How to create effective YouTube ads for ecommerce

Summary

Why is it important to invest in youtube ads for ecommerce?
In this post we will focus on several points:
– Why should eCommerce businesses invest in YouTube Ads?
– Different types of YouTube Ads for eCommerce
– How to make YouTube Ads work for eCommerce? 
– Benefits of YouTube ads for eCommerce 

Why should eCommerce businesses invest in YouTube Ads? 

YouTube viewers watch an average of 5 billion videos every day. On the platform, users can perform a range of diverse activities. From discovering new music to learning a new skill, brushing up on knowledge or discovering trivia, YouTube has something for everyone. With so many topics and consistent, targeted consumer views, YouTube is one of the best platforms to invest in to increase revenue and growth for your ecommerce business.  

YouTube ads are part of the large Google Ads ecosystem and are displayed on YouTube before, during, or after a video, depending on the chosen format, habits, user views, and campaign goals.  

Ads are used to increase brand awareness and sales, offering much stronger engagement than television. Not surprisingly, 87% of marketers say that the presence of video in their strategy has increased traffic to their website, and 78% say that video has had a positive impact on sales (Source: Wyzowl). 

In addition, YouTube offers a targeting capability that takes into account not only a user’s interests, but also their search history, so brands can connect with their audience at different stages of the purchase. So, in addition to targeting viewers, YouTube targets audiences to specific videos and entire YouTube channels. This means that your ecommerce brand is always reaching a relevant audience, and this is why it’s crucial to make use of YouTube Ads for ecommerce. 

Through testing, you can begin to explore who your target audience is on YouTube, which ads work best, and how your brand can grow. Many online store owners are choosing to invest in YouTube Ads for their eCommerce, and it’s no surprise why. YouTube currently has as many as 2 billion monthly active users who spend an average of 11 minutes per day on the platform.  

Video marketing is an essential part of an effective ecommerce strategy, and YouTube is quickly becoming one of the top choices. The statistics bear this out: 

• Brands that use video marketing experience faster year-over-year revenue growth than those that don’t use video (Source: Wirebuzz). 
• Shoppers are 1.8 times more likely to buy a product after watching a video (Source: Adobe). 
• More than 500 million hours of video content is consumed each day (Source: Business Insider). 
• YouTube ads attract more consumer attention than TV ads (Source: Ipsos Reid). 

Different Types of YouTube Ads for eCommerce 

To start a YouTube video marketing campaign for your ecommerce business, you need to know the types of ads you can run. Let’s look at the main formats.  

Bumper Ads 

Bumper Ads are the shortest ads available for your ecommerce business. They only run for 6 seconds, viewers can’t ignore them, and you can find them at the beginning, middle, or end of YouTube videos. If you use this type of ad, you’ll pay according to the CPM (cost per thousand) scale, where advertisers set the price they want for running a thousand ads and pay each time an ad is displayed. 

Bumper ads are an excellent option for ecommerce businesses that want to increase product awareness and coverage. This way, you can draw more attention to a new product and expose people to the ones you feel fit their needs. 

Pre-roll Ads 

Pre-roll ads are non-ignored ads that are displayed before, during, and after a YouTube video. They last from 15 to 20 seconds and they are used to encourage users to click. Pre-roll ads run on a PPC (pay-per-click) system, meaning they only pay when someone clicks on the ad. Since users can’t skip them, you need to make sure your ad is compelling and keeps the attention of your audience, so it’s not invasive or annoying. 

Overall, pre-roll ads are a great way to familiarize your audience with your product and entice them to click.  

In-stream Ads 

In-stream ads are a type of ad that runs at PPC scale. These types of ads can last from 12 seconds to 3 minutes and may be ignored after 5 seconds. People can choose to watch the entire video or go to their video when the “Skip” button becomes available. 

In-stream ads generate sales opportunities. They allow you to expose people to your brand and get them interested in your company. It can help you drive traffic to your website so you get more interested leads.  

For both in-stream and bumper ads, your creative should be methodically designed to quickly showcase and explain your product within the first 5 seconds, then feature secondary benefits, social proof, and/or media testimonials for the rest of the runtime. 

Video Discovery 

Discovery videos, on the other hand, are displayed in search results and video sidebar feeds and are marked with the word “ad”. They are paid when a viewer clicks to watch the video.  

They are useful if you want to increase the visibility of your YouTube channel and expose people to your products. You need a catchy or recognizable title to make this type of ad work best. 

How to make YouTube Ads work for eCommerce? 

Now that we’ve talked about why you should use YouTube ads for ecommerce and the formats available, let’s move on to how to make these ads work in practice. Here are some tips:  

1. Set SMART goals: your goals should be specific. Specific goals set the tone for your eCommerce store, so it’s important that they are measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.  
2. Targeting: ads will only work well if you create a customer profile that is consistent with your ecommerce business and products. Effective targeting will increase your ROI, improve customer experience, and good referrals from satisfied customers. 
3. Quality videos: make sure your videos are of high quality. Remember: your videos should spark interest, desire, and make people want to take action.  
4. Optimization: as with any other marketing campaign, you’ll need to continue to monitor the performance of your YouTube ads and optimize them for higher conversions. 

Benefits of YouTube ads for eCommerce 

So, how can YouTube ads benefit your ecommerce business?  

1. It’s convenient 

Contrary to what you may think, YouTube marketing is actually cost-effective for ecommerce businesses compared to the cost of Google search. It has a higher ROI because, as we know, video ads tend to generate more engagement than ads that only consist of images.  

Also, YouTube operates on a pay-per-view model. This means that for most ads, you’ll only pay when the viewer interacts with your ad. 

 2. It’s enough to get the target audience right

Despite a broad market base, your YouTube ads must serve a defined core of buyers. Otherwise, you’ll only be wasting your marketing resources by putting your message in front of viewers who won’t buy your products. 

The more defined your audience is, the greater your sales will be. Before you start marketing on YouTube, start by defining your audience. Targeting improves your brand recognition, increases customer loyalty, and provides opportunities to reach new markets. 

3. It offers detailed information for customer retargeting 

In January 2017, Google made significant changes to YouTube marketing that allow advertisers to retarget viewers based on search history, viewing behavior, and keywords. 

Retargeting is the act of placing the right ad in front of a viewer based on their interaction with your previous videos. For this to happen, you need the following data: Who are the viewers? Where are they coming from? What actions have they performed on the channel? Thanks to YouTube Analytics, you have access to this information.   

Retargeting increases brand impressions and maximizes conversions because it is easier to buy your products for a customer who has had previous interactions with your brand. 

4. A wider audience 

Whatever products you sell, you’ll often find potential customers on YouTube. YouTube has about 2 billion monthly active accounts, plus unregistered users. In addition, smart TVs are slowly penetrating the market, and the number of people who watch YouTube videos on their TVs are on the rise. Here, they can watch news and access YouTube from their couch, just like watching television. 

Since it is the second largest search engine after Google, top brands are leveraging the huge business potential it offers to drive traffic, launch brand awareness campaigns, and increase leads and sales. 

Also, you can maximize profits by launching different campaigns after profiling and segmenting your customers. YouTube Ads based on your target perform best because they tend to draw out the emotions of the customers, encouraging them to buy your product. 

Are you ready to leverage YouTube Ads for your ecommerce business? By running YouTube ads, you have the opportunity to reach a much wider pool of people interested in your products. It’s a great way to gain more leads, increase brand awareness, and make yourself strong and recognizable in the marketplace.