Get monthly notifications
A new report from Cisco says that online video will be responsible for 80% of all internet traffic. YouTube is by far the most popular video-sharing site online with over one billion highly engaged users and over one billion display hours every day.
Your customers are definitely there – but succeeding with digital marketing on YouTube will take a lot of work. You need to create high-quality content and invest in testing and targeting to be successful. But it will be worth the effort.
Two options for YouTube ads
One way to reach out to potential customers is when they’re looking at videos on YouTube. With these ads, you can decide what measures you want your users to take. If you want them to visit your website or look at more videos on your YouTube channel for example. You can also choose who gets to see your video ads based on geographic location and interests among others.
Discovery ads show up in search results when someone searches for a keyword included in the targeting.
When someone clicks on these ads, you pay for it, even if they only view it shortly. There are also in-stream ads which are played before the video someone just clicked on. One positive aspect of this type of marketing is that you only pay when your customers have shown real interest, either if they look at the whole ad, watch at least 30 seconds of it, or if they click on a card, banner or on a CTA.
The first 15 seconds are the most important
It is of the highest importance to try to captivate the viewer in the first seconds of the video by figuring out what they are looking for, their motivation and their needs. If you know what they are searching for, include that in the first seconds of your ad.
Many YouTube viewers are looking for advice and/or need to solve a specific problem, so trying to help them solve this problem will create confidence between your company and the viewer.
In these first 15 seconds, you also want to express sympathy with the viewers. If they’re expressing anger or frustration, let them know that you know what they’re going through. After you’ve done this, offer the viewer a great trustworthy solution to them. Also, a good rule is to not make longer video ads than 30 seconds.
Figure out what your customers will search for
One great way is to make a list of all of the keywords and search phrases you’ve gathered from different locations on your site. This also shows you what content is interesting to your visitors. On YouTube, users tend to search for a generic keyword, look through the available suggestions and then choose the video that interests them the most.
Make a list of key phrases you believe your visitors are using, enter them into the search bar and see what suggestions appear. Then use the results to make a list of keywords that you want to target.
Your best targeting options
When you’ve figured out what your visitors search for, you also need to know what topics are of interest to them. Go through your traffic to select the video topics that seem to be of most interest to your target audience. Start out with a wide targeting, and once you’ve identified the right customer, create campaigns to target them specifically.
What many marketers do wrong today is that they use direct response marketing on YouTube, and focus on the number of clicks. A smarter approach is to go the other way around and use branding to see what impact the ad has on your brand.
Set up a brand campaign and spend a certain amount per day on customers who haven’t been to your website with an ad on YouTube. Then review how many searches there have been per day and what impact that has had on your brand. Don’t focus on the number of clicks or how many conversions you’ve had from that campaign but on the impact on your brand.
Use YouTube with remarketing for specific users on your page
A user who has shown great interest in your products and left with an abandoned cart, for example, could be segmented - and you could show YouTube ads to them specifically. If you have many brands and products. Short inspiring video ads could be very effective to get them back and finish that purchase.
If you have very few products, custom-made ads for that specific product could prove to be the tipping point of getting them back and finishing their purchase.
Read more about Google Ads and digital marketing in these posts:
How to use remarketing in Google Ads
Top 3 ways to increase ROI in Google Ads
Featured Articles
The Full Funnel Approach and Pinterest
Today, we're going to delve into the significance of working with a full-funnel strategy and understanding why a comprehensive media mix is crucial. We'll also explore an example of how this approach and including Pinterest in the media mix led to a significant decrease in the cost of sales for Houdini.
Master Text Overlays: Boost Ad Engagement
In recent years, capturing the attention of your target audience has become more challenging than ever. Businesses and marketers are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to stand out in the crowded advertising landscape.
One effective technique to draw attention to your ad's message is through the use of text overlays on image and video ads. In this blog, we will explore the best practices for incorporating text overlays, ensuring your message is impactful without compromising the visual appeal of your ads.