Video Marketer & Content Creator
Published: Oct. 20, 2020 Read time: 3 min 5 sec
Why YouTube Ads are the Best Bang for Your Buck
The customer journey is more complex today than ever before. These days, it's not uncommon for someone to have at least six separate touchpoints before making a purchase decision.
Often, you'll see someone perform a search on their phone and then visit a website where they will read a blog. Later, while on their computer, they will receive a retargeting ad to watch a video. After, they will revisit the website. Only then will they be ready to buy a product or schedule an appointment.
I'm sure the customer journey I laid out above isn't all that different from your own experiences and buying habits. And the journey I described doesn't even take into consideration someone shopping your competition. That is why it's more important than ever before to engage with your customers and potential customers in a more personable and targeted approach.
YouTube ads are excellent in achieving those goals.
Check Off More Boxes with Video
It should come as no surprise I'm pushing video (YouTube ads in particular) as one of your top marketing solutions if you've read any of my previous blogs. What else allows you to better connect with potential customers in a more personable way?
Take into consideration the following stats:
- 68% of YouTube users watched YouTube to help make a purchase decision.
- YouTube reaches 91% of the online population in the U.S.
- YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world (2nd to its parent company, Google).
Yes, the morning I write this blog, there are reports the Justice Department will file an antitrust case against Google. But regardless of how this lawsuit plays out over the next few years (or even continues if there is a new administration in January), video advertising isn't going away. YouTube isn't going away either.
Why? Because video will only get more and not less popular. Would anyone argue that more people would rather read a solution to a problem than watch one? Video is here to stay.
And why YouTube ads are effective is the same reason why pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is effective: It allows you to cut in front of the line on search engine results pages (SERPs) – or, in this case, a video - by placing your ad in front of potential customers on an extremely popular medium.
Types of YouTube Ads
Bumper Ads
Short - usually :06 ads - often used to remarket to those who skipped your full ad.
TrueView Ad
The skippable ads. A viewer can skip after five seconds. You only pay (ding, ding – can be cost-effective for branding if you use strategically) if the viewer watches at least 30 seconds or the end of the video, whichever is shorter, so in many ways, it's just like a PPC ad.
Companion Banner
There is no charge for the Companion Banner when you run a TrueView ad. It's the little text box that appears on a YouTube video that shows after the TrueView ad was shown. Our automatic reflex is to click the Skip button, but Companion Banners often get clicked afterward when viewers think to themselves, "Hey, that might be a pretty good solution."
T.V. Advertising on Steroids
Consider how viewing habits have changed over the past decade:
- Mobile is growing: 60% of watch time happens on mobile devices.
- More YouTube views on T.V.s: It's now the fastest growing platform for YouTube.
- Viewers pay 3x more attention to ads that are relevant to them vs. ads aimed at a generic audience like you would find on broadcast advertising.*
* Source: Google/Ipsos, Video Mobile Diary, U.S., 2017
While Cable/Satellite viewership decreases, YouTube viewership goes up.
You can also target based on location, affinity, interest, or more in-depth demographics, such as marital status, homeownership, parent or nonparent, and more. You can't do that on broadcast.
What also separates YouTube from traditional T.V. advertising is that it allows brands and companies to engage with customers and potential customers by allowing them to click through to a webpage for further action or information. You can't do that on cable.
Lastly, when it comes to cost, there's no comparison: YouTube is much less expensive than if you were to advertise with your local cable station and with much greater reach and better personalization. Unlike advertising on cable, you are in control of how you're spending your ad dollars.
Bigger and better reach for less? I call that a win-win-win.
We'd be happy to discuss with a YouTube advertising strategy that will grow your business.
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