In 2024, you’d likely have a hard time finding someone who hasn’t heard of YouTube. It’s the most popular social media platform in the world and has undergone a lot of evolution and growth since its launch nearly 20 years ago. The platform once known primarily for music videos, cat videos and movie trailers has since become a hub for nearly any video content you could imagine: tutorials, product reviews, sports highlights, vlogs, news coverage, documentaries – you name it, it’s probably on YouTube somewhere.
What is often overlooked about YouTube, however, is the advertising potential it has. One of the platform’s biggest advantages is that it’s a free service. There are optional paid plans for viewers to unlock special features but otherwise, you don’t even need an account to watch most videos, although having one will allow for video recommendations and ads more personalized to you. At minimum though, viewers simply need access to the internet and a device to watch on, whether that be a smartphone, tablet, computer, smart TV, gaming console, etc. This allows the platform to be easily accessible to all and presents a great opportunity for your business.
Before, during, or after most programming, YouTube video viewers are served what is called an “in-stream” ad, which is a brief video ad typically :15 or :30 seconds in length that the viewer must complete prior to watching the video they’re intending to watch. This is especially advantageous because YouTube is owned by Google, which means so long as the viewer is logged into their account, both their Google and YouTube search history can be evaluated to serve them an ad that is as relevant and enticing as possible. That’s where you come in!
Using YouTube video advertising, you can ensure your business’ ads are being delivered to individuals who are actually searching for what you have to offer. I strongly recommend YouTube ads to assist with branding and awareness but it can also be a valuable tool for lead generation. With a well strategized YouTube campaign, your ads will help “brand” your business and create “top-of-mind awareness”, so that the viewer knows your business is a great, reputable option for the products or services they’re in search of. At the same time, YouTube ads are clickable, so if someone is in immediate need of your business’ offerings, they can immediately be sent to your website for more information or to take action.
YouTube offers a variety of different ad formats but we at MWC Advertising are partial to what are called TrueView ads. With TrueView ads, if your ad is :15 seconds in length, it cannot be skipped and must be watched to completion before the viewer can watch their intended programming. Meanwhile, with :30 second ads, they can be skipped, however, if the viewer skips the ad before it’s completed, you don’t pay for it. That’s right! You just got some valuable face time with a potential paying customer and didn’t even pay for it.
Now, you’re well-versed on the power of YouTube advertising and how you can best leverage its strengths to reach your desired audience! If you’re interested in kicking off your first-ever YouTube campaign, contact us at MWC Advertising, and we’ll help you put together a winning strategy.
Here are some bonus YouTube stats that may just blow your mind!:
- YouTube is the 2nd most visited website in the world, trailing only its parent company, Google. (Source)
- YouTube is the most watched online streaming service in the United States. According to Nielsen, YouTube currently accounts for 8.6% of streaming usage nationwide, followed by Netflix at 7.9%. (Source)
- 83% of adults in the United States use YouTube, making it the most popular platform among adults nationally, even beating out platforms like Facebook and Instagram. (Source)
- Users watch 1 billion hours of YouTube content every single day. (That’s a lot of time watching content…and a lot of eyeballs for your ads to reach!)(Source)
- YouTube is the #1 platform for researching products and brands, or making purchase decisions, according to Google. (Source)
(Sources: Stats aggregated by Hootsuite)