If only you had a magic lamp that allowed you the three wishes of video marketers:
- Greater engagement
- An expanded reach
- Increased video views
Well, you may lack the lamp, but you can still release the genie and get what you’re after.
The key is YouTube.
There’s no question that YouTube belongs in your video marketing plan. To think otherwise is to cut a huge and growing audience out of your brand space. Consider the stats culled from a recent study of video viewing trends. As it currently stands, 18% of the U.S. population has never subscribed to a cable service. In 2025, approximately 50% of U.S. viewers younger than 32 will not be signed up for any kind of pay TV.
This puts a whole new ball in the court of video marketers. And it’s bouncing in the direction of online video. Right now contemporary viewers watch as much online video as they do conventional TV. But for the 19-49 year-old demographic, TV viewing has plunged while YouTube viewing soared by 44%, as reported by Nielsen’s Google-commissioned analysis. Driving much of YouTube’s popularity is widespread usage of mobile devices.
Clearly, video marketers are facing a new reality ruled by online venues, particularly YouTube. So how can advertisers capitalize on this platform’s formidable influence? When the situation is looked at from every angle, the very best way is this – make YouTube an essential part of your video marketing plan.
Ironically, one way to achieve this goal is by utilizing the very thing that YouTube seems to be shoving out of the picture – conventional TV. Research from Visible Measures, Nielsen, and Google indicates that the optimum video marketing arrangement is a combination of YouTube and conventional TV. Examining 3,000 campaigns, the studies reveled that 46% of marketing campaigns would show an improved audience reach by implementing such a combination. And it would do so without additional monetary investment! But the benefits wouldn’t stop there. According to the research, the YouTube-TV blend also would boost various brand metrics. Apparently, when it comes to audience reach, a little old and a little new goes a long way in the world of video marketing.
But what about video engagement?
Again, YouTube scores huge in this area. Much of the credit goes to the video platform’s implementation of TrueView ads. The big advantage here is TrueView targeting power – the format gives users the option of skipping ads, thereby limiting ad views to those of interest. This targeting makes all the difference in the world. The results for 89 U.S. brands that conducted Brand Lift studies showed that viewers who completed TrueView ads were 23 times more likely to visit or subscribe to a brand channel, watch additional brand videos, or share those videos. Completion is defined as watching for at least 30 seconds.
If you already have a YouTube channel, you can increase current engagement levels by assessing current offerings. If deficiencies are apparent, remedy the situation with videos designed to engage your target demographic.
More Video Mileage
YouTube video ads definitely are in a class by themselves. Perhaps what distinguishes them most from the run of the mill is their unrelenting popularity. Consider this: 40% of the top trending YouTube videos in 2014 were ads. And, unlike traditional broadcast and online video ads, viewership of older YouTube commercials remains relatively high over the years.
Research conducted by Visible Measures demonstrates the longevity of YouTube ads. According to these studies, brands using the platform’s TrueView see viewership of previous ad content soar by up to 500% after their new videos are posted. Indeed, the past is always current and relevant on YouTube.
Would you like to learn more about building your brand with YouTube video marketing, or about any other video topic? Reach out to IDR for additional information and answers to all your questions. You’ll discover why we’re Orange County’s premier producer of TV commercials, infomercials, and online videos for a wide range of businesses, organizations, and brands.
