Video consumption is on the rise. It’s a fact and it’s a trend that’s been around for years and one that’s definitely here to stay. Nowadays, users turn to video not only to find entertainment but also to discover new products, interact with creators, solve everyday problems and learn new skills.
As video consumption continues to evolve, marketers need to ensure that their strategies stay up to date and relevant in order to drive business results. And with YouTube currently being the world’s second-largest search engine and the second most visited site after Google, it is essential for brands to establish a presence on the platform to resonate with their audiences.
In today’s blog post, we will explore how different video ad formats on YouTube can help brands connect with new and existing audiences and, ultimately, help them achieve their marketing goals.
Brand Awareness
If you are looking to build brand awareness by capturing the attention of new potential customers and keep your brand top of mind, then the following ad types can help you get optimal results.
TrueView for Reach Ads
TrueView for Reach ads let you reach your target audience across YouTube and the web using skippable in-stream ads. They differ from standard in-stream ads in the bidding strategy used – TrueView for Reach ads use, in fact, CPM bidding, as opposed to CPV bidding, to deliver more impressions and allow you to reach a broader audience at a more competitive cost.
Bumper Ads
Bumper ads are six-second, unskippable video ads that play before a YouTube video. They are extremely powerful at driving brand awareness, especially on mobile devices, where people often watch video content on the go and are more likely to engage with shorter clips.
Bumper ads utilise a CPM bidding model, so you choose how much you are willing to pay for every 1,000 impressions your ads receive.
To ensure your bumper ad is as effective as possible, ensure you focus on a single and simple purpose. Six seconds may not be very long but you can definitely convey a meaningful message, so keep it short and sweet for optimal results.
Outstream Video Ads
Outstream video ads are mobile-only ads that run on mobile sites and apps – such as games or news – outside of YouTube. They are non-skippable, however, it is recommended to keep your ad length below 15 seconds to ensure you keep your audience engaged. The bidding model used is vCPM, or viewable cost-per-thousand impressions.
Outstream ads play automatically on mute when they appear on screen but the user has the option to turn the sound on by tapping on the screen. Keep this in mind when designing your ad creative and ensure your message can be delivered with or without sound.
Masthead
YouTube Masthead is an ad type available exclusively on a reservation basis through a Google representative and designed to help brands achieve extreme reach and brand awareness by placing your ad on the YouTube homepage across all devices.
This ad type supports exclusively Fixed CPD (cost-per-day) bidding and requires you to submit your ad creative at least 48 prior to the start of the campaign.
Consideration
The second stage of the customer journey is the Consideration stage. At this point, your goal as a marketer is to influence customers’ opinions so you will use longer videos to deliver a more articulated message to your audience and grow interest in your business or product. The ad types below are designed for this purpose, so ensure they feature in your customer acquisition strategy.
TrueView In-Stream Ads
In-Stream Ads are video ads that are served on YouTube and selected apps and websites in the Google Display Network and play before, during or after a video.
The recommended minimum length is 12 seconds and users can decide to skip the video ad after 5 seconds.
This type of ad also supports CTA (call to action) buttons that encourage users to click through your chosen URL and can help drive traffic to your website.
A variety of bidding strategies are available to support different marketing goals – Target CPV (cost per thousand views), Target CPM or Target CPA (cost per acquisition).
TrueView Discovery Ads
Discovery Ads consist of an image thumbnail, one headline and two descriptions and can appear on YouTube search results and watch pages as well as the mobile app homepage. The ads redirect to the chosen YouTube video, helping you increase your view count and drive engagement with your video.
The only bidding strategy supported at this point is Maximum CPV.
Action
And finally, at the very end of the customer journey, you’ll be looking to drive actions that are the most valuable to your business, such as sales, leads or app installs. The following ad types can help you achieve this objective in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
TrueView for Action Ads
TrueView for Action ads are specifically designed to capture the intent of viewers who are more likely to convert and help drive leads and conversions by adding CTAs to your video ad. They can encourage viewers to explore your product or service, share their contact information or take other valuable actions.
In order to run TrueView for Action ads, you require conversion tracking and site tagging.
Other factors that can have an impact on the performance of your TrueView for Action campaign include budget, bidding strategy and target audience.
For campaigns using Target CPA bidding, Google recommends setting a budget that is at least 15 times your CPA, whilst if using Maximise Conversions they say you should aim for a minimum of x10.
Universal App Campaign for Video Ads
Choose this type of campaign if your goal is to drive app downloads. The campaign will show your ads across various placements, including YouTube, where your ad is more likely to be clicked.
You can choose to optimise your campaign for App Installs or in-App Actions.
Bidding strategies supported are Target CPA, Target CPI (cost-per-install) and Target ROAS (return on ad spend).
Conclusion
Now that we have covered the different ad types available to advertisers on YouTube, you are one step closer to success. But remember that your advertising objective and chosen ad type are only some of the factors that influence the success of your campaigns.
The second most important element of a YouTube Ad campaign is without doubt your target audience so if you are not familiar with how targeting on YouTube works, make sure you read all about it here. Still got questions? Then reach out to us using the form below and one of our team would be happy to discuss your advertising needs or queries.
