YouTube is home to more than 2 billion users worldwide and drives more than 30 million daily visits, making it a great platform for small businesses looking to market with video content. 

These are commonly known as TRUEVIEW ads that do not force an audience to watch. These can be shown in two, stress-free ways such as in Stream and In-Display.

YouTube ads are one of the most overlooked ad formats in digital marketing, and it’s easy to figure out why. 

The massive focus on ads platforms like Hobo.Video, combined with the challenge of creating compelling high-quality video content makes YouTube ads a tough sell to small business owners.

Here are 5 YouTube ad types that will help you to use YouTube ads to grow your business;

Before that, if you are unfamiliar with YouTube, their primary advertising format is known as the trueview ad approach. Before we can understand the value of skippable in-stream ads, we need to take a look at YouTube’s TrueView ad approach.

TrueView is a video format that gives the viewer options, typically the ability to skip the advertisement after five seconds. Sponsors only pay for ads that are viewed to completion (or for 30 seconds, whoever comes first), or for those that the viewer has selected.

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1. Skippable In-Stream Ads

Use skippable in-stream ads when you have video content you’d like to promote before, during, or after other videos on YouTube and across websites and apps running on Google video partners.

Now, let’s see how this format works; skippable in-stream ads play before, during, or after other videos. After 5 seconds, the viewer has the option to skip the ad

Skippable in-stream ads appear on YouTube watch pages and across websites and apps running on Google video partners.

Here, the question arises of how will you be charged in skippable in-stream ads

With CPV binding, you pay when a viewer watches 30 seconds of video (or the full duration of the video if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with your video, whichever comes first.

With Target CPM, Target CPA, and maximum conversions bidding, you pay based on impressions.

Most campaign goals that need to be selected to use this YouTube ad to grow their business are;

• Sales 
• Leads 
• Websites traffic
• Brand awareness and reach 
• Product and brand consideration 

2. Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads                                    

Non-stream ads are short in-stream video ads that play before, during, or after other videos. Viewers don’t have the option to skip your ad with videos between 6 and 15 seconds, non-skippable ads allow you to reach viewers with your entire message.

• Videos must be between 6 and 15 seconds and hosted on YouTube. Viewers and hosted on YouTube. Viewers can’t skip your ad. You can also take ideas for such ads from  Hobo.Video .
• A view of your non-skippable ad won’t increment the video’s YouTube view count.
• Bids for non-skippable ads are set based on target CPM. Target CPM is a way to bid where you set how much you are willing to pay every thousand times your ad is shown. Display and video 360 will optimize your bids to help get as many impressions as possible using your target CPM amount. Some impressions may cost more or less than your target CPM, but altogether Display and Video 360 will try to keep your line item average CPM equal to or lower than the target CPM you set.
• You can’t build remarketing lists off of views to non-skippable ads.

Non-skippable, bumper, and TrueViews ads are part of the same line item type in Display and Video 360, but you must create separate line items for each format. 

I recommend non-skippable ads are best to select if you have a small business and are looking forward to using YouTube ads to grow your business.

3. Video Discovery Ads

Use this format to promote a video in places of discovery and appear on YouTube search results, alongside related YouTube videos, on the YouTube homepage, as an overlay on a YouTube watch page, and on video partner sites and apps across the Display Network. TrueView discovery ads can deliver an excellent ROI because you pay only when someone clicks on your ad thumbnail, thereby demonstrating an interest in your brand. Think of these ads as a tool to promote your YouTube channel, boost channel subscription, and increase brand awareness. Your ads consist of thumbnail images from your video with some text. While the exact size and appearance of the ad may vary depending on where it appears, video discovery always invites people to click to watch the video. The ad unit consists of image thumbnails and up to three lines of context. Clocking the ad will deliver the user to YouTube watch or channel to the video rather than playing the video within the ad unit itself. 

TrueView video discovery ad formats, CPV, and Target CPA bidding strategies are supported, but your videos must be hosted on YouTube. While direct conversation may be your ultimate goal when it comes to paid advertising, generating brand awareness and engagement through channels like YouTube can still be highly beneficial to your marketing efforts, especially if you set your goals properly.

4. Bumper Ads

Bumper ads are six-second YouTube ads that are not skippable. The reason they’re called bumper ads is they’re super short, they are kind of little bumper. So they kind of just remind the end user about the brand.

• Bumper ads are ideal for bigger brands
• We never use them at our agency because our clients pay us for results; they pay us for getting leads for getting sales. They don’t really pay us for branding right?

So it’s a branding play but even the six seconds don’t really have much time to communicate your brand or what you guys are about. To be honest I think this is kept to the very biggest companies that can do that. 

However, it’s not a very cost effective ad format. So we don’t really recommend this for you if you’re the average marketer, unless you are working with a billion dollar brand.

5. Masthead Ads

YouTube masthead ads are the one which appears on the homepage right on the top. When users login to YouTube beat from mobile, desktop or even television these days, the masthead ads appear prominently on the top in the form of native video.

According to research these ads have comparatively wider audience reach because of the number of viewers and the fact that these ads are shown for 24 hours to every logged in user for a day in that specific country. Now that’s a huge amount of audience’s reach for the brands.

Now let’s see how much these ads cost; well the masthead ads are probably the costliest of digital ad formats. They may cost anywhere in the range of two core to 2.8 core per day. Okay well that’s huge but considering the audience reach, spending that sort of money on masthead sounds quite reasonable for brands. Especially the bigger ones you have deep enough pockets to shell out such money.

So here, if you are working with bigger brands and looking forward to using YouTube ads to grow your business then masthead ads are the best option for you.

How to Decide Which Kind of YouTube Ad is Right for Your Business

Now you are ready to get started with your YouTube video ads. You’ve done all your audience and keyword research, and you know what the messaging should look like. Now you just need to pick up an ad format.

Brand Consideration: Video Discovery Ads

One of the most compelling reasons to experiment with discovery ads is their potential as a brand consideration tool.

Instead of focusing on squeezing in a quick ad before someone else’s video, you can integrate your ad content into the YouTube search experience. This is where keyword search can really shine.

Brand Awareness: Non-Skippable Ads

If your primary marketing goal is casting a wide net, non-skippable ads can effectively raise awareness for your brand. These ads can appear pre-roll, mis-roll, or even post-roll. If you are worried about placement, YouTube serves these ads whenever they believe viewers are most likely to watch.

Lead Generation: TrueView In-Stream Ads 

If the viewer doesn’t want to consume your content, they can leave, at no cost to you. If the viewer does want to interact, they’ve now provided you with some very valuable information. They’re genuinely interested in your brand.

Message Reinforcement: Bumper Ads

Bumper ads don’t allow for much in terms of storytelling or education. What it can do is allow just enough time to hype up a new product or services.

Reach: Masthead Ads

Masthead ads aren’t for the average small business. While they may not be a cost-effective way to market your brand, they do highlight a lesson about ad budgets in marketing: specifically, the concept of ROI.

Masthead ads aren’t impressive because they are expensive. They are impressive because they show that with enough data; even the biggest risks become manageable.

THE TAKEAWAY

YouTube ads can be a great marketing strategy when you know how it works. It can grow your business and give you optimal results.

Like many marketing endeavors, you need to familiarize YouTube’s algorithm, learn how to create video content that converts and be passionate about your goals. It’s easy to start any campaign; the hard part is maintaining it and getting positive results from it

This information serves as your ticket to successful YouTube advertising.