If television has taught advertisers anything, it’s that video is king when it comes to building brand awareness.
But as you know, getting too comfortable with one platform is never a good idea.
Considering the fact that users watch more than a billion hours of video per day on YouTube, and that TV viewership is declining, it’s clear that advertisers must adjust to modern-day consumer preferences and embrace this digital platform, just as they’ve done with past advertising mediums.
Why advertise on YouTube?
While YouTube and television are both visual mediums, YouTube is in some ways far more powerful to you as an advertiser.
Unlike television, YouTube is available as a constant resource to consumers. It reaches your customers while they’re looking at their cell phones during their morning commutes, on their tablets as they’re hanging out with friends, and on their computers while they’re doing research at work.
The benefits of advertising on YouTube are not limited to reach, either. Advertising is ultimately about building engagement and inspiring action with your audience, and that is where YouTube as a platform really stands out.
Here are a few reasons why YouTube excels at customer engagement:
- Advertisements are highly targeted (you can reach customers who are searching for specific topics from specific locations – at specific times of day).
- YouTube creators can bring sponsored content to their fans, who are already engaged.
- YouTube has options for posting clickable calls-to-action (CTAs) with ads, leading customers straight to your chosen destination website.
- With YouTube Analytics and Google Analytics, you can get near-instant feedback on whether your campaign is working, which means you can react quickly to save your campaign (and money), and increase engagement.
YouTube Advertising Options
The flexibility of YouTube ads makes it ideal for creative control.
You can purchase a spot as short as 6 seconds long, or you can push the boundaries by posting a video several minutes long (YouTube has no time limit for skippable ads). With so many options, how do you pick the “right” one?
Like any digital marketing initiative, YouTube Ads is a goal based solution – you’ll need to decide what business objective you’re trying to reach when choosing an ad format. You’ll need to consider audience behavior, too. Some formats are only available on specific devices.
YouTube currently has 6 options for ads:
- Display ads appear to the right of videos and are viewable to desktop users.
- Overlay ads are
image or text-based ads that are displayed on the lower 20% of your video. They’re semi-transparent so viewers can still watch the rest of your ad. They’re available for desktop users. - Bumper ads are non-skippable videos up to 6 seconds in length. These appear on
desktop and mobile devices, including tablets. - Non-skippable video ads can run 15 to 20 seconds long, depending on standards for your targeted region. These appear on
desktop and mobile devices, including tablets. - Skippable video ads give viewers the option of skipping them after 5 seconds. These appear on mobile, desktop, TV, and game consoles.
- Sponsored cards appear as teasers alongside your video. They appear on desktop and mobile devices.
In addition to these 6 options, advertisers can reserve YouTube’s homepage masthead through a Google sales representative. While less targeted than other ad formats, the masthead provides the most visibility for brand awareness.
Start your YouTube advertising campaign today.