While traditionally, video advertising was only available through select studios, production companies, and publishers, today, creators of all shapes and sizes can create content from the comfort of their own homes. With more access than ever before to publishers - who not only distribute their content for free but also financially incentivize creator content, this has led to the creator boom that we’re experiencing in the 2010s and 2020s.
Not only are creators increasing in volume and popularity, but Connected TV is another fundamental that video content continues to both drive forward and benefit from. With the seismic shift from traditional TV channel advertising to streaming and on-demand capabilities, internet-connected TVs and devices are more prevalent than ever before.
In fact, according to Statista, CTV is forecasted to continue this boom: the number of connected TV users in the U.S. is expected to exceed 62.5 million by 2025, from 57 million in 2020. And, as millions of eyeballs shift towards CTV, 90% of broadcast and cable networks saw audiences decline in the past five years.
So, with traditional TV video marketing no longer making a splash for brands, where should the advertiser focus shift? We suggest YouTube.
Why YouTube?
When it comes to video trends, YouTube is undeniably at the center of both the creator and distribution sides of the coin. In fact, a 2022 study showed that YouTube is “the no. 1 service that users plan to use for another 6+ more years out of all video platforms”, and that YouTube CTV counts for more than 50% of ad-supported streaming watch time for those 18 and older.
While we’re hard-pressed to name every benefit of YouTube advertising for brands, here are our favorites:
- The ability to use YouTube for full-funnel activity, leveraging its wide range of goals and campaign types (such as skippable and non-skippable ads, in-feed ads and bumper ads)
- With Google’s ownership, YouTube is privy to some of the most sophisticated and granular targeting and placement options available in digital advertising
- A broad range of brand safety measures, including topic and placement exclusions
- Comprehensive conversion tracking solutions to monitor ROAS
- The option to use YouTube partner sites and Google TV placements
- High-quality and near-real-time reporting on user engagements and demographics.
As a highly-regarded channel, 89% of YouTube users suggest that YouTube creators give recommendations they can trust, while 83% of users feel like they get the highest quality information about products when they use YouTube. Put simply: video advertising via YouTube drives awareness, consideration, and action.
And, some brands are surprised to hear that there’s no minimum spend on the platform! You can spend as much or as little as you want - making it a must-have for advertisers in 2024.
YouTube Advertising best practices
So, you’ve decided to advertise on YouTube. The next decision is the content to make. While our in-house paid media strategists can give you a few pointers, below are the fundamentals of successful YouTube advertising.
Ad copy for Youtube ads
An oft-overlooked part of YouTube and video advertising is its supplementary ad copy. Working similarly to Google Ads, YouTube ads also use a combination of headlines, long headlines, descriptions, and CTAs. Although the creative is the most important factor to grab attention initially, ad copy and CTAS ultimately drive user action.
Ahead of the upload process, make sure you have some ideas to meet the following YouTube ad copy requirements:
- Between 1-5 30-character headlines
- Between 1-5 CTAs from a pre-defined list (including ‘Learn more’, ‘Download’, ‘Start now’, ‘Sign up’, and ‘Apply now’)
- Up to 5 90-character long headlines - these may appear on their own instead of shorter headlines on certain placements or may appear alongside a description, so make sure your long headlines and your descriptions are different
- Between 1-5 90-character descriptions.
YouTube ad dimensions
When thinking about YouTube, we often think of horizontal ad sizes: and rightly so! However, with the rollout of Shorts and other content to meet vertical smartphone usage, it seems as though a combination of ad shapes work well for YouTube advertising.
YouTube encourage us to use horizontal, vertical, and - sometimes - square assets within our video advertising efforts. We find this works well to maximize our reach across all possible placements.
For YouTube placements, the ideal dimensions are:
- 1080p (Full HD) in either:
- 1,920 x 1,080px (horizontal) using a 16:9 aspect ratio
- 1080 x 1,920px (vertical) using a 9:16 aspect ratio - this includes Shorts
- 1080 x 1080px (square) using a 1:1 aspect ratio
- Full HD should be in the MPG file format.
Or
- 720p (Standard HD) in either:
- A minimum of 1280 x 720px (horizontal) using a 4:3 aspect ratio
- A minimum of 480 x 640px (vertical) using a 2:3 aspect ratio
- SD can be in WMV, AVI, MOV, FLV, MPEG, and MP4 formats.
YouTube ad creative best practices
As well as the fundamentals, here are some other must-have tips that we’ve learned along the way on our journey with YouTube advertising!
- Video view rates tend to fall off a cliff after the 45-second mark, so try not to make your ads too much longer than this
- If running skippable ads, ensure that the first 5 seconds of your video are as lively and informative as possible, to get your message across even with the ‘skip’
- “Frame tightly and pace quickly” to make the messaging engaging across all potential user devices
- Include humans, not only products or services, within your messaging to humanize your brand’s story
- Create ads with ‘sound on’ in mind on YouTube.
Finally, it’s important to follow YouTube’s “ABCDs of effective creative”, which was designed to give creative guidance to businesses with budgets of all sizes.
A - Attention: Hook and sustain attention with an immersive story (by jumping into the action)
B - Branding: Brand early, often, and richly (via colors, audio, and visuals)
C - Connection: Help people think or feel something (by humanizing the story)
D - Direction: Ask people to take action (by including clear CTAs).
Final Thoughts
For brands in most industries, YouTube is a must-have piece of the puzzle for 2024. To get cost-effective and efficient reach and, crucially, stay ahead of the competition, make YouTube a part of your marketing strategy today.
