YouTube Ads Tutorial: Best Practices (2022)

Consumer attention has evolved tremendously over the last decade. Customers consume on a different level today. Building up to the ad message doesn’t make sense anymore. I believe in starting strong and including the hills and valleys that keep users engaged the entire time. Many believe that consumers prefer bumper ads or short ads. On the other hand, some say an extended video ad brings a higher ticket because it’s more compelling – either can work. It depends on the audience.

Understand the customer.

There are two different types of story arcs for advertisements: traditional and emerging.

In the traditional story arc, the momentum is building, from slow to a definitive peak, then dropping once again. This great for media such as TV or books. But, today people don't pay as close attention to long form messaging like this.

That's where the emerging story arc comes in. This mode starts off strong, rises to a bigger peak, dips to a valley, then an unexpected peak, ending with a drop.

Re-edit a TV or similar ad creative to follow the emerging story arc.

This Airbnb commercial is an example of a series of ads that have a similar message. They’re not talking about pricing – it’s more about the flexibility. It’s telling the story of one boy who was essentially shy before and now he’s going for it and jumping into the pool.

So, tell a story or a sequence of stories depending on the underlying strategy. It does not have to be high production, but it will be a singular short clip. However, it's difficult to go deep with this singular message.

This is a low-production Wix ad. It makes the viewer feel like he or she is at someone’s house and it’s speaking to the user’s end benefit. This person starts a Wix store and it blows up with sales. Instead of high production, it’s showing user-generated content (UGC). The ad's message says look at this regular person; they look like you, and their store is blowing up. They have a family just like me and they are so happy.

This ad has performed well for Wix.

Always have a budget for testing alternative ads. And once again, think about the objective when creating these pieces.

It’s all about the ABCD principle.

Attention: hook people early. Keep visuals bright and contrasted. Jump into action immediately.

Branding: Utilize the brand throughout the ad. Early, often and richly. Draw on a wide branding palette. Show up early, then continuously. *In slide example: this can lift the brand and brand goals.

Connection: Let the feature touch people through their emotions. Tell them a story they’re already having. Humanize the story and keep it simple.

Direction: Take action. Have a call to action at the end. There’s good research to support that this works. Asking people to take action, getting them to subscribe, check out the company website, or learn more.

Storyboard these points and use them in the ad’s creative strategy.

Attention: It’s important to jump in quickly with action-focused ads. Grab that attention from the viewer and get to the heart of the story. Have supers, audio and include bright visuals that grab attention.

Branding: Make sure the branding is not taking away from the objective. It’s product-focused. It’s a selling moment and not meant to be brand-building. The brand is still upfront, but the ad is focused on the product and the solution.

Connection: Be precise and upfront about what is being offered. It’s not like branding and awareness. It’s more fluffy; avoid overselling. Say specifically how this helps the audience and how it will solve their problem. Skip major claims, but be clear and concise with the message.

Direction: Say exactly what the viewers should do. Reinforce this with voiceovers.

YouTube Ads Tutorial: Best Practices (2022)

Overview:

Exploring Creative Experimentation Opportunities

Visual Language

Generic

Copy Only

Copy and Visual

Snack

Bite

Why This Matters

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