YouTube Marketing Strategy Part 5: YouTube Video Advertising Campaigns
In addition to driving organic traffic to your YouTube videos, you can also run YouTube video advertising campaigns to promote your YouTube videos. You’ve spent considerable amount of efforts on YouTube SEO, channel branding, channel marketing, and YouTube Analytics to get free, organic viewers. Unlike organic YouTube marketing, which takes longer time, paid marketing can show instant results but you need to pay for it.
What is YouTube Ads
Before we dive into the fundamentals on how to successfully run a YouTube video advertising campaign, let’s talk about what YouTube Ads is.
YouTube Ads, as part of Google Ads, is a form of advertising your YouTube video content on YouTube or in YouTube Search results. You can use YouTube to advertise to YouTube viewers who are looking for the product or service you’re promoting in your YouTube videos.
YouTube Ads helps you connect with the right audience and potential customers based on topics, keywords, or demographics. You also use your Google Ads account to track views, costs, and budget details.
However, you can only target YouTube ads to countries where YouTube allows YouTube Ads.
Types of YouTube Ads
Before running your YouTube video advertising campaign, you need to find out which types of ads you want. This very much depends on your YouTube marketing goals. In this section, we’ll walk you through each video ad format to engage your audience in different ways on YouTube and across Google video partner sites.
Skippable In-Stream Ads
Skippable in-stream ads play before, during or after other YouTube videos on YouTube and across websites and apps running on Google video partners. They are skippable after five seconds.
With CPV bidding, you pay when your video is watched for 30 seconds or in full if it’s shorter than 30 seconds or when your video is clicked. With target CPM, target CPA and Maximise conversions bidding, you pay based on impressions.
Skippable in-stream ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaign goals like sales, leads, website traffic, brand awareness and reach, as well as product and brand consideration.
Non-skippable in-stream ads
Non-skippable in-stream ads are 15 seconds (or shorter) and play before, during or after other videos on YouTube and across websites and apps running on Google video partners. They aren’t skippable.
They use target CPM bidding, so you pay based on impressions.
Non-skippable in-stream ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaign goals like brand awareness and reach.
Bumper Ads
Bumper ads are 6 seconds or shorter and play before, during or after another video on YouTube videos and across websites and apps running on Google video partners. They aren’t skippable.
They use target CPM bidding, so you pay based on impressions.
Bumper ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaign goals like brand awareness and reach.
Video Discovery Ads
A video discovery ad is a thumbnail image of your video with text on YouTube search results, alongside related YouTube videos, or on the YouTube mobile home page. The video then plays on the YouTube watch or channel homepage.
You pay only when viewers click on the thumbnail and watch your video.
Video discovery ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaign goals like product and brand consideration.
Outstream Ads
Outstream ads play without sound but can be tapped to unmute. They are mobile-only ads only on websites and apps running on Google video partners but not on YouTube. They are designed to increase your video reach at an efficient cost.
For mobile web placements, they appear in banners. In mobile apps, they appear in banners, interstitials, in-feed, native, as well as in both portrait and full-screen modes.
You pay based on vCPM i.e. when your video is watched for two seconds or longer.
Outstream ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaign goals like brand awareness and reach.
Masthead Ads
Masthead ads are reserved media placements on YouTube only available through a Google sales representative.
On desktop, masthead ads auto-play without sound for up to 30 seconds and can be clicked to unmute. After auto-play, they become video thumbnails. They appear at the top of the YouTube Home feed. Viewers are taken to the YouTube watch page for the video when clicking on the video or thumbnail. They include an information panel that automatically uses assets from your YouTube channel including optionally two companion videos in this panel.
On mobile devices, masthead ads auto-play without sound for its full duration. They appear at the top of the YouTube app or m.youtube.com Home feed. A masthead ad consists of a video thumbnail, headline, description, and an external CTA. It automatically pulls in your YouTube channel name and icon. Viewers are taken to the YouTube watch page for the video when clicking on the video or thumbnail.
On TV screens, masthead ads auto-play without sound for its full duration. They appear at the top of the YouTube app for TVs. Viewers can use their remote controls to click on the ads. After auto-play, they become video thumbnails. Viewers are taken to the YouTube watch page for the video watch full-screen when clicking on the video or thumbnail. You can’t add a CTA to a masthead ad on TV screens.
You pay on a fixed cost-per-day (CPD) or CPM basis. However, masthead ads on TV screens can only be booked on a CPM basis.
Masthead ads are meant for YouTube video advertising campaigns to drive awareness for a new product or service or reach a wide audience in a short period of time.
Responsive Display Ads
You can upload your images, headlines, logos, videos and descriptions. Google will automatically generate responsive display ads to be shown on the Google Display Network. You can target your responsive display ads to appear on specific or all YouTube videos or channels. You can also exclude your ads in certain YouTube videos. Display ads aren’t YouTube videos but text and a thumbnail so they aren’t meant for YouTube video advertising campaigns.
Create YouTube Ad Campaigns
Sign in to your Google Ads account, create a new campaign with a campaign goal including sales, leads, website traffic, product and brand consideration, brand awareness and reach, app promotion, or local store visits & promotions. Select videos. Name your YouTube video advertising campaigns.
Determine your bid strategy based on your goals like clicks, impressions, conversions, or views. Enter your average daily budget, or daily or monthly spending limits. Enter your ad dates. Select where your ads will appear including discovery, all of YouTube or Google Display Network.
Select your audience’s language, location, demographics (age, gender, parental status, household income, new homeowners, college students, new parents, etc.), and interests (topics and keywords based on search history). Don’t forget to remarket to viewers who have interacted with your other videos, website or app.
Content exclusion for YouTube video advertising campaigns lets you exclude your ads from appearing in certain categories of websites, videos and mobile apps inappropriate for your brand.
To drive deeper awareness of your product or service, you can create a video ad sequence campaign under the “Product and brand consideration” and “Brand awareness and reach” goals in Google Ads.
Find out in detail about how to create a successful YouTube video advertising campaign here.
YouTube Ads Tips
- Make sure your brand appears in the first five seconds and throughout your YouTube video ad.
- Use narrative structures to tell a better story and create a more effective YouTube video advertising campaign.
- Hook your viewers immediately with an emotion, a déjà vu moment, humor, surprises, familiarity, etc.
- Use video action campaigns to drive more leads and conversions by adding prominent CTAs, headline text overlays, and an end screen to your YouTube video ads.
- Use YouTube video templates to create more cost-effective YouTube video advertising campaigns.
Conclusion
Voila! You’ve got a killer YouTube marketing strategy nailed to grow your YouTube fan base. Here is a summary.
- Publish new content consistently.
- Create different types of videos for a wider audience.
- Engage your subscribers and viewers.
- Optimize your YouTube SEO.
- Track your YouTube Analytics.
- Run your YouTube video advertising campaigns effectively.
If you apply the above tips on a consistent basis, you will deliver astounding results over time.
