The inception of social media has affected how businesses work. Facebook, Twitter, and especially YouTube allowed them to increase their reach. Advertising is not more accessible than before. No longer do companies need to rely exclusively on billboards and Tv commercials. They can attract customers using social media – be it by ads or through influencers.
However, it is essential to note that all companies have this privilege. Therefore, you can argue that it does not ease the competition one bit. Even if a business can do video marketing, it may still find it hard to reach the top.
Companies need to look for new marketing strategies constantly if they want to be successful. However, the business environment and consumer behavior are rapidly evolving. So, marketers may find it hard to keep up.
Fortunately, YouTube came up with a solution to this problem. It has launched video experiments in Google Ads.
What Are Video Experiments?
Google believes that experimentation should be a critical part of any successful marketing strategy. By relying on proven results, leading marketers can stay agile in dynamic markets and craft more effective campaigns at scale. Moreover, experimentation allows them to identify the true impact of their efforts on business results. Experimentation offers companies to come up with efficient and cost-effective campaigns. It is a lot better than making blind guesses.
Knowing this, Google allows marketers to do video experiments. It helps them determine which of their video ads is more effective on YouTube.
How does it work? Companies can test different videos with the same audience. Through this, they can identify which of the videos resonates with their audience the most. The best thing is, it is easy to set up.
Creating a Video Experiment
Just like any other experiment, it starts with a hypothesis. In this case, a marketer’s hypothesis should be tied with their overall goal for the campaign. For example, would a 2-minute tutorial work better than a 15-second direct video? Or would it be the reverse?
After formulating a hypothesis, marketers would need to create at least two video campaigns. The campaigns should each have a different creative or video ad. On the flip side, they should use the same settings, such as audiences, bids, ad formats, and more. This will make it easier to compare. Also, this method ensures that marketers will be able to understand how each video ad performs independently of other campaign characteristics.
After all these preparations are done, marketers can proceed with setting up the actual experiment. The first step here is to set up 2 to 4 different groups, also known as experiment arms. While four is the max number of arms permitted, Google recommends sticking to just 2. Google explains that the more experiment arms you have, the more divided your audience will be. So, limiting it to 2 experiment arms ensures that the campaign has enough reach and thus, can produce statistically significant results.
How Much Can Creative YouTube Experiments Boost YouTube Views?
The answer depends on the quality of the creation! At the same time, are you buying YouTube views to boost the viral factor? Then, they should choose the campaigns (the ones they made beforehand) to include in the experiment.
Last, they must select a success metric to measure and compare the performance of the campaigns. The options are Brand Lift and Conversions. Though, marketers should keep in mind that Brand Lift is not available for all Google Ads accounts. Those who do not have a Google account representative will not measure Brand Lift in the experiment.
After that, it is a matter of waiting for results. To monitor the experiment’s performance, marketers should log into their Google Ads account, then find Drafts & Experiments > Video experiments from the menu. Results will only be available once each arm has at least 100 conversions.
Google also recommends building a library of leanings. A library offers central visibility of all experiments -past, ongoing, and upcoming ones included. With this, anyone from the company can easily navigate and refer to a single source of truth. That being said, a library would guarantee that they will keep on improving through experimentation.
Are Video Experiments Effective?
Video experiments help advertisers make informed decisions on choosing which campaign they should continue using and allocate a higher budget to. But do they really?
The answer is, yes, they do. Based on the studies Google ran in 2019 and 2020, video experiments proved to be effective. Advertisers who used video experiments to optimize for lower-funnel performance on YouTube saw a 30% lower median CPA from the better-performing creative. On the same positive note, those who optimized for upper-funnel impact saw a 60% higher ad recall from the better-performing creative.
Google cites Decathlon, the sporting goods retailer, as an example. The company tested if video creatives customized for crucial audience segments would be more effective than a single standard creative. With video experiments, they found out that the former resonated much more with audiences. Decathlon saw 175% more incremental online conversions at a 64% lower cost-per-conversion and boosted return on ad spend (ROAS) by 51%.
Similarly, India-based life insurance company Aegon Life experimented with different visual language elements – particularly text overlays. With their experiment, they were able to drive 139% more conversions and 23% lower cost-per-acquisition.
What Happens When You Combine YouTube Shorts With Experimental YouTube Videos?
These pieces of evidence should be more than enough to make it clear. Collected data helps companies improve better than gut feelings. As they say, “the numbers don’t lie.” This is akin to doing experiments buying YouTube views from sketchy websites when instead you could just reliably visit our best sites to buy YouTube views comparison and review page.
Video experiments don’t just help businesses select which campaigns to use. Experiments also enable them to see what works for their brand and audience on YouTube more broadly. By making this clear, experiments help businesses make video ads that consistently drive better outcomes.
For those who want to start experimenting now, Google suggested three easy experiments that can help find the creative sweet spot on YouTube. These are experimenting with more prominent text elements, zooming in on important subjects, or adding CTA at the beginning of the video. These all borrow from YouTube’s best practices for video ads, so don’t be afraid to try them.
Cross-Platform YouTube Experiment: Syncing With TikTok Trends and Music
By now, every internet user from anyone in the world has at least heard of TikTok. It is the fastest-growing social media platform that focuses on short-form video content. Like in YouTube, the world’s leading video streaming platform, videos on TikTok revolve around different kinds of things. Some creators talk about photography, some talk about fishing, and so on. Even an astronaut has a TikTok account.
While there are educational videos like these on the platform, that is not the most popular content. People use TikTok mainly for entertainment. If SoundCloud and Spotify are the platforms for music artists, TikTok is arguably the number 1 social media platform for dancers. The most popular content creator in TikTok is Charlie D’ Amelio. She rose to stardom because of her dance videos.
If you own a TikTok account, you might have noticed this. Whenever you open the app, you are greeted with a barrage of TikTok dance videos. You would see several TikTokers dance to the same music over and over again. Some even do gatherings so they can do group performances. For example, in the Philippines, there was the Tala Dance Challenge where TikTokers danced to the choreography of singer Sarah Geronimo’s infamous song. You would find other types of content – funny or educational videos – every now and then, but mostly, you would see users take on the dance challenge.
YouTube Shorts Wants To Attract More Dancers
This year, YouTube launched Shorts to take on TikTok. This feature allows the company to include in-demand short-form videos in its business.
YouTube Shorts has been out for a while now, and it has managed to catch up to TikTok in popularity. Countless other competitors have tried and failed. It shows that whenever video content is involved, YouTube is a force to reckon with.
Dance is something that YouTube wants to bring to its own short-form video experience. Seeing how dancers had a massive contribution to its competitor’s success, this definitely looks like the right thing to do. Indeed attracting the dancers will help the growth of the feature.
Unlike TikTok, which is oversaturated with dance videos, they are scarcely found on Shorts. Do a quick browse on Shorts right now and count how many dance videos you can find. We tried it and found one in the fifty videos that we viewed. Furthermore, the user initially posted the video on TikTok and only re-uploaded it to Shorts. A previous statement from YouTube says that is not something they want to happen. They want Shorts to be filled with original content that is seen first on the YouTube Shots section.
YouTube Partners With BTS
Yes, TikTok’s main focus is on short-form video content. But, that does not mean that singers do not benefit from the platform. There would not be dance challenges when there are no songs after all. Several singers have risen to fame after their songs became popular TikTok audios.
To bring dancers on the platform, YouTube takes an approach that is a reversed version of what TikTok did. Instead of relying on users to promote musicians, Shorts partners with already known artists to attract more users. And who will be better at filling that shoe than the K-pop sensation, BTS?
BTS and YouTube are two names people often see together in one article. For instance, BTS’ Dynamite – their first English language song’s music video, broke records when they released it on the platform. It garnered the most views a video on YouTube had in the first 24 hours of its release. Then, almost a year later, BTS’ Butter – their second English language song, overtook Dynamite. It shows how big BTS’ fanbase is.
Therefore, this partnership is not surprising at all. One might even say it is expected.
“Permission To Dance Challenge”
In this partnership, Shorts and BTS announced the “Permission To Dance Challenge.” The septet invites people to dance with them to the tune of their new track, “Permission To Dance.” This is the first-ever worldwide dance challenge on YouTube Shorts, following its recent global expansion.
From July 23 through August 14, anyone can take on the challenge. Using the YouTube mobile app, they can create a 15-second video where they replicate the core dance moves from the “Permission To Dance” music video. These dance moves are the “International Sign” gestures that mean joy, dance, and peace. But, BTS encourages those who will participate in adding their own style in their YouTube Shorts creation.
What’s in it for those who will participate? They will get a chance to be noticed by their beloved idols. BTS will spotlight their favorite submissions in a compilation video. To make entries valid, users are encouraged to use the hashtags #PermissiontoDance and #Shorts. It will allow BTS to find the videos a lot easier.
To get a closer look at the choreography, people can watch BTS’ YouTube Shorts video.
Conclusion: Experimenting With Content to Capture Tomorrow YouTube Views
Lyor Cohen, YouTube Global Head of Music, acknowledges BTS’ popularity. She says the seven are global icons. Together, they broke records after records on YouTube. Thus, their immense contribution to the music industry has made them an undeniable force. Cohen says that partnering with BTS on the Permission to Dance has humbled them. It “helps spread happiness and build lasting connections amongst BTS’ fans on YouTube across the globe.” Cohen says YouTube is stoked to see the army dance.
BTS is just as excited as YouTube and its fans. The General Manager of BigHit Music, Shin Jong Hae, says that they are excited to see the challenge come to life on YouTube Shorts. Furthermore, they are excited to see what the group’s fans will create.
The song “Permission to Dance” conveys that people do not have to ask anyone for permission to dance (or do what they want to do). BTS hopes to use this challenge for something that is just as positive. They want to bring people worldwide together through dancing – free of any limits or constraints.