEHIND THE GAME….

We’ve been using YT Ads as a tool in all our marketing strategies for a while now, and A/B testing shows they’re pretty much at the top of the pile in terms of ROI (That’s Return On Investment for you newbies!)

But – making a YouTube Ad can be a scary experience.  It was for us at first; but it doesn’t need to be! – Pick the right strategy and the right tools… and you could be generating massive leads and improving your conversion rates in a matter of hours….

Here’s some of the tips we wish people had told US a long time ago….

#1 – Why advertise on YouTube?

  • It is HUGE – More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube and over 6 billion hours of video are watched EVERY MONTH — or – an hour for every person on Earth.
  • Clicks are cheap – YouTube is part of the Google AdWords system – so you get the convenience of the AdWords interface  – without the expensive clicks.
  • Video is easier than ever – It does require  some work, but there are now many tools and resources available to make the process flow with ease. There’s a range of resources you can use – these are explained below.

Better still, YouTube has excess capacity in its ad inventory, which is ripe for the plucking! – .  Because YoutTube ads requires advertisers to make a video, it provides an instant barrier that has some advertisers hesitating.

That means cheap clicks for those of us willing to make a simple video.

#2 – Types of YouTube Ads

So…. lets learn about the types of ads available to you. Whether you want leads, sales, YouTube subscribers or exposure for your brand – YouTube ads have you covered.

There are three main types to choose

In-Stream Ads

In-Stream ads capture the attention of your prospects in the first five seconds.

After these first five seconds, viewers then have the choice to continue watching your ad or click the “Skip Ad” button and continue on to watch the latest ripped-off Zombie Movie

The biggest advantage of these ads is they give you instant mass-visibility and are charged on a Cost-Per-View (CPV) basis. The amount paid per view depends heavily on how in-depth you target the audience – The ad is free until it reaches 30 seconds or is played in full.

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The ad disrupts the viewers attention, and makes them focus on the marketers message . The user is then given the choice by YouTube to continue watching the ad or skip it.

When the ad is clicked it takes the user to a pricing offer on their landing page..This gives cheap exposure to (targeted) prospects whom are demonstrably  interested in their content.

So… Choose the In-Stream YouTube ad type if… You want to create an ‘instant’ impression

Sneaky tip – Target your In-Stream Ads at visitors who –

  • Are searching YouTube for specific keywords
  • Are / or have viewed similar content
  • Are watching on specific YouTube channels (Placements)
  • Visit specific web pages (Retargeting)

In-Display Ads

Are the ones appearing to the side of whatever content it is you are watching on YouTube. Shown at the top of the recommended content, they catch attention as viewers are seeing other content.

With “native advertising” being all the rage YouTube now blends the ads with the other organic listings, rather than highlighting it in a yellow box (as used to be the case).  The only giveaway is the comparatively small “Ad” in yellow.

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That’s a good thing for advertisers.

Note how they target people viewing similar content

In-Display ads do not link directly out to Landing Pages – they keep the viewer inside of the YouTube ‘space’.

These ads function differently than  In-Stream ads – Why?

Easy answer – They’re not designed to directly generate leads, conversions or sales.

The idea is to build subscriptions to a YouTube Channel or to raise the general profile of your business…  So if you’re just starting out and are looking to generate some quick returns from your Ads, maybe best left alone!  But if you are further along the road, they’re a good long-term investment

Sneaky tip – In-Display ads don’t take users directly to your website, so you need to build calls to action into your video content to shift viewers to your Landing Page.  You could:

  • Include links in the videos descriptions to a landing page
  • Include clickable annotations to take them back to your site as well.

In-Search Ads

In-Search ads respond to queries typed into the YouTube search box.

These ads are placed above the organic listings and contain a little yellow ad box next to their thumbnail. This example shows both the In-search ads (left) and an in-display ad (right) for contrast.

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The benefits of in-search are that you’re targeting your chosen market directly

Choose the In-Search ad type if… you want to get views on your YouTube content but do not want to have intrusive interruptions to your content (as with In-Stream ads). They can also be used as part of your wider strategy for building up your YouTube channel in the process

Sneaky tipMake sure you have a clear call to action in the video, an enticing thumbnail image and a strong headline for your video to entice clicks.

#3 – So…..How do we do this?

So now you know how YouTube ads can develop your business… the massive question is… HOW do you do them?

Its not easy…

Nor is it hard!

I cant tell YOU how to create the perfect YouTube video ad – You know your product and I hope you know what can sell it!  Its the one thing that no blog post can advise on, but….

There are some basics, whether you choose in-stream, in-search or in-display Ads…..

  • Stick to the point!  The viewers are there on YouTube to see the video they searched for – not yours!  But you’ve got their attention now… for a short while ONLY… so keep it SHORT and SWEET.
  • Get your logo / product / headline / recognisable person on the screen as soon as possible – in the first few seconds if possible.
  • Let your viewer know what you’re offering – quickly and clearly – and make sure they’ve got a chance to see more (if they want to) – use an obvious CTA (Call To Action) button or link as soon as you’ve got your message across.
  • Make it personal – If you’re confident that you can deliver a face-to-face presentation, go for it!  Viewers are much more likely to ‘buy’ (whether that be a Lead, a conversion or a sale) from someone they think they know!

AND MOST OF ALL…

Make it appropriate.  There is NO one format for a video ad that works across the board; but you’ve got to consider two things –

1 – Who is going to be watching this?

and

2- How much do money do you spend on them watching it?

High production values are great if you’re in Hollywood, but – are they right for you?

See the two examples below.

This is one we did for a product launch; quite some time ago

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And this is one done by John Lewis (it’s a big Store chain in Britain!)

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Now…..

Ours was a bit simpler (and this is a long time ago…. we have since taken a step up the ladder in technology since then) but it cost us (at a guess) about $15 to produce; and resulted in around $30,000 in sales!  If the newspapers are to be believed, the John Lewis ad cost them $7+ million and produced… (arguably) nothing… there isn’t a person in the country that didn’t know they were there before!!!

Keep it light, but PROFESSIONAL.  Youtube ads can make an enormous difference to your leads, conversions and sales, but make sure you don’t spend more than you’ll get back in returns – Make it easy on yourself

we’re all here to make money not lose it…..right???

So – equip yourself with the tools and training that take the hassle out of the production end and the technical side of things and concentrate on the content!

We got an early heads-up on this a couple of weeks ago – VideoX and we are VERY impressed; it’s a comprehensive Youtube ads training and its incredibly easy to use and we’ve put the video ad series (6 videos) together for our upcoming product launch – Amplifire – together in… (wait for it)

ONE MORNING!

Take a look; you’ll see what we mean!

Takeaways

  1. Youtube is the second-most viewed site on the planet (only Facebook hits more) – and it’s moving rapidly into first place.  You can’t argue with 6 Billion hits a day!
  2. There are 3 types of  YouTube Ads you can use – In-Stream, In-Display and In-Search.  You need to pick the one (or combination) thats going to deliver the best results for YOU.
  3. There isn’t any set format to a good video (one that generates returns!) – it has to be appropriate for your product or business; keep it personal, keep it ‘close to home’.
  4. Always look at cost compared to benefit – Facebook ads can be an incredibly powerful money generator; but they can cost a lot of time and effort!

And finally – Facebook is a great marketing tool, but their Ads platform is getting more expensive by the day.  A lot of marketers are already seeing better ROI from their YouTube Ads – Its a lot less crowded, and (if you do it right!) its a lot cheaper!

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