The arrival of YouTube’s video builder tool

With lockdown restrictions meaning more people are forced to spend time at home, YouTube is helping bring communities together around shared passions. People are now connecting online over coffee instead of visiting their local café. Musicians are providing livestreamed concerts for fans from their living room. YouTube is now the go-to venue to explore and share offline and online passions.

Watch time on YouTube has grown in most countries. Staying connected is now more important than ever and Google has taken steps to ensure that YouTube does its part in helping keep people informed, entertained, connected and safe.

Increased audiences mean increased opportunities for advertisers worldwide, but access to YouTube-ready video assets is still a challenge for businesses of all sizes. Google recently launched an easy to use YouTube video builder tool to help those businesses access this engaged audience and advertise their products, services and solutions on YouTube. We took a quick tour of the tool and explored best practice for this great new addition to Google’s product suite.

Now is a great time to consider YouTube advertising

With footfall to physical stores/ locations limited at present, businesses need to focus on upper funnel activity to ensure that they continue to generate interest – so they can hit the ground running when normal service resumes.

Advertising in a downturn gives advertisers the opportunity to enter less crowded advertising spaces, gain higher brand visibility and potentially grab a larger slice of market share in the long-term.

People are engaging with YouTube in more ways than ever before. According to the most recent YouTube internal data, watch time growth is up by 27% compared to the previous 28 days, whilst watch time on TV screens is up by 31%. PE with Joe Wicks, anyone?

How to get the most out of YouTube video builder

Every business can now see their story come to life using the YouTube video builder. Marketing messages and images can be turned into visually appealing videos of 6 or 15 seconds in length.

Start by signing up to request access to Video Builder beta. YouTube will process your request and give you access, generally within five working days. Once you’ve been granted access, take the following steps:

1. Select a layout
2. Add your brand colour and logo
3. Enter images and text
4. Pick a font
5. Select a music track
6. Preview, save & share
7. Create your campaign

Simple steps to creative inspiration

According to Google, the four key pillars of creative are as follows:

1. Try to attract the user’s attention from the start
2. Integrate your brand ‘naturally and meaningfully’
3. Connect with the viewer through storytelling
4. Be clear and direct – use a strong call to action

Delivering the best results in uncertain times

Use the following tips to help you keep your customers engaged and continue to drive clicks and conversions via your video campaigns.

1. Adapt your campaigns to changes in consumer behaviour
   Check Google Trends to explore what the world is searching for
   Google Ads conversion tracking will help you understand how your ads can lead to meaningful actions on your website
2. Trust Google’s automated solutions
   Google has access to various audience targeting lists (custom intent audiences, affinity audiences, etc) that you can experiment with – make the best use of remarketing lists
   Use Smart Bidding Solutions like ‘maximise conversions’ to show your ads to high-intent customers
3. Add sitelink extensions to your video ads

Finally, you should review any context and ask yourself if the assets are right for the moment. You might need to avoid interactions like handshakes, hugs and high-fives while social distancing is the norm.

If you would like to explore how you could incorporate YouTube advertising into your marketing strategies, please contact a member of our paid search team.