Google Video Campaign Ads: video as a marketing tool

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is video worth?

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From traditional TV commercials in the 1960s to today’s ever growing video-supporting platforms, the power of video as a marketing tool is indisputable. Over the last decades the weight of video content has increased continuously and social media platforms are the proof of it. By 2022, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic.

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There was a time when we would mainly associate video content to platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo, but scroll down on any social media platform today and you will find a significant amount of video content, especially in advertisements. In fact, incorporating Facebook live, Instagram live and IGTV have brought even more success to these platforms, now considered social media titans.

What makes video such a powerful marketing tool?
Video is an attractive, versatile, and extremely shareable medium to reach audiences. It allows creators to combine a lot of different elements and covey a complex message that appeals to the users emotions. Video content draws you in; how many times have you started looking at a particular video on YouTube and ended up spending double the time you expected on the platform? This happens because human brains are particularly drawn to consuming content this way, the movement of the video grabs our attention right away and depending on the type of message the video displays, it will either appeal to our curiosity or our empathy. Either way, this has great potential when it comes to brands connecting with their audience.

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What tools can marketeers use to leverage this potential?
The use of video as a marketing tool is widespread, so most platforms allow you to promote your videos. However, one of the most efficient methods to reach potential clients while they are browsing other content is Google Video Campaign Ads. With this tool you can create compelling video campaigns with a range of video ad formats to engage customers in different ways on YouTube and across video partner sites.

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Video Campaign formats
One of the reasons these campaigns are so effective is the diversity of options Google Ads enables you to choose from, which makes it possible to tailor a campaign to your business’ specific needs. There are six different formats:

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• Skippable in-stream ads: they play before, during, or after other videos and after 5 seconds it can be skipped by the viewer. These are the most generic type and can be used for a variety of goals including driving sales, generating leads, website traffic and brand awareness.

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• Non-skippable in-stream ads: the duration is 15 seconds or less, they are also played before, during, or after other videos but they cannot be skipped. You could say, these video ads pitch the viewer about your business which makes them very useful for brand awareness and communicating your message to the audience.

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• Video discovery ads: are somewhat similar to Search Network ads, these ads will appear on the right with the list of video suggestions similar to the one that is streaming. Video discovery ads consist of a thumbnail image of the video and a description.The goal of this format is to raise product and brand consideration.

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• Bumper ads: they play before, during, or after another video and are 6 seconds long maximum, the viewer can’t choose to skip the ad which makes them similar to the Non- skippable in-stream ads. However, the short duration makes a big difference in the content. The purpose of this format is to reach viewers broadly with a short, memorable message.

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• Outstream ads: this format is only for mobile and it is designed to increase video reach at an efficient cost, the video ads begin playing with the sound off and the viewer can turn it on by taping on it. This type of video ad can help you reach more more customers on their mobile devices.

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• Masthead ads: these are useful when your goal is to reach a very big audience in a short period of time and they are only available through a Google sales representative. They work on desktop mobile as well as TV. They are a reserved media placement and aren’t as accessible as the other formats. Masthead ads are intended for a very specific objective that not necessarily all business require.

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Google Video Campaign Ads, offer an array of options to satisfy a multitude of demands and these can be used independently or combined as a marketing strategy. Most importantly they allow the marketeer to reach the relevant target audience with precision by means of video which is one of the most powerful and cost-effective marketing tools.

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Nonetheless, navigating through all these options can be complex and choosing the appropriate format makes a significant difference on the effectiveness of the campaign. At Kenshō we rely on years of marketing experience across a wide range of sectors and above all, we are passionate about driving results while adding value to your business, reach out and together we’ll take your video marketing campaign to the next level.

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