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  • A Beginner’s Guide to YouTube Ads

So you’ve heard that video is the hottest new way to get the attention of consumers. And you know that with billions of active users each month, YouTube is the biggest video platform out there. Naturally, then, you want to start advertising on YouTube.

If you’re just getting started with YouTube advertising, there are a few things you need to do before you’re up and running. Here we’ll share some YouTube ads tips for beginners.

Set Up Your YouTube Channel

You can’t advertise on YouTube without your very own YouTube channel! This is the first step to take when launching a video advertising campaign.

Setting up a YouTube channel is pretty simple. YouTube has an intuitive process for business owners to establish channels for their brands. You can follow these steps here.

Once you’ve created your account, you want to build out your YouTube profile just like you would on any other social channel.

Include a description of your business and branded photo for your homepage banner. Use your logo as your thumbnail photo. Make sure that all of the branding and imagery on your YouTube channel aligns with the rest of your online presence so that it’s easy for consumers to recognize the channel as your official home on YouTube.

The logo and cover photo on the LOCALiQ YouTube page matches our branding on other sites like Facebook.

Side-by-side of LOCALiQ YouTube and Facebook page to show coverphotos.

Post Your First Videos

Once you’ve gotten the basics of your YouTube channel established, it’s time to upload some videos. A channel page without any content may raise eyebrows with consumers, so include a few introductory videos about your business.

When you’re beginning your YouTube journey, consider creating a video explaining your value proposition. You might also include videos that feature specific products or services you provide. Or you may even ask some of your enthusiastic customers to film reviews.

While this content is not paid advertising, there’s a huge benefit to posting informative organic content on YouTube, as with any other social media channel. Your YouTube channel is also where you’ll upload your video ads in the future, so it serves a dual purpose in your marketing efforts.

Set Your Advertising Goals

All smart digital marketing campaigns begin with goal setting. Particularly if you’re a YouTube beginner, it’s important to get specific about what you’re hoping to achieve.

There are a variety of YouTube ads, and they all serve their own purpose in your broader advertising strategy. Some are short and well-suited to staying top-of-mind with prospects who already know about your brand. Others are longer and can help you introduce more complex products or services, or they can give a consumer who doesn’t already know about you a thorough overview of what you do.

Once you’ve found the right ad type for your campaign goals, settle on some hard numbers for what you expect from the campaign. If it’s a campaign drumming up interest in your mailing list, how many people do you hope to sign up? If it’s a campaign for a specific product, what percentage of people are you expecting will purchase the item?

Create Your Content

You don’t need to be an Oscar-winning director to create great video content. Most phones come equipped with fantastic, high-resolution cameras. And an investment in a basic lighting setup and an inexpensive external microphone can help you create a professional, polished video without breaking the bank.

Of course, having a professional on board can help you fine-tune messaging and write a story that will resonate with your audience. If you’re looking for a partner to manage both the creative and technical sides of YouTube marketing, you might want to check out our services.

Fire Up Google Ads

The final step in launching your YouTube advertising campaign is creating it in Google Ads. If you’re already running paid search campaigns, you’ll use the same platform to manage your YouTube ads. If you’re not yet in the paid search game, now’s the time to establish your Google Ads manager account so that you can get both types of advertising up and running!

Video marketing, and YouTube advertising in particular, is a necessary component in any modern digital marketing strategy. Today’s consumers are viewing more video content than ever before, and if you want to reach them with your marketing messaging, then you need to have a presence on YouTube. Following these simple steps to establish a presence on the platform, set goals for your campaigns, and create video content can help you get your first video ads up and running in no time!

And, if you’re looking for some help with your YouTube ads, you’ve come to the right place. We can partner with you to create YouTube ads that wow the right audience and help you reach your unique marketing goals. Give us a call today to learn more.

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