- Contest Factory
- January 19, 2022
YouTube ads have been here for a few years, but the integration of detailed targeting and the audience attraction has only recently picked up as a solid methodology to reduce acquisition cost, increase effectiveness, and create a solid forecasting method. A lot of what we know about advertising exists here – and even better when you really dive into the nuances. It’s a combination of transfer of knowledge and learning to a new platform with additional options and benefits, which ultimately is a new learning curve.
Google has fantastic insight and timing; you may not recall Disney announced the subsidiary, “GO” in November 2019 which failed at delivering the same solution Google skyrocketed with, AdWords. Google launched their platform 11 months later; excellent case for timing is everything. For this same reason when Google attempted a video channel vertical and it failed, they decided to acquire an accomplished vertical, YouTube. This union provides for an incredible amount of data if you consider the predominant browser for searching is Chrome at 65% followed by Safari at 19%.
Now enter the merging of Google Ads and YouTube to create an ad platform that offers opportunities not found in many other places. The intent of someone going to YouTube changes where they are at the funnel and it’s difficult to preproduce outside of the Google network. Consider demographics giving you their buying power, interests and affinities providing your ability to target and only “search terms” showing the in-market timing you need to reduce unqualified leads. This equation directionally aims to reduce your costs and overhead associated not only with advertising but the overhead it takes to qualify unqualified leads. Can you imagine getting the right lead more often than not? Dare to dream! Let’s show you how to get on your way to being a YouTube ad hero!
There are 3 elements to advertising on YouTube and none of them include re-purposing any creative from another platform. YouTube is different – people are seeking information and not commercials. You need to provide authentic creative to connect with your audience and attract these in-market clients with your product and service’s authenticity. Because YouTube was created for amateur creators, you do not need nor want advanced production; this will not appear authentic on YouTube. Cell phone filmed content shows you as authentic and you can create excellent content that does not make you look like an amateur with a few easy tricks.
You want to create your hook, your value add, and your call to action. These 3 elements will give you a foundation to test with your advanced targeting (we will cover shortly) to find your conversion oriented ads. You have 5 seconds to catch the attention of your in-market prospect with a wow factor hook. Then you need to provide free value to earn trust and demonstrate your knowledge and excellence; aftercall, if you are providing info they already know, it immediately starts to get the non-targets to leave and targets to stay. You are only charged for ads watched through the 5-29 second mark. This means that if you hit skip ad during that time period, you are not charged. YouTube wants you to be successful. There are some instances where you are charged by a combination of circumstances, but for the most part, 5-29 and you got yourself some free media; voila! And last part of your ad is your call to action. Be sure to have proportionate next step to the value of your ask. Some price tags require another funnel step while some should go right to the sales page.
Once you have your 2-3 minute video (not a commercial) set, you’re ready to see the inside of a pretty awesome advertising platform. While you can target the exact video you would like your ad to stream on, this becomes arduous and inefficient to scale. It is fun to test in the beginning to get your feet wet and understand what a smaller universe looks like before you move to the masses. You can also target channels people follow as well as what they search on. Consider being able to target your exact product or service and your ad shows before the content they wanted, yet your content seems to really attract them and get their attention…this is how we do it! In addition to the fun features, all the mainstream ones are there as well like HHI.
When you are setting up your campaign in Google Ads, your platform for YouTube ads, you will have a couple more options. You can have your ad show as a preview to other videos with a skip option or you can have your ads YouTube in-feed placement. The features available vary by these two YouTube ad types; for example, contextual targeting is supported for the skippable ads but not your feed ads. You can also add extensions like site links or a phone number.
You will start by creating your Google Ads account if you do not have one already; and if you do not, you can probably get a coupon to use as a credit for your 1st campaign by searching the web. Once you start your campaign set up, you will select video as your campaign type and this distributes to YouTube and partner networks. You can opt-out of network exposure, but it is very affordable, so not recommended to opt-out. It will take a couple days of learning to see what is working in your campaign, such as contextual targeting, geolocations, keywords, and learn at what point in your ad does someone click; this is great for future ad creation so you can isolate the wow factor and maximize it in your next ad creative.
Google Ads platform is a complicated platform, so you may also want to read: Google Ads: The Ultimate How-to Guide Best of luck in finding in-market prospects to reduce your ad spend for new customers.
