How to Use YouTube Ads to Grow Your Business

If you take a look at the current digital marketing landscape, YouTube ads are amongst the most underutilized ad formats. This is because producing compelling, high-quality video content can seem like a challenge, especially to small-business owners.

However, once you know how to use YouTube ads, they can really help in the growth of your business.

As per the latest statistics, YouTube has more than 2 billion active users. Also, more than one-fourth of the world's population uses this popular social media platform in a month. So, the power of YouTube ads is something that should not be overlooked.

Now, you may wonder how you can use YouTube ads to increase sales or improve brand awareness? How to advertise your business on YouTube? Don't worry, as we have got you covered. Refer to our guide on how to use YouTube ads for business growth:

Types of YouTube Ads

First, let's take a look at the different types of YouTube ads. You may be aware of YouTube ad types if you have been fine-tuning your YouTube marketing strategy. But if not, don't worry! We will walk you through the main types of YouTube ads. Here's a closer look:

1. Skippable In-Stream Video Ads

Skippable in-stream video ads play before or during a video (pre-roll or mid-roll). One of their notable features is that the viewer has the option to skip them after the first 5 seconds. If the viewer decides to keep watching past the first 5 seconds, only then the advertiser has to pay. Your ad needs to be at least 12 seconds and a maximum of 6 minutes in length (we recommend somewhere under 3 minutes).

It is important to know that you only have to pay when a viewer watches the first 30 seconds, or the entire ad, or if they interact with your video ad by clicking (whatever takes place first).

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Note: The skippable in-stream ad is a variation of the TrueView ad. YouTube uses the term TrueViewā  for the payment type where you only pay money for an ad impression when a viewer chooses to watch it.

2. Non-Skippable In-Stream Video Ads

If the statistics are to be believed, 76% of people say that they automatically skip ads. Keeping this in mind, some advertisers decide to run mid-roll and pre-roll ads that can't be skipped. This is when they use Non-Skippable in-stream video ads.

Use these ads if you want to increase brand awareness significantly, and you are sure that your creative approach is strong enough to grab eyeballs for a complete 15 seconds.

Bumper Ads

These ads are a subspecies of non-skippable in-stream ads. The difference between bumper ads and traditional non-skippable in-stream ads is the duration. Bumper ads are expected to be less than 6 seconds. These ads show up as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll, and are well-suited for outreach and awareness campaigns. A bumper ad provides you with many ways to portray your brand in just a few seconds.

Given the smaller time duration of a bumper ad, try to show something memorable to the viewer in this ad.

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3. Discovery Ads

A discovery ad includes a thumbnail and three lines of text. When an interested person clicks on it, they are directed to your YouTube channel or video page. This ad type actually comes up alongside the organic search results. If your video appears more relevant as compared to organic results, people can decide to watch it instead.

Note: Discovery ad is another type of TrueView video ad because individuals must actively choose to watch this ad.

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How to Choose a YouTube Ad Type For Your Business?

Now that you know the different types of YouTube ads, it is time to know which type of YouTube ads is right for your business. Let's begin:

1. Non-Skippable Ads for Brand Awareness

Brand awareness means maximizing your brand's visibility. It paves the way for effective lead generation. Non-skippable ads work best to raise awareness for your business. These types of ads can appear post-roll, mid-roll, or pre-roll.

2. Bumper Ads for Message Reinforcement

Use bumper ads if you already have established an audience through digital media and want to announce something or get a message out to your audience.

Remember, in the case of bumper ads, you don't really want to educate your target audience or do much in terms of storytelling. You just need to hype a new service or product. For instance, the launch of a new phone of your brand.

3. Skippable In-Stream Ads for Lead Generation

You should use skippable in-stream ads for lead generation. Let's discuss an example to know why you should do so. A company called Monday.com uses skippable in-stream ads for the purpose of lead generation. Check out the image below:

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On the left, you can see the length of the ad. On the right, you can view the 5-second countdown to when the user can skip this ad. Meanwhile, the company's sign-up CTA is displayed in a companion banner (at the top-right). It is also shown in a video overlay (at the bottom-left). Even if a viewer clicks on skip,ā  the companion banner will still stay there.

4. Video Discovery Ads For Brand Consideration

As we mentioned before, discovery ads come up alongside organic search results. For instance, you can see this ad at the top of the YouTube search results of a viewer.

When a viewer clicks on your discovery ad, they will be sent to your YouTube channel to watch the video ad. This helps you provide the viewers a closer look at your brand. Thus, video discovery ads work as an excellent brand consideration tool.

Tip: Before creating a YouTube ad, analyze your competitors' content and see how you can stand out in the industry. In the end, produce an ad that aligns with your marketing efforts, values, and brand image.

Optimizing Your YouTube Channel

As it is crucial to create an excellent first impression, it’s important to optimize your YouTube channel. Add business name, company logo, contact information, your official website’s link, and social media links. In the “About” section, write a brief description of your business – your services, products, special offers, and other significant details.

How To Create A YouTube Ad For Your Business?

Once you understand the different types of YouTube ads, you would want to know how to create your first YouTube ad. Here is a step-by-step tutorial for it:

1. Upload Video

Log into the YouTube account for your brand and select the camcorder icon on the top-right corner. Then, select “Upload Video.” After this, you will be directed to the upload window. Upload your video here. Ensure you fill in details such as the description, title, and tag information.

2. Create Campaign

Select ‘New Campaign” after you sign in to your Google Ads account. You will see an option to select a campaign goal. For now, you can select “create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.”

Next, you will have to choose a campaign type (either “Display” or “Video” which you can choose according to your objectives). For our purposes, we will concentrate on the “Video” option.

Next, you will have to choose a campaign subtype. Choose the option you find the most appropriate and then select “Continue.”

3. Configure Campaign

After you create your campaign, you need to configure it in the right way. Begin by giving your campaign a name. Then, confirm things such as your bid strategy, campaign duration, and ad budget. Also confirm your locations, languages, and networks.

You will also find content exclusions in this section. This determines where your YouTube ad will be shown. Make the necessary selections here. Also, you can exclude some types of content and labels here if you want to.

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4. Target Your Audience

At the time of targeting your audience, begin by defining information such as gender, age, household income, and parental status.

Use topics, placements, and keywords to narrow down your targeting even further.

5. Finalize Your YouTube Ad

Now, set your maximum bid. Find your video in the “Create your video ad” section and select the right video ad format. Once you have done this, fill in the sections called “Final URL” and “Display URL.” You can also include your headline and call-to-action here.

Next, you can upload your own companion banner or auto-generate one. Once ready, select “Create Campaign,” and you are done!

Measuring The Success Of Your YouTube Ad

When you decide to assess your YouTube ad results, you get to know the weaknesses and strengths of your YouTube ad campaign.

A thing you should know is that YouTube ads automatically track a lot of metrics for you. You get access to engaged views data, watch time, etc. When you are new to Youtube ads, this information can seem overwhelming. So, we recommend you concentrate on the view rate for skippable ads. This serves as your true engagement rate because it determines how well you can turn your ad viewers into prospects who are interested.

For non-skippable ads, you can use CTR (click-through rate) to check if your ad connected successfully with your target audience. In case you have a low CTR, there can be either of these two possibilities:

1. The ad isn’t connecting with your target audience.
2. The ad is being shown to the wrong audience.

Bottom line

If you want to use YouTube ads to grow your business, it is important to put your message across in one short video. Focus on creating an interactive video with valuable content. In the end, make sure that your ad answers the needs of your potential customers. Otherwise, there is an extremely high chance that the viewers will ignore it.

Bottom line, Youtube ads can prove to be a great marketing strategy and provide you optimal results for your business. We hope this guide helps you in successful YouTube marketing

It is time for you to create your perfect YouTube ad.

Now go on!