This December I successfully passed my Google Partners video advertising certification. It’s a relatively new exam launched by Google as the search engine increasingly recognises the power of video and the opportunities for brands to build brand awareness and engagement through this unique advertising platform.
Did you know that YouTube (which is owned by Google) is now the second largest search engine after Google? The channel has over 1 billion unique visitors per month and over 1.3 million hours of this is commercial watch time. In just one year alone (2013-2014) video views increased by 38.5%. Now I’ll admit that most of my hours are spent watching “The Sneezing Baby Panda” and “You Shall Not Pass Dog” for a chuckle, but when I think about it I also use YouTube for “how tos” too: from how to thread my Janome sewing machine to following The Body Coach’s #Leanin15 quick and healthy meals in the kitchen. Vlogs are increasingly addictive too, perhaps one of the most famous in the UK being Zoella who has over 9.7 million subscribers to her lifestyle channel. Now just imagine if you could get your brand message in front of these highly engaged YouTube subscribers …
So what are the benefits of video advertising?
With the search network maturing there’s an ever-increasing amount of competition and as a result average cost-per-click looks set to be on the rise. One of the key benefits of video advertising is that in the world of display advertising it can be a much cheaper alternative. In the first instance, setting up and running a YouTube channel is free, the only cost you pay as a business is the manpower to set it up which is a relatively simple task.
In the case of both in-display and in-stream video ads, payment is only charged when an action is taken by the viewer. For in-stream videos this is when a user views 30 seconds of your ad or interacts with the ad (a caveat to this is if your ad is under 30 seconds you would still be charged) and for in-view ads you only pay when a user clicks and begins to view your ad. Much like PPC you can set a maximum bid for your advertising which in the case of video advertising is CPV (cost per view). Again as with the case of PPC you can also make video bid adjustments to ensure you are optimising both your budget and video advertising objectives to make the most efficient use of your budget.
It goes without saying that video is a captivating form of digital media, particularly when the content is attention grabbing, humorous and/or gives an answer to the question you are searching for. YouTube statistics show that video advertising is particularly effective because of this and in fact only 10% of their viewers choose to skip an in-stream ad before the 30 second payment threshold.
Did you know that with in-stream ads you can also set up “companion banners”, a 300×60 ad that sits to the right hand side of your video giving your brand and message even more exposure on any given page – this ad can be an image or video and again you are only charged when a user interacts with your ad.
A quick-fire round of other benefits of video advertising
1) Video is mobile
Online video now accounts for almost 50% of all mobile traffic. Mobile video is convenient, and users are more likely to be more engaged as they’re either searching for something specifically or needing entertainment whilst on the go i.e. commuting.
2) Video advertising can be targeted
Selling kitchen utensils? Target video cookery demonstrations. Brand of trainers? Target fitness videos … with video advertising the targeting opportunities are endless, but what you can be sure of is getting your video ads to the right people, at the right time, with the right interests.
3) Video analytics
Just like PPC, YouTube also provides you with analytics for you to be able to analyse the performance of your video advertising. It also includes real time metrics so you can have visibility of viewer behaviour.
4) Video conversions
Some of the biggest online retailers including Amazon have demonstrated that by showing an ad it can increase the chances of a viewer making a purchase by 35%.
As I write this blog I’ve come to realise that with all the learnings from the video advertising training I had with Google, I could most definitely publish a few more blogs on the topic, if only to explain in-stream and in-display video advertising options in a bit more detail. Stayed tuned and I’ll getting writing!
Fancy giving it a go for your business? Give the Cariad Marketing team a call on 01992 582 824 or fll out a quick contact form and a member of the team will get back to you.
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