YouTube advertising is a great way to reach your target audience and get them engaged with your brand. YouTube ads allow you to use video marketing techniques to sell products, promote services, or educate customers on how-to videos.
The platform boasts of 1 billion users who spend an average of 60 minutes daily watching YouTube videos. This is more than Television and Netflix combined, making YouTube a powerful force in marketing.
“Stop thinking of ‘video marketing’ as this separate entity that is optional for your business. Video is an effective form of communication that needs to be integrated into each and every aspect of your existing marketing efforts.” –James Wedmore, founder of Video Traffic Academy
Today, we’re looking at 5 steps for a successful YouTube Marketing Campaign.
Why YouTube Advertising?
YouTube gives you the flexibility to create unique eye-catching ads. You’re also able to target your audiences with pinpoint accuracy. The targeting options include age, gender, interests, location etc.
Additionally, videos have been proven to influence consumer behavior. In fact, 62% of consumers rely on videos before making a purchase, especially on tech items.
Inside a Successful YouTube Campaign
Step 1. Do Your Research and Learn the Basics of AdWords
A Successful YouTube advertising campaign will begin with a thorough understanding of the basics behind Google AdWords. What is it? How does it work? Why should you do?
In a nutshell, YouTube is owned by Google, and therefore Youtube advertising uses Google Adwords. Basically, Google Adwords (formerly known as Google ads) is a tool used by advertisers to place their ads on other websites using keywords.
You bid per click or impression, then your advertisement appears anytime someone searches for it. For example, if you bid for the term ‘dodge’, and YouTube users search for that, your ad will appear.
The bid you place is how much it will cost per click or impression. YouTube advertising rates vary depending on the kind of keywords used. There is no definite YouTube ad pricing. However, cost per view averages to be $0.10-$0.30 per view, and CPM can range from $10-300 for a thousand impressions.
YouTube provides options to filter by specific criteria such as YouTube views, YouTube subscribers, YouTube comments, YouTube likes/dislikes, and YouTube age restrictions (where applicable).
Before creating your YouTube ad, you should determine what type of campaign goals. Do you intend to get more views, subscriptions, or clicks on your landing page? An appropriate campaign goal will steer the direction of your campaign.
Additionally, the platform has a very helpful option that allows advertisers to target their ads based on location. This helps not only cut down on wasted advertising dollars but also gives businesses that only have a small budget the opportunity to advertise in areas where they might not be able to afford it.
Step 2: Create a Campaign That Matches Your Business Goals
Create relevant ads that will engage viewers into watching more branded content based on keywords you have researched.
Target Audience: What type of video would be appealing? Is there a specific audience demographic I want to target with the advertisement? For instance, if your product is aimed at women aged between 25 and 35 years old, what kind of videos will you use?
YouTube gives you a wide variety of audiences to target. This includes YouTube users who have also shown interest in your competitors.
Step 3: Optimize Your Video Description with Keywords & Calls-To-Action
Adding a clear call-to-action to your YouTube ad campaign helps you increase the number of leads and sales. Additionally, your videos need to be optimized with the right keywords so YouTube and Google can easily find your videos.
The title of the video needs to be relevant to what you would like viewers who click on. For instance, if I upload a video about SEO services your title should also reflect the same. Also, try adding popular search terms that people use when searching for products or services relating to yours.
YouTube Video Description – In the same way a ‘ title’ is important in blog posts, you need to pay attention to the description section of each YouTube video. Ensure it’s packed full of relevant information and keywords. This ensures the user is likely to watch the entire advertisement before making a buying decision
A call to action at the end of your YouTube video is also key to making sure that you achieve strong results.
Successful YouTube advert campaigns require both creativity and knowledge – having one without the other will not get good results. Ensure there’s an engaging story or idea prompting people to watch your advertisement.
Step 4: Track Your Data to Evaluate the Effectiveness of your Videos
- Track Your Data: YouTube allows you to track the effectiveness of each individual video. Be sure to take advantage of this tool and data to improve your campaign performance. This enables you to understand what people like about your video and what you could do to improve.
- Create Video Ads in Bulk: YouTube does allow you to create multiple ads at once. This can save time and money without sacrificing the quality of the advertisement.
- Use Annotations: Although annotations were originally used by YouTube creators to mark areas within their videos where they wanted links or text displayed. They have now become more popular among advertisers. Annotations are a great way to make a YouTube ad interactive. This allows viewers to click on an “add to cart” button or get more information.
- Use Analytics: Google Analytics help keep track of how many views your ad has received as well as what time they were watched. By looking into these statistics, you’ll be able to better determine which factors trigger clicks from users and then make changes accordingly.
Step 5: Experiment with Different Types of Ads Until You Find What Works Best for You
YouTube advertising is all about testing and finding out what works best for your product. For example, video advertisement may work better for one product while the image may work well for another.
It’s important to try both types of ads so you can determine which reaches the most users with the desired results (i.e., sales).
Use Video. Videos command more attention from the viewers, giving them a sneak peek into what you’re offering.
Additionally, don’t just settle with only having one type in your ad. This limits your creativity. Oftentimes, one type of ad may not convey the information your customers need to see.
Utilize YouTube’s Watch Time Feature: YouTube has recently introduced a “watch time” feature in their ads platform that shows you how long people have watched an advertisement. For example, if the viewers watch all 30 seconds, this tells you that it had enough value for them to keep watching and there’s a high chance of converting these viewers into potential buyers.
Complement Your YouTube Campaign With Inbound Marketing
Besides paid ad campaigns, inbound marketing is a great way to boost your business. Let the customer identify with your brand on social media, blogs, and even podcasts.
We help you provide value to your clients without asking anything directly in return. This helps you build trust around your brand, creating long-term relationships with your clients.