Tips for More Profitable YouTube Advertising
On February 14, 2005, a little video streaming site called YouTube first went live. Nobody could have realized then that what at first seemed like a novelty would soon become one of the most dominant entertainment platforms in existence.
Flash forward to the present, and literally, a billion hours of videos are watched on YouTube every single day. All of this, of course, represents an incredible advertising opportunity just waiting to be capitalized on…
… provided that you keep a few key things in mind, that is.
Always Make Sure You Choose the Right YouTube Ad Format
Maybe the most important thing for you to do when trying to create more profitable YouTube advertising efforts involves picking the right ad format in the first place. Luckily, there are a wide range of different formats for you to choose from depending on your needs… but that can actually harm your efforts, not help them if you’re not careful.
Generally speaking, here’s what you need to know about the various formats:
- Display ads usually appear on the right side of a feature video and just above any video suggestions list that is present.
- Overlay ads are semi-transparent and typically appear on the bottom 20% portion or so of your video.
- Skippable video ads are probably the ones that most people are familiar with, and they play before, during or even after the main video. People can skip them after five seconds, however, if they choose.
- Non-skippable video ads are essentially the same as above, only the entire ad must be watched before a video can be viewed. These can be up to 30 seconds long.
- Bumper ads can be up to six seconds in length and they, too, must be watched in their entirety before a video can be viewed.
As you can see, all of these YouTube video ad formats are executed in completely different ways – which means you need to start with your ultimate goal and work your way back to the ad format, NOT vice versa.
If you were trying to increase brand awareness ahead of your product or service launch, for example, it would be a good idea to run something like a skippable video ad. That way, people can still easily get to the content they want, but they’re still exposed to your brand’s messaging, too. If you were trying to increase leads to your website, something like bumper ads or even a slightly more traditional display ad might be more appropriate.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Thumbnail
With regards to the actual videos you’re creating and uploading to YouTube, there are a number of important things you’ll also want to keep in mind. First, never forget just how important your video’s thumbnail really is. As a representation of the experience, you’re asking someone to go on, it needs to both convey what your video will be about in a single image, AND do so in a way that entices someone to actually click on the content for themselves.
As a result, you should be spending almost as much time and effort with your thumbnail maker working on this core element as you are on editing the video itself. You can only make a first impression one time – if you don’t have a compelling thumbnail, that first impression will hardly be a positive one.
Likewise, don’t think that your thumbnail has to be JUST a static image from the actual video. Use a graph maker like Visme (which I founded) to include other visual elements, too. All of this can really help sell the idea in someone’s mind that you’re asking them to do MORE than just watch another video.
Beyond that, make sure you’re filming videos on the right topics in the first place. Use a service like Respona to not only research hot topics in your industry, but find thought influencers and other notable people to partner with on the actual content creation process.
But above all else, remember that YouTube advertising represents an enormous amount of untapped potential for savvy marketers who want to connect with a larger, younger and more engaged audience. As the streaming age continues to play out before us, the importance of this site, in particular, is only going to grow as time goes on.
Therefore, you need to start taking steps to capitalize on what it has to offer today – or you might find yourself left behind by your competitors tomorrow.
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