We all know about Facebook and Instagram advertisement. But have you ever considered advertising on YouTube? YouTube has gone through huge growth over the past years and is now one of the largest search engine websites worldwide.
In this blog, we will look at video advertising on YouTube. We will look at the different advertising options.
YouTube: The numbers
At the moment YouTube has 1.5 billion active users. This is a lot. To help you compare with other platforms, Facebook currently has around 2.2 billion users, Instagram 800 million and Twitter 330 million.
A few more advantages ...
Besides the numbers, another great advantage of video advertising on YouTube is the fact that you can target users based on their Google search history. This, combined with targeting by YouTube history, allows advertisers to reach a group of people that is most likely interested in the product or service you're advertising.
Pricing is another advantage. Have you noticed that when watching a YouTube ad, do you often have the opportunity to close the ad after 5 seconds? The interesting thing about this type of ad is the fact that the advertiser only pays when people actually watch the ad or engage with it. If a viewer clicks away after 5 seconds, the advertiser doesn't pay.
When a viewer does watch the ad, payments are calculated per view. An average price per view is between $ 0.10 and $ 0.30, but this depends on different factors such as targeting ad goals.
Which types of ads can you choose from?
The 'click away after 5 seconds' ads, which are actually called 'TrueView Ads', are the most common and well-known type or YouTube ad. However, there are a few more types available. Let's compare the different types.
TrueView Ads
start with, we have the famous TrueView Ads. As mentioned earlier, the great thing about a TrueView is the fact that an advertiser watches when a viewer watches the video or clicks on the CTA. This makes advertising cost-effective and gives viewers a choice to watch or not watch.
There are different types of TrueView Ads: The In-stream and the Discovery video.
The In-stream video shows up at the start of a YouTube video. You, as an advertiser, only pay when a viewer watches more than 30 seconds of your ad.
The Discovery video is visible on the YouTube search result page, between all the other videos. Only when a viewer decides to click on your video, you pay. Again, this is a very cost-effective way of advertising. No one clicks on a video they are not interested in, so you can be sure your video gets watched by the right people.
2. Pre-roll ads
A second relatively common type or YouTube ad is the "Pre-roll ad." Pre-roll ads are not skippable and last between 15 and 20 seconds. A Pre-roll can be placed in front of a video (pre-roll) or in the middle of videos that last 10 minutes or longer (mid-roll).
The advantage of this type of video is the fact that viewers don't have a choice: they have watched the video they clicked on. This will result in more views than with TrueView videos, but the views are most likely or lower quality. Where you can be pretty sure TrueView watchers are interested in your message, many Pre-roll viewers probably just watch your video because they have to.
Although the costs of a Pre-roll ad are similar to those of a TrueView ad, a pre-roll campaign will most likely end up more expensive. Where an advertiser only pays for a view when a viewer actually watches a TrueView video, Pre-roll videos will always be watched and charged.
3. Bumper ads
The third type of video ad that YouTube offers is the Bumper ad. The Bumper ad only lasts 6 seconds, is non-skippable, and shows up at the end of a video.
The advantage of this type of ad is that people often experience it as less annoying than a long and non-skippable ad. However, in only 6 seconds, you are a bit limited in what you can show. Therefore a Bumper ad is excellent for creating brand awareness, but for sharing real information, more time will most likely be necessary.
Bumper ads are proven to be successful, though. In a study on 300 Bumper ads , Google recently found that "9 out of 10 ads drove a significant lift in ad recall."
For some inspiration, Google composed this leaderboard with a few beautiful bumper ads from all over the world.
Payment works a bit different for Bumper ads compared to the other types of video ads. Instead of paying per view, you pay for your Bumper ads per 1000 impressions (CPM). The exact price differs, and depends on your targeting and competition. However, it is possible to set a daily limit to make sure you don't spend more money than you want to.
How does it work?
YouTube video ads are set up and managed in Google Ads . Setting up a campaign is done in 3 steps.
The first step is, or course, the creation and selection of a video. A high-quality video is incredibly important and defines the success of your campaign. Your video reflects what you want to communicate as a company. It can attract people or push them away. Make sure you clearly define the goal of your video: Do you want to create brand awareness? Or would you like to give the viewer extensive knowledge about your product or service? There are many useful tools available for creation or video ads, but we think Animoto is a great tool if you don't have a lot of editing experience.
The second step is the definition of your target. Keep in mind that the more specific your target, the narrower your reach will be. However, the people you do reach will most likely be relevant to your company. In Google Ads, you can start by choosing the age, gender, family situation, income, and education or your target market. For more focus, you can also choose to target more specific features such as interests or recent life events. Think of 'recently became a parent' or 'recently moved.'
The last step is the financial planning or your campaign. Here you decide how much you would like to spend, and in which way. Per click, skippable or non-skippable, or per 1000 impressions. Also, try to define the total amount you would like to spend on your ad, and enter this amount as a total - or daily limit. This way you can be sure you won't be charged more than you can afford.
Can we help you set up a video ad?
Are you interested in using YouTube to advertise your business, but unsure where to start? We would love to help you get started. Feel free to contact us for a FREE strategy call or join our Social Media Gids Community . Here you can access a large number of useful resources and join the conversation with other social media students and experts.
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Francisca Zimmermann is a social media expert with a background in research and a love for learning new things. She travels the world looking for beautiful places and interesting cultures, while she dives into the world of her clients to be able to write about them and their interests as a real 'insider'.
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