YouTube boasts of over one billion users, a figure that reflects one-third of the total internet users. Statistically, there are over 1 billion videos consumed daily, with every user averaging 40 minutes of view time. Hence, it’s no surprise that the vast majority of YouTube users fall within the age of 18-39.
In addition to that, most business owners are beginning to leverage the platform to achieve their marketing goals. This includes increasing sales, getting more subscribers, or getting users to sign up to your email list.
Getting Started With YouTube Ads
Even though using YouTube for marketing purposes seems a bit vague to most marketers, taking advantage of this video platform holds a lot of promises to your business. Since few marketers are leveraging on this platform, the level of competition is quite low, thereby guaranteeing more success.
If you’re one of those looking to take advantage of this search engine to achieve the marketing goals, you will first need to learn how YouTube Ads works as well as different kinds of Ads available. In this write-up, you will learn everything you need to know about this platform as well as how to set up your first campaign.
YouTube Ads: Where To Start
YouTube advertising is simply a way of promoting your videos through paid advertising on YouTube to increase reach. YouTube Ads takes the form of short videos playing in the middle of another video or videos showing up on search results.
Just like Google Ads, YouTube Ads are of different types. Just like Google and Facebook Ads, where promotion is grouped based on objectives, YouTube Ads work similarly. You can either choose to promote your video using Trueview Ads, Non-Skippable Ads, Bumper In-stream Ads and lots more.
TrueView and Non-skippable Ads remain the most popular option among users. Hence, we will be taking a detailed look at how both works.
How does Trueview Ads work?
This is the most popular advertising format, and it’s easy to see why. It produces the best results, which explains why viewers prefer it. One thing about this type of advert format is that users will only have to watch for 30 seconds. It’s usually inserted into short videos, and users can choose to watch or skip the video.
The video can be inserted at the beginning or middle of a Video but plays for a few seconds before the Viewer is allowed to skip. The good thing about this type of ad is that the advertiser is only charged if the Viewers can clock 30 seconds watch time. If the view doesn’t, advertisers can save their money.
The length of Trueview In-stream Ads depends on the total length of the video it’s inserted in. Videos of 12 minutes can contain a Trueview ad of 30 seconds, while that of 30 minutes might have a video ad of 1 minute.
Now there are two categories of Trueview Ads, and they all work differently. The first is discovery Ads, and the second is In-stream Ads. Discovered Ads show within the search results and comes with an image thumbnail.
Non-Skippable In-stream Ads
Non-Skippable In-stream Ads is similar to Trueview In-stream Ads except that this one isn’t Skippable. Viewers are forced to watch the Ads to the end before proceeding to the next video. Viewers have less control over these Ads; hence, it poses a lot of risk to advertisers.
Non-Skippable Ads are popular and are usually positioned to stream in the middle of a video. Presently, the duration of Non-Skippable Ads is lesser than Skippable Ads. While some Trueview Ads can take as long as 30 seconds, Non-Skippable Ads only last for a maximum of 20minutes.
Unlike Skippable Ads, advertisers are charged on a CPM basis when it comes to Non-Skippable Ads. This means advertisers pay a certain amount after reaching a thousand views, but the success of these campaigns depends on your targeting.
Getting the views you want does not matter; the real issue is to ensure your marketing goals are realized. Hence, targeting and conversion matter more when it comes to Youtube Ads.
Creating YouTube Ads
Upload Your Video To YouTube
First and foremost, you will have to create a video for your campaign. Before creating your campaign, ensure your video is uploaded to your YouTube account.
Launch Campaign On Google Ads
Create a campaign via Google Ads. If you do not have a Google Ads account, create one before proceeding to this step. Once you’re in Google Ads, click the option that says “All campaigns” and tap on the (+) icon to create a new campaign.
Now, you have to choose which format you want your ads to appear. For YouTube Ads, choose “videos” from the list of available options.
Edit Campaign
Here, name your campaign using a phrase that describes what the campaign stands for. Next, proceed to set your budget by choosing the average amount to spend daily.
It’s better to start small and slowly increase your ad budget as soon as you start seeing results. Also, select a start and end date for your campaign before deciding where you want your ads to be displayed.
Select Your Audience
This session is where you have to narrow down your targeting to your ideal audience. Start by typing in a keyword that defines your audience. For Instance, if your product is about getting a flat tummy, you can start with the keyword “weight loss.”
Use the demographic option to define your audience’s age, location, gender, and relationship status.
Add Marketing Video
To make things easier, ensure you’ve uploaded your video on your account before proceeding to this step. Use the search bar to search for your marketing video in the Ads creative session. Once your video shows up, click on it to select.
Lastly, select your video format from the Menu presented to you. Most advertisers prefer Trueview In-stream Ads and Non-Skippable Ads, but your options aren’t limited to just these two. If you’re choosing Trueview In-stream, you will have to add an image as your display banner.
Select the image you want and click “save,” then continue to Ads.
Your video will be reviewed and, if approved, will go live.
Conclusion
YouTube Ads leverages on Google Ads to create its campaign. Hence if you already have an idea how Google Ads work, creating a YouTube Ac shouldn’t be an issue for you.