Are Youtube Video Ad Campaigns The Way To Go This Year?

Yesterday I registered for a webinar on Youtube video ad campaigns, which goes live this evening. Hosted by Stuart Ross and presented by a friend of his Gideon Shalwick. The event will discuss how to set up highly effective Youtube video ad campaigns in a matter of minutes. I’m looking forward to this one.

Stuart Ross actually delivered a 2 day Youtube advertising workshop in London for SFM members a couple of weeks ago. He’s convinced that Youtube video advertising will be the marketing strategy to follow in 2015.

Let’s face he’s done Ok with online marketing over the last 7 or 8 years so I reckon he is always worth listening to. By association anyone who he chooses to recommend is also worth hearing out because that’s a VERY select group.

I’ll write about the webinar later in the week but today just wanted to talk about the ever-changing digital marketing landscape. It’s sometimes frustrating, often exciting and never boring. If Stuart’s right about Youtube video ad campaigns (and he probably is) there is talk of this all over the industry at the minute, then there will be exciting times ahead.

Youtube Video Ad Campaigns Vs Facebook Ads

Whenever a buzz about a new online marketing approach starts (or is started?) It’s not long before a raft of related training courses and products follow. For some time now Facebook has been the marketers favourite place to be. lots of experts have emerged and have created Facebook marketing products and very big businesses.

Unfortunately though that’s becoming a much tougher field to play on. There’s a definite feel in the air that alternatives are being sought. More than ever online marketing is all about the consumer experience. That’s a good thing but it does force marketers to change their game – that’s probably a good thing too in many cases.

Like Google adwords before them Facebook takes a very hard line on any advertising that doesn’t lead their customers to a valuable experience. In real terms that means adverts that are full of hype, false promises or unrealistic claims just don’t wash.

Most marketers agree that this is all good – it gets rid of the scammy element who do the industry no favours. BUT – the broad brush, largely automated approach Facebook and other platforms take to deciding which ads don’t wash has caused a lot of upset with in the industry. It is after all how a lot of people these days put bread on the table and most of them are the good guys.

Will Youtube Video Ad Campaigns Offer A Great ROI?

So back to Youtube video ad campaigns then. To some extent most marketers use video as part of their strategy. Whether that be for use on landing pages or just for organic, keyword related content sharing. Some specialise in video marketing of course but using paid advertising to drive traffic to video is not something a lot of marketers do.

Youtube has made changes as have Google (who own Youtube) to their paid advertising platform. That’s what tonight’s webinar with Stuart Ross and Gideon Shalwick is all about and why I’m looking forward to it so much.

I’ve done a couple of Youtube video ad campaigns for myself and for others. It’s certainly fairly cheap on a pay per view basis compared to Facebook or Google adwords but it opens a whole other can of worms….

When you think about the sheer number of videos out there vying for attention – from the slick professional video marketers to the unpredictable virality of – “My Brother bit my finger” and similar, home produced material, you get the idea.

If you’re going to spend money sending people to your video content, it better be good – in some way. You’re competing with millions of people armed with high quality, portable video camera’s doing all sorts of clever, exciting and mind blowing things.

Personally I love video marketing. Within the SFM community there have been all sorts of video challenges, workshops and masterminds going on for some time. Youtube video ad campaigns have clearly been something Stuart Ross has been looking at for a while. Video has always been a big part of his own success so any new insights he has to back up his claim that Youtube video ad campaigns will be the way to go in 2015 will be gold dust.

I’ll keep you posted on what happens tonight but in the meantime why not grab the SFM’s free YourTube WordPress player plugin on the link below.