Introducing YouTube Director: A Suite of Video Ad Creation Products for Businesses

Introducing YouTube Director: A Suite of Video Ad Creation Products for Businesses

By linda linklink   8:00 AM   No comments:

Whether it’s for entertainment, indulging a passion, or discovering something new, more people are turning to YouTube to watch video. In fact, growth in watch time on YouTube is up at least 50% year-over-year.¹ Now, more than ever, businesses can connect with their customers through video advertising on YouTube.

But we know that creating a video ad can be challenging. To make it easier for every business—from a dog walker to a barber shop owner—to get started with advertising on YouTube, we’re launching the YouTube Director suite of products. Three products that make video ads more accessible to businesses.

Make a video ad right from your phone

With the free YouTube Director for business app (available for iPhone today in the U.S. and Canada) anyone can create a video ad for their business quickly and easily—right from their phone. No editing experience required. People like Woody Lovell Jr., owner of the The Barber Shop Club in Los Angeles, are already seeing positive results with YouTube Director.

Woody shot and edited a video ad by himself, uploaded it to YouTube, and worked with an AdWords expert to run a campaign. As a result, Woody’s business saw a significant increase in potential customers being able to remember and recognize his ad.²

We challenged five business owners—including Woody—to create a video ad in twenty minutes or less. Watch what happened and download the app to give it a try.

Get a professional to make your video ad

In select U.S. cities, we’re also offering YouTube Director onsite, a service that sends a professional filmmaker to shoot and edit a video ad for free whenever a business spends at least $150 to advertise on YouTube. YouTube Director onsite is available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C.—and coming to more cities soon.

Is your business an app? We can create a video ad for you too

YouTube Director automated video creates a video ad automatically from existing assets like logos and app screenshots in the App Store or Google Play Store, and is available globally. Reach out to a Google expert (1-855-500-2756) for more information.

No matter what kind of business you’re in, getting started with advertising on YouTube just became a whole lot easier. We can’t wait to see what you make. Happy filming.

Max Goldman, Product Manager, YouTube Director, recently watched "YouTube Director Video Challenge."

This post originally appeared on the YouTube Blog.

1. Google Data, 2016
2. Woody’s YouTube Director video ad for The Barber Shop Club drove a 73% increase in ad recall among target customers on YouTube, and a 56% lift in brand awareness (AdWords Brand Lift Study, June 2016)

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Warm Up to Video this Holiday Season with YouTube

Warm Up to Video this Holiday Season with YouTube

By linda linklink   8:00 AM   No comments:

With the holiday season in full swing, more people than ever are turning to YouTube to help them shop. In fact, the number of people who go to YouTube is up more than three times year over year¹. However unlike TV, YouTube isn’t just a place for brands with primetime budgets to connect with consumers. It has become a powerful tool for small and medium businesses which actually make up the majority of the video advertisers on YouTube. Over the last two years, the number of these advertisers has doubled.²

Small businesses like Cosatto, Ole Smoky Moonshine, and Homer Simpson’s Mr. Plow are using YouTube to connect with potential customers and make the most of the busy holiday season. Here are some tips for advertising on YouTube to help you get started.

1. Get mobile with YouTube

More than 50% of YouTube’s video views happen on smartphones and tablets.³ In fact, YouTube videos on mobile alone reach more U.S. viewers ages 18 to 34 than any cable network.⁴ Businesses are realizing they can reach those customers with relevant video ads, when and where it matters. For instance, Cosatto, an online retailer specializing in high-quality strollers, baby travel systems and car seats, uses YouTube ads to connect with people researching baby products on their mobile devices.

54% of all holiday shoppers say they plan to shop on their smartphones in spare moments throughout the day, like when they’re walking or commuting.⁵ To capture that attention, think of where your ideal customers live, where they go and what they watch. Use that information to tailor your video ads to the people who share your interests and live nearby. For Cosatto, half of all their video views come from people watching on mobile devices.

2. Build your brand with video  

People go to YouTube for all things do-it-yourself. Searches relating to ‘How To’ on YouTube have grown 70% year over year.⁶ So if someone is searching for “how to make a holiday cocktail” and your company sells those ingredients, your video ad can show up in that moment. Starting in July 2015, Ole Smoky Moonshine, a distillery from Tennessee with distribution throughout the US, has created custom YouTube content to inject its "C'mon Live a Little" rallying cry into common consumption occasions including holiday parties or watching football. Video content produced by creative agency Standard Time was implemented as TrueView ads by VaynerMedia to reach Ole Smoky's core audience of 21-to-34-year-olds, specifically targeting consumers living in zip codes corresponding to the brand's distribution. Ultimately, this execution was responsible for a 22% increase in brand awareness and 1115% increase in related keyword searches on Google.com.

To stand out, include your business logo, a link to your website (or phone number) and a strong call-to-action in your video ad. Having a memorable ‘hook’ at the start of the ad can also capture people’s attention, lead to more views and increase the chances they’ll search for your business afterwards.

3. Get meaningful metrics

You want to know when your advertising is working, and YouTube analytics lets you keep an eye on the metrics that matter most – including how long people watch, how many viewers visit your site, and how many people share, like and comment on your ad. With YouTube’s TrueView video ads you only get charged when someone chooses to watch your ad, so every view you get is deliberate and can be measured. For example, Mr. Plow is a snowplow business in Springfield owned by Homer Simpson. In our new ad spot, he uses TrueView video ads to showcase his snowplowing capabilities to neighbors watching videos online throughout the busy winter season. Video advertisers like Homer can see how people are engaging with his video ad and use this information to make small but important changes to their campaigns. Are people not finishing your video ad? Consider shortening it. Is your view rate lower than you’d like? Potentially make the first five seconds more interesting.

We hope you can use these tips to creatively showcase your business on YouTube this holiday season and beyond. You can learn more here, and best wishes as you wrap up the holiday season.

Posted by Claire Mudd, Head of Americas SMB Marketing

1. Google earnings call, Jul. 2015

2. Google data, Q4 2013 - Q4 2015

3. Google earnings call, Jul. 2015

4. Google-commissioned Nielsen study, Dec. 2013 - Feb. 2015
5. Holiday Shopping Trends 2015: 3 Predictions for Retailers, Nov. 2015
6. Google data, U.S., Q1 2014-Q1 2015

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