Video content is all the rage nowadays, judging by recent trends in marketing and consumer behaviour. YouTube is the go-to video consumption application and website for consumers, boasting over 2 billion monthly active users, making it a prime opportunity for businesses both small and large to engage customers with targeted video advertising.
However, with such a crowded audience base, businesses of all sizes are finding it increasingly difficult to stay ahead of their competitors, and capture the attention of prospective leads and customers. You may spend a considerable marketing budget on creating high-quality video marketing material, but may find that clicks and conversions aren’t happening once they’re launched. Or, alternatively, you aren’t attracting the types of buyers that you want through their YouTube video ads.
There could be many scenarios why a YouTube ad may not be as successful as you hoped it would be. However, knowledge is power – and the video production and digital marketing experts here at Ginger Digital have created a short guide to help you get your YouTube video campaigns off to the best start possible.
Important Statistics About YouTube Ads
It’s important to understand whether YouTube is the right marketing channel for you to promote your brand, products or services. Ask yourself whether you would see tangible and measurable results through one of YouTube’s many PPC advertising models, or whether a consistent stream of social media marketing ads or standalone PPC ads may make more effective channels for your budget. If so, remember these important statistics.
- Average viewing session length on mobile is over 40 minutes. This means that viewers are willing to spend a significant amount of time watching videos on their phones. This can translate into more exposure for your ad.
- YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any television network in the UK. This demographic is highly coveted by many brands, so reaching them through YouTube can be a highly effective strategy.
- The average cost-per-view for YouTube ads is around £0.05-£0.15. This is a relatively low cost compared to other forms of digital marketing. This makes YouTube a cost-effective option for small businesses.
Examples of Successful YouTube Ads Campaigns
- John Lewis Christmas Advertisements The John Lewis brand has become known for its emotional and heart-warming Christmas advertisements that are eagerly anticipated every year. These ads have become a cultural phenomenon in the UK helping establishing them as a beloved and trusted brand.
- Compare the Market This brand, which offers price comparison services for insurance products, has become well-known in the UK thanks to its meerkat-themed narratives. The ads feature CGI meerkats in various funny scenarios, which have helped to make Compare the Market a memorable and popular brand.
- Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ ad This advertisement featuring notable NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was a controversial but highly successful ad campaign that went viral on YouTube. The ad promoted a message of social justice and became a talking point across the world. This increases brand awareness and positive sentiment towards Nike.
Of course, these ads are the result of considerable marketing budget and pre-existing brand awareness, which many small- to medium-sized businesses are not always privileged with. However, while it’s easy to remember the adage of imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the best way for your YouTube advertising campaign to stand out is to create content and messaging that is unique to your audience and that reflects your brand.
How to Create a Winning YouTube Ad Campaign
- Define your audience through in-depth research. Firstly, you need to do some audience research before you begin delving into the campaign setup itself. Find out who you are trying to target? What are the elements of your video that they’re going to engage with? How are you going to capture their attention? Consider the stage your viewers are at in your sales funnel, and create your YouTube campaign around that.
- Get your video production or animation underway. Investing in professional video production services or in-house whiteboard animation are both effective ways to give your video content some additional credibility, and tick many of those engagement goals for your viewers. Either way, this’ll take time, so consider doing this early.
- Create a YouTube channel that mirrors your existing branding. If you don’t already, create a YouTube profile and make sure that it is consistent with all of your other existing branded material, such as your logo, website, and social media accounts. Consistency is crucial in winning audience trust.
- Link your channel with your Google Ads account. With Google Ads, you can control where your ad appears, how long it runs and who sees it. Connecting your YouTube channel with Google Ads allows you to see important metrics worth paying attention to, such as clicks, engagements, CPV, views and view rate, among others.
- Choose the right YouTube ad bidding strategy. Your bidding strategy will depend on the type of campaigns and goals you have. Consider whether you want viewers to take direct action, to generate web traffic, increase views or interactions, or increase brand awareness, research on what is the right bidding method for your ad type.
- Set the right type of audience targeting method. This lets you define who you want to reach, which you can assign by demographics, intents or interests. They can be arbitrary qualities such as age, gender or location, or additional traits like affinity segments. There are plenty of targeting options to consider.
- Choose the right type of YouTube ad. YouTube offers the chance to create skippable or non-skippable in-stream video ads, discovery ads, bumper ads, among others. Each one has unique specifications, and there are benefits and drawbacks for all, so choose wisely.
- Set your video campaign to live. After entering your budget and ticking all of the above boxes, enter the link to your ad and launch your campaign.
YouTube advertising campaigns can be immensely powerful at driving viewers to your brand. However, your ad’s success will largely depend on how well it connects with your audience, which is why it’s important to measure your campaign analytics, see what can be improved and how you can make your ads more engaging and effective.
As a general rule of thumb, your YouTube ad content should:
- Be immediately engaging;
- Have meaning;
- Address a customer pain point;
- Contain a narrative;
- Give the audience a clear CTA (call to action).
Free Video Marketing Campaign Review and Consultation
Ginger Digital would like to extend the offer of a free, no-obligation video marketing review with one of our experts. We are an experienced, full-service marketing agency with in-house video experts and PPC specialists, and we have delivered numerous winning video marketing campaigns for a wide range of clients in various sectors.
If you want expert advice on the right YouTube ad type, goals, quality, messaging and content, in an easy-to-understand way, get in touch with Ginger Digital today.
