This week at Google Marketing Live, YouTube announced a new editing tool for advertisers called Bumper Machine , which automatically optimizes YouTube video content by breaking video ads in to shorter bumper ads. This is just another way in which the company is evolving to help advertisers build assets that align with consumer consumption behavior. In order to reach people effectively in video, advertisers have to be specific, starting with the planning process from content creation to targeting to drive results. Below are a few tips on how to be successful when preparing for a YouTube campaign in today’s landscape:   Plan Against Specific Objectives What action do you want users take after watching one of your videos - and more importantly, how do you want them to feel? Too often, brands will think about how they want to approach advertising with their videos after the video has already been created. Build in your advertising objectives from the start of the creative planning process, and you’ll find creative to be much more effective when you’re ready to leverage it, even if you’re cropping down to bumper ads that are just six seconds long. For example, Airbnb’s bumper ads often involve a key phrase that narrates the vacation scene, and offers up driving emotions including nostalgia and desire, meanwhile the logo is just visible in the corner. This short and sweet bumper ad reminds the viewer that their next vacation, full of memories yet-to-happen, isn’t going to book itself.   Focus on Quick Impact Research shows the majority of viewers lose interest in less than 2 seconds when watching a video ad online. If you don’t capture their attention quickly, they’re highly likely to skip or leave. Additionally, if you don’t showcase your brand’s logo, name, or other identifying item within the first 1-2 seconds, users may end up watching for a bit, without even realizing it’s an ad for your brand. They could even confuse your brand with a competitor! The sooner you get your campaign message and branding across, the more likely a consumer is to watch, engage, and connect with your brand. How can you get your point across in one second or less? Keep in mind that many users consume video on the go and may not always have sound enabled, so including visual references alongside audio is likely to be more effective.   Spread the Wealth (of Learnings) When launching your campaign, you can set it up to receive real-time learnings on how to best utilize marketing dollars across different tactics. First, leverage YouTube’s in-market audiences to filter users based on interests, demographics, and search patterns, alongside custom lookalike audiences of your brand’s website visitors. You can monitor behavior on the ad, and take things a step further by layering in remarketing audiences in search campaigns based on users who saw the video. This will show you how many users are looking for your brand after being exposed to your message and give you more insight into how they behave with your other marketing channels. Having understanding of the brand education they’re receiving and what part of the funnel you can move them into, will help guide your next steps as your campaign progresses.

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