What makes YouTube different from other social media apps is the opportunity to post long videos. Although IGTV has been trying to provide the same option, and you can indeed post long video formats there, it is not as convenient as YouTube. A downside of YouTube is its algorithm that is far behind those operating on behalf of Instagram, let alone TikTok. Despite not always guessing what you want to watch, YouTube has an awesome search engine, allowing you to find what you want even when providing very little information. Additionally, it’s content also appears as top search when browsing.
What does that mean for you?
Content we suggest you post on YouTube are videos demonstrating your products that 80% of viewers find useful. This way your customers can get more familiar with your product and receive an additional value. It also builds trust because seeing how products look in video format
gives the much more realistic look than photos on their own. Even though you can post the same content on Instagram or TikTok, having it on YouTube makes it searchable, not just in the app itself, but on regular browsers as well. YouTube also allows for clickable links to be featured in the video description, unlike TikTok where this is one of the main disadvantages.
Additionally, you can easily feature YouTube videos on your website, not just in the form of a link, but as a video visible and playable on your website.
This presents an organic approach to gaining traffic on YouTube. Like all other social media you can promote your content to drive more users to your shop. There are a few ad types on YouTube. Each one of them is useful for a certain goal, so choose them according to what you want to achieve.
- Bumper – very short videos, mostly up to 6 seconds. They play before or after the video and cannot be skipped. They give the best results combined with TrueView. Use then when you want to raise brand awareness. Content of this ad should not focus on a particular product but rather to show the viewers who you are. It should present your brand clearly, so that those that have never heard of you now recognize your brand. You are charged per thousand views.
- TrueView – skippable videos that appear in two different ways – in-stream or on the discovery page. The first one appears before the user selects a video. Therefore they are short, and have very little time to catch the viewers attention (probably just 5 seconds). These ads are great for increasing traffic, so a call to action is necessary. Discovery ads will appear on the home page and should also be a call to action. The first type is charged per view, and discovery is charged by click, making it a safe option for the budget.
- Preroll – unskippable videos up to 20 seconds that play before, during or after users video of choice. Try to not make them annoying or intrusive because they’re being played when the viewer’s attention is on the content they chose. You get charged per thousand impressions.
- Outstream ads – a fairly new type that is mobile phone only feature working on third party apps. The cost per thousand impressions charged after 2 seconds
The most important thing is to always add links to product pages of products shown in your videos, because your focus is bringing traffic from YouTube over to your shop. There should be a nice and presentable shop waiting to assure your customers stay. Review Sliders are a great way to catch their attention and show just how trustworthy your shop is. Reviify can provide you with just that!
