INTRODUCTION
According to YouTube, more than 2 billion users visit the platform each month, which amounts to approximately one-third of all internet users.
Plus, it’s the most widely used online platform among adults in the United States, and paid YouTube mobile advertising is 84 percent more likely to engage viewers than traditional TV advertising.
Following are some tips on how to use YouTube ads to promote your business.
HOW TO CREATE A YOUTUBE AD CAMPAIGN
Since Google owns YouTube, you will need a Google Ads account to advertise on YouTube. You also must create a YouTube channel for your business and upload the video you’d like to use for your ad. Google requires its YouTube URL to run the ad.
Once your accounts are set up, log in to Google Ads (make sure it’s in expert mode) and click “Campaigns” from the menu. Click the blue plus sign and “+ New campaign” to get started.
Create Your Campaign:
Select the campaign goal that best meets your marketing objectives. For instance, you should choose “website traffic” if you want the YouTube ad to push people to a specific page of your website or “sales” if your primary goal is to sell products. Make sure the goal is compatible with video ads.
Click “Video” under campaign type to create a YouTube ad. Some campaign goals allow for different types of video ads while others have limited selections. For example, “brand awareness and reach” allows you to select skippable in-stream ads, 15-second non-skippable in-stream ads or others. Select your desired format (if applicable) and click “Continue” to move on to the next steps.
Name your campaign so you can easily find it later. Consider a format that includes what you’re promoting, the date, campaign goal and type of ad (e.g. “Winter 2021 offer – web traffic – skippable video ad).
Then select your bid strategy (e.g. maximize conversions), budget and dates. You can choose a daily budget or set the total amount you’d like to spend on the campaign. You also can choose a start date with no end to run the campaign continuously or a start and end date to focus on a specific time frame.
From here, you’ll assign the network, location and language for your YouTube ad. You may opt to show your ads exclusively on YouTube, or you may select “Video partners on the Display Network” to expand your reach to other sites within Google’s network. You also may choose one or multiple locations. Select the cities, regions or countries you’d like to target or set a target radius (e.g. within 20 miles of a city) under “Advanced search.”
Next, select the inventory type and content you’d like to exclude. For example, “Standard inventory” will prevent your ad from appearing on videos that contain excessive profanity, graphic violence and other types of sensitive content. You may further refine placement by excluding additional types of content (e.g. live streaming videos) or content labels (e.g. mature audiences) that don’t align with your brand.
Finally, click “Additional settings” to establish additional parameters like setting a conversion action (e.g. call, form completion) for the campaign or targeting a specific type of device (e.g. mobile phones). You also can create an ad schedule or limit the number of times someone sees your ad in this section.
Set up the Ad Group:
Once your campaign is set up, you will create your ad group. If applicable, choose the ad group type. For example, the “website traffic” campaign goal allows you to choose “standard” to create skippable in-stream ads or “responsive” to create YouTube ads that can show in multiple formats, like in-stream or video discovery.
Then name your ad group. Again, you want to be specific (e.g. Winter 2021 offer – web traffic video conversions – standard in-stream) so you can easily monitor performance at a later date. Plus, you can create multiple ad groups per campaign, so you’ll want to be able to differentiate them.
Define your targeting parameters by selecting demographics (e.g. age, gender) and audience characteristics that match your buyer personas or align with your brand. You can search for ideal attributes under “Audiences” or browse various in-market and life events. For instance, a clothing retail business could select “Apparel & Accessories” from the list of in-market audiences or one of its subcategories, like “Women’s Apparel.”
Select relevant keywords, content topics and placements to further define where your ads will appear. For example, the clothing retail business should focus on keywords related to the products they sell (e.g. designer dresses) and content topics such as fashion & style and apparel.
Launch Your YouTube Ad:
The last component of your campaign is the ad itself. Copy and paste the URL for the video you posted to your YouTube channel under “Your YouTube Video.”
Next, fill in the required ad information, including the final URL (e.g. the link to the desired landing page), call-to-action text, headline, long headline (for some ad formats) and description. You also have the option to add a tracking template and custom URL parameters.
Google will show you previews of what your ad will look like before you launch your campaign. When you are finished, name your ad and click “create campaign” to submit your YouTube ad campaign for review. You may make edits or add additional video ads to your ad group at any time.
YOUTUBE AD BEST PRACTICES
As more advertisers turn to YouTube to promote their brand, it’s important to create ads that stand out and connect with your audience. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Create an engaging video ad. The first 5-6 seconds of your video ad are crucial for capturing viewers’ attention. Use memorable visuals, catchy music, a captivating question or something humorous or suspenseful to hook your audience.
Then move on to the “problem.” Highlight key pain points or needs that relate to your audience and introduce your brand as the solution.
A simple example involves placing your logo in the corner of the ad and mentioning your business in a voiceover. Ideally, you’ll want to integrate your brand into the video itself, but it’s most important to showcase your product or service within the first five seconds.
Optimize your video for mobile. Use tighter framing, brightness and contrast to make it easier to view on a small screen. You also should build ads for sound on, as most YouTube ads are viewed with audio.
Create a clear call-to-action. Tell viewers what to do next. Should they sign up for a free offer or click to learn more about your brand? Make this painfully obvious to improve results.
Follow Google’s YouTube ad specs and formatting guidelines. Keep skippable in-stream ads between 15 and 30 seconds and follow the character limits for text. Your text will appear truncated if you exceed the recommended values.
Monitor performance. Log into Google ads on a weekly basis to check performance data, such as clicks and views. Make adjustments as needed (e.g. turn off underperforming ads) and compare the data to your business objectives.