Running powerful YouTube advertising campaigns is one of the best ways to draw attention to your business, capture new leads, and encourage conversions.
With more than 2 billion users worldwide, YouTube is a hub of opportunity for business leaders. The channel reaches more people aged 18-49 than any broadcast or television network station. Plus, it offers businesses a range of ways to reach their target audience.
While native YouTube marketing strategies can be extremely valuable for nurturing and engaging audiences, investing in YouTube ad campaigns can offer unique benefits.
With ad campaigns, you can connect with customers at various stages of their buying journey, leverage powerful targeting tools, and use analytics to optimize your campaigns over time.
The key to success is understanding how to build and use the perfect ads.
Here are ten proven tips from YouTube experts that can help you boost your YouTube advertising ROI.
Introducing YouTube Advertising Campaigns
YouTube, owned by Google, isn’t just an entertainment platform for consumers. It’s also a powerful resource for business owners. Around 80% of both B2B and B2C marketers say they believe their YouTube ad campaigns deliver powerful conversions.
Used correctly, YouTube gives brands a valuable opportunity to engage and nurture their target audience, build brand awareness, and distinguish themselves from the competition.
There are various ways you can advertise on YouTube, including:
- Non-skippable in-stream ads
- Skippable in-stream ads
- Outstream ads
- In-feed video ads
- Bumper ads
- Masthead ads
One thing to note is that although Google owns YouTube, advertising on YouTube is very different from running a PPC campaign with Google. There are specific rules and nuances to be aware of on this platform. For instance, since March 2023, YouTube has become more diligent about minimizing inappropriate language use on the platform.
Additionally, YouTube is constantly unveiling new opportunities for advertisers. For instance, recently, Google has introduced the option for “audio only” ads on the platform. We recommend making sure you stay up to date on the latest rules and opportunities available through YouTube if you want to make the most of your advertising campaigns.
10 Tips for Better YouTube Ad Campaigns
While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for creating YouTube ad campaigns that guarantee results, there are various proven strategies that can boost your chances of success. Tracking case studies and examples from other companies, we’ve pinpointed some of the most effective best practices businesses can use to optimize their YouTube ads.
1. Choose Your Ad Format Wisely
As mentioned above, there are various different types of YouTube ads companies can experiment with when building their marketing strategy. Each type of ad has its own distinct benefits and potential disadvantages. For instance, non-skippable YouTube in-stream ads force customers to watch your entire ad before they can consume the content they want.
This guarantees you’ll be able to share your entire message with your customer, but it can also lead to frustration among potential buyers, particularly if your ad is too long.
Before you start creating your ads, think carefully about what you want to accomplish with your campaigns. For instance, if you want to build awareness for your brand but don’t want to disrupt your customers during their browsing sessions, an out-stream ad (placed on other websites in the Google ecosystem) or an in-feed ad might be a good solution.
Offering users the opportunity to skip ads can also be helpful, particularly if you’re effective at getting your message across quickly. For instance, this skippable ad from Central Penn College is short, straight to the point, and includes a CTA to drive action immediately:
It also includes a link to Penn State on the outside of the video, doubling the company’s exposure and increasing the chances someone will choose to “Learn More” about the opportunity.
Take a moment to learn all about the different ad campaign options on YouTube and their benefits. You can find all the information you need from YouTube here. Then, experiment with a variety of different formats to find out what works best.
2. Research Trends and Opportunities
No matter what kind of advertising you’re investing in, it always makes sense to research your target audience. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to create campaigns that speak directly to their goals, pain points, and expectations.
Extensive research can help you answer consumer questions throughout their buying journey with your YouTube ad campaigns. It can also help you to position your business as more relevant and up-to-date by allowing you to take advantage of key trends.
Before you start producing your ad creative, take the time to look into trends in your industry. You can use Google Trends to find out what people are searching for, check out the most-watched videos on YouTube in your niche, and even look for insights on forums like Reddit.
As an example, Pringles researched trends on YouTube and noticed a number of influencers and creators exploring the concept of “flavor stacking.” Using these insights, the company ran a series of six-second bumper ads on YouTube about the flavor stacking trend.
The result was more than 120 million impressions and a 3% lift in sales. If you’re using influencer marketing campaigns, you can even build on your advertising campaigns with more comprehensive, influencer-focused videos about the same topic.
3. Make Every Ad Feel Native and Human
It’s no secret that consumers are beginning to ignore more traditional forms of advertising. Today’s customers are bombarded with endless advertisements from virtually every channel. Even if your main goal is to convert viewers into customers on YouTube, you should try to make the experience as unobtrusive as possible for your potential audience.
Remember, today’s consumers don’t always ignore advertisements entirely. 77% of online browsers actually say they prefer to “filter” ads rather than block them completely. While YouTube users might be happy to view ads that seem entertaining and interesting, they don’t want to watch anything overly salesy or obtrusive.
With this in mind, think about the kind of experience your customers are looking for on YouTube, and tailor your ads to fit. For instance, Zillow’s discovery ad on YouTube doesn’t just introduce customers to the service they offer. It tells a story about a real person’s experience, addresses common customer objections, and even offers advice.
This makes the video feel more like the kind of natural content people would actively look for on YouTube. By understanding what users wanted, Zillow created an ad that was relevant, engaging, and helpful, increasing their views.
4. Take Advantage of YouTube Targeting
No matter what kind of marketing strategy you use, targeting will always help you to drive better results. When you’re creating YouTube ad campaigns, your focus should be on reaching a specific audience with a genuine need for your products or services.
With organic YouTube marketing campaigns, you can use SEO strategies to boost your chances of reaching the right people searching for relevant terms.
When you’re designing paid ad campaigns, you can take advantage of the targeting options offered by Google and YouTube. Google allows companies to choose audiences for their ads based on specific demographic information, interests, and even their own data.
You can pull information from your Google Ads account to reach audiences specific to your needs, create customer affinity segments, and find customers with certain interests, such as sports. Plus, Google even allows you to use first-party offline and online data with “Customer Match.”
Majestic Heli Ski used Google’s video ad targeting solutions to boost their chances of finding customers in countries where skiing was particularly popular. The company’s highly targeted campaigns led to a 400% increase in customer base over 5 years and a 25% increase in sales every year since they began working with YouTube.
5. Make the Most of YouTube Remarketing
Sometimes, the aim of your YouTube ad campaigns isn’t to attract new customers but to convince people who have already seen your company or products to make a purchase. According to studies, retargeted users are 8x cheaper to reach per click, and they’re more likely to convert, too.
The good thing about retargeting is you can specifically connect with customers who are already looking for whatever it is you offer and serve them relevant content.
Using the “your data” section in YouTube’s advertising tools, you can not only reach potential customers on YouTube but also deliver ads to customers on Google Search, Shopping, and even via Gmail. There’s even the option to create personalized ads for each customer segment.
United Airlines discovered the benefits of remarketing when they leveraged YouTube ad campaigns to connect with people who had already searched for flights.
The team created a 15-second video featuring people on vacation, then used TrueView to create strong CTAs driving people straight to their website.
The campaign resulted in more than 17,000 flight bookings, and over 52% of the company’s conversions through the campaign were attributed directly to the ad.
6. Experiment with Video Ad Sequencing
Most consumers won’t convert based on the first ad they see. According to Salesforce, it takes around 6-8 marketing touches to develop a sales lead. This means you need to constantly find ways to connect with your customers, tell your story, and nurture sales.
Fortunately, Google and YouTube offer companies a compelling way to regularly connect with their audience. With video ad sequencing, businesses can tell the story of their product or brand by showing a series of videos to customers in a specific order.
Each sequence of ads you create can be infused with triggers that determine the next ad they’re served. This ensures you can serve specific content to your most engaged customers.
For instance, Adidas used this sequencing technique when launching its new Nemeziz football shoe. The company created a range of different sequential paths for viewers to follow based on whether they watched or skipped the initial product-focused ad. The people who engaged most with the videos and bumper ads were served an ad that looked more deeply at the product itself.
The result was a 317% increase in product interest and a 33% boost in brand awareness.
7. Drive Action with Interactive Elements
No matter what you want to accomplish with your YouTube advertising campaigns, your core focus should always be on encouraging consumers to act. While asking customers to do something in your ad can be helpful, the best results come from actively embedding interactive elements into your campaigns. YouTube’s “TrueView” solution is excellent for this.
With TrueView, companies can add CTAs to their videos, use cards to showcase products, and even implement automatic end screens encouraging users to download an app or visit a specific page.
Just as you would use a CTA at the end of a blog post or in your Facebook advertising campaigns, using CTAs in your YouTube ads makes it more likely you’ll gain conversions.
As an example, Nectar partnered with Google experts to develop a creative YouTube advertising campaign, complete with CTAs and links back to the Nectar store. Adding actionable elements into its campaigns allowed Nectar to increase its brand awareness by 95%, its brand interest by 382%, and its ad recall lift by 190%.
Remember, when developing CTAs and banners for your video ads, make sure they stand out. Draw attention to the benefits you’re offering customers, and use engaging words like “Now” or “Today” to drive conversions.
8. Show your Brand and Logo at All Times
Arguably, one of the most common types of video ads on YouTube is the “skippable” ad. Though some companies still prefer to use non-skippable formats, skippable ads give consumers more power, and can improve your reputation among consumers.
With skippable ads, consumers have the option to skip your ad after just five seconds. The good thing about this strategy is that you only pay for your ad if your user performs a specific action, such as watching at least 30 seconds of your video or clicking on a CTA extension.
This means that when used correctly, you can access a lot of free advertising with skippable ads. The key to success is making sure your brand name and logo stand out instantly.
For instance, Wix adds its logo subtly to the top of every ad it creates, ensuring customers can always see a reference to the brand.
Taking this approach in your YouTube advertising campaigns ensures that even if someone chooses to skip your video, they’ll still be exposed to your logo and brand name. This increases brand awareness and improves the chances of customers remembering your company later.
9. Incorporate Social Proof
Social proof is one of the most powerful tools companies can use to enhance their brand reputation, connect with customers, and increase sales. When you’re creating your YouTube advertising campaigns, implementing elements of social proof can make your business seem more trustworthy.
Remember, only around 20% of people trust the information they get from brands directly, while more than 50% of customers trust online reviews and testimonials.
Incorporating user-generated content, such as photos from customers or direct reviews from buyers, into your ads can significantly strengthen the quality of your ad campaigns.
For instance, check out this Grammarly ad on YouTube. It doesn’t just tell customers what the application can do; it provides an insight into a real person’s story and what they accomplished by using the service.
With a little extra social proof in your ads, you can connect with customers on an emotional level and help them actually visualize themselves using your product or service.
10. Test Different Hooks and Content Styles
Finally, one of the best ways to improve the quality and ROI of your YouTube ad campaigns is to experiment. You can play with a variety of different factors in your YouTube ads, using different formats, as well as unique CTA extensions, cards, and interactive elements.
Two of the most important things to experiment with are your content style and your hooks. Your hooks are the key messages and content that encourage customers to keep watching your content. Since users can only skip ads after 5 seconds, figuring out how to grab their attention in those initial moments is essential to boosting your campaign ROI.
Think about the first words you’re going to say in your ad to showcase the benefits of your solution. Are you going to use a funny tone of voice or a serious message that gets straight to the point? Do you want to connect with the customer’s feelings of fear or joy?
Once you’ve thought about your hook, consider how you’re going to deliver your content. For instance, 1-800 flowers experimented with two types of creativity when building their YouTube ad campaigns. The first used a stop-motion visual style, while the second used real human beings and a humorous, conversational tone.
Testing different kinds of videos and hooks will help boost your chances of creating future campaigns that resonate with your audience. The more you test, the more you’ll learn about your customer’s preferences.
Mastering YouTube Advertising Campaigns
Creating amazing YouTube ad campaigns can be tricky. There’s a lot of competition on the platform already, and it’s not always easy to determine which kinds of content or ad formats will drive the best results for your business.
However, with the right strategy and a little experimentation, your YouTube ads can deliver incredible results to your business. The right campaigns will boost awareness of your organization, strengthen your chances of sales, and even help build relationships with your audience.
If you need help making the most of your YouTube ad budget, you can always consider reaching out to an expert for support. Here at GrowthCollective, we match businesses from all industries with YouTube specialists capable of enhancing ROI and generating rapid growth.
Get in touch to find your ideal YouTube expert today.
