This week’s PPCChat session welcomed guest host @coryhenke who discussed the advantages of testing videos on YouTube, The biggest hurdle to test the budget for YouTube, Best ways to evaluate a YouTube campaign with minimal conversion volume and more.
Q1: What would be the advantages of testing video on YouTube vs. Facebook?
Well it’s completely different audience targeting. FB is about sharing and engaging, while YT is generally longer form. I can see what people are watching when my ads show up on YT, while with FB it’s interest/like based.@JuliaVyse
Happy to briefly join (sorry I can’t catch the whole session!) – I would say intent IMO. You’re on YouTube to consume video content, so you’ll have a better idea of how it’s being engaged with. on FB – it’s not the primary purpose of the platform for me. @AzeemDigital
Con’t – on bigger buys I’ve seen amplification, higher reach when you use both instead of just one. @JuliaVyse
Not having to deal with the FB interface. @JanineSEM
The advantages – A user willing to watch for longer – Skippable (CPV at 30 Seconds) allows for more time to engage and convert before you pay – Bid adjustment at the region and device level – Earned Views (organic engagement). @coryhenke
I’m curious about intent though when it comes to ads on the 2 platforms? Either way, it is still an ad interrupting what the user really wants. @NeptuneMoon
YouTube’s audience really wants to watch videos vs. Facebook, the videos are interrupting their stalking for friends and family… @lchasse
The qualification of a view by skippability in my mind. @JonKagan
Q2: For B2B advertisers specifically. Have you tested the new lead form YouTube feature, and if so, how did it perform? For those that haven’t. Why?
Haven’t tested lead forms yet. Not that many of our clients use YT ads. We’ve pitched them a few times but no takers yet. @Mel66
I have not tested this, but am very interested in answers from you all who have. Main reason not, lack of video assets. Or client thinking YT is not where “their customers are” (much like the FB argument). @NeptuneMoon
We’ve seen mixed success. But where we find the lead form to work on FB, we usually find consistency on YT as well. Most impressive across all our efforts with YouTube lead form ads is the quality of lead as well as new form functionality. @coryhenke
Q3: In the last six months have you experienced growth in your YouTube budget or have you launched YouTube for an advertiser?
Cory, it’s a pandemic outside. no budgets have increased in the last six months. But we are planning more in the Fall. @JuliaVyse
I was growing YouTube budgets until this thing called COVID hit. Even for accounts that are killing it, we had to increase budgets in other areas so much, it reduced our video/testing budgets. @lchasse
We launched for two branding campaigns in the past 2 months and we’re in the final stages for an ecommerce reengagement campaign. Very stoked, though my expectation is more fuzzy than direct conversions. @ferkungamaboobo
I had just started to scale up a YT strategy for a custom apparel company after great results from a custom intent audience. Then Covid. @JanineSEM
Not a lot of new anything happening in my client world right now. Don’t see that loosening up much until the pandemic is fully in the rearview.@NeptuneMoon
I have been doing more YouTube this year but feel like it’s so hard to show any impact with small to mid-sized budgets. @Pamela_Lund
Kind of, our CPV has dropped absurdly low, so we’re capturing more demand finally. @JonKagan
We have increased YT spend as a TV network with free on-demand programming. It has been a great platform to reach people seeking entertainment and serving ads for tv series! @mackay0
As most of my clients are eComm we started to push for branding & youtube as the virus hit but unfortunately only a few clients had the budget to test. we did see decent results from those that did. @selley2134
We’ve experienced growth in our advertiser YouTube budget, specifically in the B2B space with their new lead form product. More e-comm. advertisers testing long-form creative on the platform than the year prior as well. @coryhenke
Launched an awareness campaign for a small business that just launched in March this year, ouch! Then…all their competitors had to close, they were able to make physical changes to their space to allow social distancing and remain open. Killed it over the next few months. @Roblannone
Q4: What is the biggest hurdle for you or a brand you work with when it comes to testing or scaling the budget for YouTube?
90% of the time it comes down to getting assets or proving bottom line. @JonKagan
It’s generally getting assets to try it at all. oh, and they recently changed the pricing for mastheads, effectively tripling the price. BOO! @JuliaVyse
Each advertiser has their own hurdle, but believe creative is the consistent roadblock when we discuss. Insert creative agency ___________. @coryhenke
Yep, creative creative creative. Creating videos at a reasonable cost that look good is tough and most clients can create 1 which isn’t enough for testing. Been playing with the video builder tool and it’s good for ecomm small biz. @Pamela_Lund
Creative the brand will be happy with and not cost them a small fortune. Part of them being happy is wanting to change…. Brands are so used to being able to go back and forth with email/print creative 100 times, video is different. @lchasse
My personal biggest hurdle is the inventory. So. Much. Junk. So. Many. Clout. Chasers. Audiences are a bit of a mess too because of shared computers. @ferkungamaboobo
Q5: Speaking of creative, if you’ve worked on a YouTube campaign, can you tag your creative agency or internal team? We can’t run our campaigns without them… Let’s give them some credit.
Here are a few great groups we have had the pleasure of working with in the past: – Creatably.com – StoicYeti.com – Cosmicpictures.com – Molio.com – Chamber.media @coryhenke
tbfair, our creative partners are outstanding! but their product is expensive and they are generally reluctant to accept/approve platform help that makes an ‘inferior product’ @JuliaVyse
@martyweintraub is the master mind behind some of our most viral successes. We have a video we’re using for TW and YT right now and the TW CTR rose to around 30% at one point in June for a follower LLA. Also, @joethornton has worked in video for a while. @timmhalloran
Q6: What are the best ways to evaluate a YouTube campaign with minimal conversion volume?
Views, unique views, and how big an audience I can build for my RLSA campaigns! @JuliaVyse
1st: Earned Views, CTR, and CPC are great engagement metrics 2nd: View Rate, Reach, Cost Per View (CPV), Completion Rate all great view metrics 3rd: If spending enough, seeing any halo effect on google trends or increased brand search imps. @coryhenke
Media mix studies! “We spent $X more on YouTube and generated X% more conversions than last year/month” — I’d expect ramp-up times for sure. Like I said, I’m also exploring direct brand awareness and message recall measurement, but it’s all a bit fishy – any recos? @ferkungamaboobo
Con’t – for branding campaigns, look for new channel subscribers too. @JuliaVyse
Video Views, CTR, and CPC (when the creative is right for that audience- we often see a high CTR and that gives a great reference point in my reporting for the campaign) @mackay0
I usually look at the engagement data for the videos. How long did they watch, CTR, etc… I also watch the brand search trend to see if we are able to increase brand searches. @lchasse
Q7: Do you have a funnel or audience strategy when testing or optimizing your YouTube campaigns?
Not really. I think it’s a good idea in theory, but we do our funnel strat across channels rather than within. So YT for upper f/audience building, Search/DR for conversion. @JuliaVyse
Our campaigns when managing are simple: Top: CPV campaigns, and Max. Conv. Affinity audience. Mid: would include any users who engaged (earned view), in-market, and/or intent audience. Low: any user who has engaged on the website. @coryhenke
Absolutely, the message is different for people new to the brand or product vs. someone who already knows your product. Optimally you will create different audiences and tailor your messages appropriately. @lchasse
Not exactly a funnel, but I tested video ad sequencing with a continued storyline for one of our TV series. I felt it provided a great experience for the user and allowed a deeper engagement with the show over time prior to the premiere. (without upping frequency). @mackay0
Don’t discount your different video assets. YT is good for long form, but 6s bumpers can raise awareness like all getout! take one long video and chop it down to 15 and 6s, you’ve got a funnel in the making. @JuliaVyse
Q8: What is the preferred length for an ad on YouTube?
Loaded question! I like 6 & 15 for promos, 30-1min for brand building. @JuliaVyse
Not a definitive answer but long enough. If the video is too short, the customer could be left asking “what?” or if too long, you just lose them. Answer their question or solve their need and end it. It could be 15 seconds or 10 minutes (complicated). @lchasse
Do you LOVE LOVE LOVE the creative? 30s, follow all the TV ad rules of getting everything in the first 5s etc. Is the creative only OK? 15 sec. Effective 5s spots are rare I’ve seen stuff at like 2-5 min and that’s more along the “content promotion” angle. @ferkungamaboobo
We promote longer form for new users, shorter form for engagement or web audiences. We’ve found that the longer the video for a new user, the more the opportunity to become an earned view, completion, and/or clickthrough. @coryhenke
Min of 30 seconds for stretching dollar furthest. @JonKagan
Q9: I am running my first YouTube campaign, what bid type should I test?
Manual CPV until you get a baseline. @JonKagan
For a new account I usually run a CPV as we are starting to test. @lchasse
This depends on your goal. Views go for cost per view. Conversions start with max conv. If the budget allows, you can test multiple bid types simultaneously (google would disagree). Either bid type priorities the user most likely to take the action desired. @coryhenke
Max CPV to start, max conversions if you have a strong funnel and tracking set up. @JuliaVyse
Q10: If you could request any feature from YouTube, what would it be and why?
Where do I start… 1. Search query and keyword data reporting and targeting improvement 2. Placement & Channel targeting and delivery that works 3. 10 Second Skip Button 4. In-feed placement upgrades. @coryhenke
OOOOOOOOOO! video extensions on Search, and search query data from the YT platform. @JuliaVyse
PPCChat Participants
- Julie F Bacchini @NeptuneMoon
- CoryHenke @coryhenke
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Azeem @AzeemDigital
- Janine Monico @JanineSEM
- lchasse @lchasse
- Jon Kagan @JonKagan
- Melissa Mackey @Mel66
- Doug R Thomas, Esq. @ferkungamaboobo
- Pamela Lund @Pamela_Lund
- Scott MacKay @mackay0
- Shaun Elley @selley2134
- Rob Lannone @Roblannone
- Tim Halloran @timmhalloran
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