It’s not rocket science to reach the right audience via YouTube. Matchmaking is more like it. If done correctly, your advertising spend will stop being a “black hole” and start generating real growth. Thank goodness!
YouTube targeting options can be confusing at first. But with the right strategy, you will connect with viewers who are interested in your product and may even binge-watch your ads.
Find Your YouTube Soulmates
YouTube’s audience? Huge. Let’s not be naive. Not everyone will indeed be a fan of your product or service. Knowing who you want to reach is the key to creating effective YouTube ads.
Imagine your ideal audience as the main character in a rom-com. Consider age, gender and location. Also, consider their interests, device preferences, and even their interest in your brand. Your chances of making an impression are better if you’re more specific.
Pro tip: Analyze your website traffic data, CR, M, or previous campaigns to find the juicy details. Your best leads come from 20-somethings who are glued to technology reviews? Maybe it’s the parents who are obsessed with DIY tutorials.
Create a profile of your target audience using data and not gut feelings. Then, create ads that will make them think, “Wow, the brand understands me.”
Your secret weapon: Demographic targeting
YouTube ads that target tools can be like a Swiss Army Knife for advertisers. Want to target parents who are in their 30s and live in urban areas as your audience? Done. Do you sell high-end goods? Target higher income brackets. To make your ads more effective, you can segment by gender, age, location and household income.
It’s not only about who views your ad, but also about what they’re seeing. Your creative should be tailored to their specific needs. Student loan refinancing? Keep it relevant for younger adults. Luxurious travel packages? Aspirational travel packages for high-earners.
Want to step it up? For even greater precision, combine demographic filters with other options of targeting. Don’t forget to keep testing. The best strategies are created by experimenting.
Interest-Based Audience Targeting: “Everyone” isn’t the target audience
Interest-based targeting is the cherry on top. YouTube allows you to target users based upon what they watch, how often they search or how much time and attention they devote to a particular topic. Enter two key players, affinity audiences and in market audiences.
Affinity groups are passionate, like techies, gamers, and fitness enthusiasts. Selling wellness supplements? Focus on fitness enthusiasts who enjoy a good selfie with a protein shake. In the meantime, your target audience is actively looking for what you have to offer. Wedding planners could target users searching for “wedding venues nearby” or “how do I survive as a bridesmaid.”
Mixing demographics and interests will result in campaigns that are more effective, waste less impressions, increase ROI, and have a greater impact.
Smarter tools to weed out the wrong crowd
It’s not all good views, especially if you have ads for premium whisky playing in the background of a toddler cartoon marathon. YouTube’s exclusion tools can be useful, but third-party software takes things to the next level.
You can block ads on channels that are irrelevant or offensive. These tools dive into video metadata to detect content themes and adjust faster than any algorithm. The result? The result? Your ads remain classy and your budget remains intact. This helps your brand avoid awkward moments like “why are these ads here?”
YouTube ads of the future: smarter, sharper, funnier
YouTube’s advertising game is constantly evolving and won’t slow down. AI will become even more adept at predicting audience preferences before the audiences themselves are aware of them. Marketers will be kept on their toes by privacy updates and changing user habits, but that’s part of the fun.
What is the key? Keep your mind open. Experiment as if you were a mad scientist. Rethink your strategy as new features and tools are released. The future of ads on YouTube will be all about collaboration – your creative ideas and AI brainpower working together to target gold.