YouTube: Why Advertisers Should Press Play in Q4

eMarketer recently revised its estimates of the number of US households that it expects to subscribe to video streaming services from 192.7 million to 207.5 million by the end of this year, a figure it directly attributes to changing viewership habits resulting from the pandemic.

Additionally, data from Rakuten Advertising’s New Rules report shows that roughly 25% of all holiday shoppers who have children are turning to on-demand video streaming to find inspiration for holiday gifts.

Why Should Brands Use YouTube?

YouTube’s scale is undeniable – with roughly 2 billion logged-in users monthly, it’s estimated that about 85% of US Google users also use YouTube, making the platform a crucial choice for getting in front of many new potential customers.

Google has reported a 25% increase in YouTube watch-time globally, and a 29% increase of users watching YouTube on their TV screens.

Additionally, YouTube has proven to assist in the purchase decision funnel. According to research conducted by Google, 55% of people search for a product on Google and then go to YouTube to learn more about it; 40% of people say they have purchased products they discovered on YouTube.

How to Implement YouTube Into Your Media Mix

Along with strong viewership, YouTube offers rich audience targeting capabilities built on its users’ online behavior. Advertisers can leverage all of this to interact with the most qualified customers at the perfect time.

The YouTube strategy and campaign type you select should be decided based on what makes the most sense for your company’s goals and needs. Do your key objectives require you to find efficiencies in your media plan to drive the most return for your ad spend, or are you looking to grow and scale your customer base and increase your market share? In either event, here are some recommended strategies:

Drive brand awareness

• Use the TrueView for Reach, Bumper, Masthead, and Non-Skippable Campaign formats to increase your brand awareness.
• If your goal is to maximize the number of unique users who see your brand’s content, these campaigns are designed to drive high reach.

Increase consideration

• Use TrueView Discovery or TrueView In-Stream campaigns types to reach users who have shown an interest in the products or services you offer as they are ingesting content on YouTube.
• These campaigns are designed to remind consumers that you offer the product or service they want, with the goal of increasing the likelihood they will choose your brand when they are ready to convert.

Drive sales

• Use the TrueView for Action campaign type when you want to reach users who have not only signaled that they are in-market for your product or service, but who also have shown intent to make a purchase soon.
• This campaign type is designed to turn users into your customers, and its ad units feature strong calls to action to inspire purchase.

YouTube is an entertaining and engaging ad format, and Google has made it easy to incorporate a video campaign strategy into your marketing mix. Your business goals are the best indicator for how to implement YouTube in a way that serves your bottom-line best.

Briana Rittersporn is an Account Manager at Rakuten Marketing specializing in paid search. She has been in the digital marketing industry for 6 years and has been a member of the Rakuten Advertising team for the last year and a half. In her free time, she can be found snuggling her two rescued greyhounds.

Ready to take your holiday search strategy to the next level and drive more results? Get in touch with us today.