The 3 Components of YouTube Advertising You Need To Know About
YouTube is a growing social media platform, especially since video content is doing so well at the moment. According to the fourth annual State of Video Marketing Survey, 97% of markets say video helped increase user understanding of their product or service. More than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube each day.
It would make sense to be interested in creating an ad for YouTube, considering YouTube is the second most-used website in the world. However, this means a lot of marketing competition. To get a jump start at what it takes to create a YouTube advertisement, here are three things you need to know:
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YouTube Ad Displays
The first of the three components on creating a YouTube advertisement is that there are 6 types of advertising displays. Each ad display has different time lengths and different options for the viewers to interact with the ad.
- Skippable video ads (TrueView Ads)
TrueView advertisements are ads where the viewer has the option to skip, and are required by YouTube to be from 12 seconds to 6 minutes in length. TrueView ads are the most commonly used amongst advertisers because they only have to pay when a viewer interacts with the ad by clicking on the CTA or watches the ad for at least 30 seconds. TrueView ads also have two formats: Video Discovery and In-Stream Ads. Video Discovery ads are found on the home page, search results page, or as related videos. InStream ads start playing right before the video.
- Non-skippable video
Non-skippable ads last up to 15-20 seconds and are paid for on a CPM (Cost per thousand) basis. According to YouTube advertising format rules, non-skippable ads must be watched (i.e., they can’t be skipped) and can run either before, during, or after the running of your video.
- Bumper ads
Bumper advertisements last for six seconds and they must be watched before your intended video starts to play. However, because the ad is so short, it is not much of an inconvenience for viewers. According to HootSuite, Bumper ads are a great complement to a larger video campaign, considering the ad’s length. Bumper ads are also paid for on a CPM basis.
These next three advertisements are not necessarily videos ads. They are images or banners used as Calls To Action and promote interactivity. HootSuite has a great guide on YouTube Advertisements that go over each type of ad more descriptively if you are looking for more information.
- Display Ads
Display ads are usually located right above the list of suggested videos.
- Overlay Ads
Overlay ads are banners that pop up at certain points of the video, much like the TrueView and non-skippable ad. Viewers have the option to close out of these right when they appear. Overlay ads are less invasive because they do not take up the entire screen.
- Card Advertisements
Card advertisements are much smaller than the Overlay ad. They appear on the lower-left side of the video near the time bar and have a short CTA with a link to the business’s website underneath.
2. Content Value for Your YouTube Ad
What should your video ad contain? Now that you know the different types of display ads for YouTube, you can set a time length for your video. If you choose a non-skippable or TrueView ad, you will want to tell a story. For TrueView ads especially, you will want to make sure the first three seconds of the video is valuable. You want your viewer to continue watching, so you will need to make sure your video content is interesting and relevant to your audience.
Even with a non-skippable ad, you still have the chance of your viewer clicking on a different tab, completely ignoring all of your hard work. If you are interested in learning more creating a YouTube advertisement that your viewers will not pass over, this blog post by the Digital Marketing Institute talks about adding value to your video advertisement, and what your video production company do to create an “actionable online video.”
3. Creating an AdWords Campaign for Your YouTube Ad
Because YouTube is owned by Google, you will use Google AdWords through your YouTube marketing campaign. In AdWords, some of the main things you will have to think about consist of:
- A name for the entire campaign
- A goal
- A budget and bid amount
- An audience you want to target
This guide on YouTube advertising by HubSpot has a fully-detailed “How-To” on AdWords campaigns. Check this out if you are ready to take the next step with your YouTube ad.
Using these three tips, you should be able to get started on creating a YouTube advertisement that can compete with other businesses. YouTube is not something most advertisers first think of though. This is why it is always good to have some basic knowledge on all social media platforms because you will then know how to create content for different displays, how to use AdWords and campaigns for each platform, and what type of material works best.
Let St. Louis SEO for Growth Help You Get a Head Start with Your YouTube Ad
At St. Louis SEO for Growth, we work to improve your online presence in order for your business to be seen on all different social media platforms, such as YouTube. Contact us today for your free consultation!