YouTube's video-first format and engaged audience make it an ideal space for brands to showcase their value and establish thought leadership.
Advertisers must re-evaluate their ad strategies and focus on audience-based targeting and creating content that aligns with YouTube's goal of improving user experience and session duration.
Creating longer video ads with valuable content can help advertisers earn viewers' trust, deliver a better user experience, and increase conversion rates.
Deep dives
The Importance of YouTube Ads
YouTube ads have become a powerful marketing tool due to the platform's immense growth and user engagement. With an increasing number of people treating YouTube as a primary source of content, it offers a unique opportunity for brands to reach a highly engaged audience. YouTube's emphasis on user experience and the platform's social media/search engine dynamic make it an ideal space for brands to showcase their value and establish thought leadership. Advertisers can leverage YouTube's video-first format, unmuted audio, and longer session durations to create compelling ads that effectively engage and influence viewers.
Recent Changes to YouTube Advertising
YouTube has made significant changes to its targeting options for conversion-focused campaigns. Placement targeting, keyword targeting, topic targeting, and similar audience targeting have been either removed or folded into different targeting options. This shift has made it more challenging for advertisers to reach their desired audiences effectively. Additionally, YouTube has introduced a new financial model that penalizes ads designed to take viewers off the platform, resulting in significantly higher costs. Advertisers must re-evaluate their ad strategies and focus on audience-based targeting and creating content that aligns with YouTube's goal of improving user experience and session duration.
Creating Effective YouTube Ads
To create compelling YouTube ads, advertisers should follow the 'EDUCATE' framework. This framework involves capturing attention in the first few seconds by mentioning the video's topic and target audience, followed by a demonstration of the content's value. The demonstration should follow the 'Why, What, How, and What If' format, explaining why the topic is important, what viewers need to know, how they can apply the information, and the potential benefits or consequences. The unique aspect of the video should be highlighted, emphasizing the creator's values and perspectives that make their solution distinct. By adhering to this framework, advertisers can create engaging ads that educate viewers and build trust and rapport.
Using Longer Video Ads to Build Relationships on YouTube
Building relationships with viewers on YouTube is crucial for advertising success. By creating longer video ads, such as 10-minute videos with valuable content, advertisers can earn viewers' trust and inform them about their product or service. Although longer ads may have lower click-through rates and higher CPMs, the well-informed viewers who do click are more likely to convert at higher rates. Including subtle call-to-actions and showcasing valuable content within the longer ads helps advertisers build strong relationships with viewers and deliver a better user experience.
YouTube Keyword Research and the Power of Organic Video Ads
Keyword research on YouTube can be challenging, but it's important for creating effective ads. Rather than relying solely on keyword research tools, a more effective approach is to start with a seed keyword and explore related content on YouTube. By analyzing video titles and thumbnails that rank highly for those keywords, advertisers can derive keyword ideas that resonate with viewers. Testing various keywords in campaign ads and examining retention rates can help identify effective keywords. Furthermore, structuring ads as organic video ads, displayed appropriately in a viewer's flow, can provide a more subtle and engaging ad experience that generates high retention and lowers CPMs.
Want more customers? Wondering how to create YouTube ad content that qualifies viewers before they click through to your website? To discover a new ad strategy for YouTube, I interview Tom Breeze.
