You’re looking for some inspiration for an upcoming home remodeling project, so you turn to a YouTube video about remodeling on a budget. Before the video starts, an ad for a line of new appliances pops up. You’re happy with your current appliances so you hit the skip button. The ad you just experienced is a YouTube TrueView in-stream ad. With an estimated 74% of US internet users watching YouTube video content in 2021, there is ample opportunity to reach a vast audience on this marketing channel!
What is YouTube TrueView?
TrueView is an ad format on the video-sharing platform, YouTube. The name says it all – the advertiser only pays if the user interacts with the video, or it’s “truly viewed”. What that means depends on the type of TrueView ad.
The Two Types of TrueView Ads
- In-stream ads appear before, during, or after the YouTube video the user is watching. They are considered “truly viewed” if a user watches more than 30 seconds or to the end of the ad, whichever is shorter. Before that, users have the option to skip past the ad within about 5 seconds of its start.
- Discovery ads appear in related search results or watch pages on YouTube. An image thumbnail accompanied by up to three lines of ad copy makes up the ad unit. If a user clicks on the ad, they will be taken to the YouTube watch or channel page to view the video, at which point the advertiser pays for that click.
The Benefits of TrueView Ads
Both ad types are cost-effective options because the advertiser only pays when the ad is viewed for the required duration or if the user interacts with the ad by clicking on it. It’s a win-win for viewers and advertisers – viewers get to choose to watch only the ads they are curious about and advertisers get more views from an interested audience. This model also makes it budget-friendly for advertisers to experiment with creative to test which ones viewers find most engaging.
Another way YouTube ensures TrueView Ads are not wasted on the wrong audience is detailed targeting options. Advertisers can narrow down their audience based on segments like age, gender, income, parental status, and interests, as well as the content the user is viewing. With any digital marketing, targeting the right audience with the right message is key.
Another benefit YouTube provides is the ability to customize video length. This is a great feature since different marketing objectives call for different length videos. If a business has a goal of generating brand awareness through story-telling, a longer discovery ad is likely a good choice. Or maybe an objective is to entice users who have abandoned their online shopping cart to come back and finish the purchase, so a shorter, attention-grabbing in-stream video might do the trick.
Whatever an advertiser is looking to achieve, there is a TrueView ad format and length that will help them meet, and hopefully exceed those goals.
Our experienced team at River Valley Media Group can help you in every step of developing a YouTube campaign. We have the expertise and experience to help you narrow down your marketing objectives, determine what ad format will work best, and create the video and related messaging for success. Let us make it easy for you. Contact us today to get started.