Millions of people watch videos on YouTube.
This is a great opportunity for brands to show their products and services to their target audience at different stages of their buying journey. YouTube Shorts, which can now be up to 3 minutes long, is now more popular. In fact, 40% of people who watch YouTube Shorts don’t use other video platforms like Instagram Reels or TikTok.
Introducing a new suite of tools for brands on YouTube, Google wrote in a blog on November 13th, 2024, “You need your campaigns to drive meaningful outcomes. That means measurable, lasting results, which you can get on YouTube. In fact, according to a custom MMM meta-analysis we commissioned with Nielsen, on average, YouTube drives 2.3x higher long-term ROAS than paid social.”
Here’s all you need to know about Google’s AI-powered video campaigns that serve across Shorts, In-stream and the YouTube Feed for your marketing objectives.
New Features To Boost YouTube ads
To enhance your brand’s presence on YouTube, especially on Shorts, Google has introduced a series of powerful new features:
Tailored Ad Experiences
- Format Buying Controls: Now available globally for Video View Campaigns, these controls allow you to precisely target your ads to specific formats like Shorts or in-stream.
- Shorts-Only Buying: Optimise your campaigns exclusively for Shorts to drive performance goals. This feature is currently in limited pilot.
Innovative Ad Formats
- Interactive Stickers on Shorts Ads: Coming to all retailers by year-end, these dynamic stickers, automatically generated from product feeds, make your Shorts ads more engaging and interactive.
- These new tools are designed to help you maximise the potential of YouTube and connect with your audience in innovative ways.
Visual Storytelling with Animated Image Ads
- Dynamic Image Ads: These ads automatically create eye-catching animations from your Google Merchant Center product feeds to capture attention and drive conversions.
Enhanced Video Performance
- AI-Powered Video Optimisation: Our AI tool now generates additional video formats from your original content so that your message reaches a wider audience across YouTube’s diverse screens.
Expanding Your Audience Reach
- Broadened Shorts Audience Targeting: Google is expanding the pool of potential customers you can reach with Shorts ads, including viewers with shorter watch times.
Measuring What Matters
- Enhanced Measurement for Shorts: Google has introduced third-party sales lift measurement for Shorts ads to share deeper insights into the impact of your campaigns. You can also use the newly-launched Brand Lift surveys on Shorts to better understand brand perception and recall.
- These new capabilities help you connect with your audience in innovative ways and drive measurable results.
How To Partner With Creators on YouTube
67% of YouTube viewers believe the platform hosts the most influential creator content, significantly outpacing other platforms. This empowers brands to use the authentic power of creators to drive real results. So how can brands partner with creators for maximum impact? Let’s take a look at the most effective ways:
BrandConnect-Powered Partnership Ads
- Global Accessibility: Partnership ads, featuring authentic creator videos, are now available to all advertisers worldwide across all AI-powered Google Ads campaign types.
- Enhanced Performance: Internal data suggests that partnership ads hosted on creator channels can boost conversions on the Shorts feed by up to 20% compared to solely advertiser-branded ads.
- Streamlined Collaboration: A new video linking API simplifies the process of managing multiple creator video requests, while direct tagging within creator videos strengthens partnerships and attribution.
Centralised Creator Partnership Management
- Centralised Hub: Google is now rolling out a new centralised hub to manage creator partnerships within Google Ads. This intuitive platform will be available to select accounts in the coming months.
Capturing the Attention of Engaged Audiences
- YouTube Select Creator Takeovers: Brands can now secure 100% share of voice on top creator channels and maximise brand visibility and impact. This feature is currently available in the US and will expand to select global markets in 2025.
By the power of creators, brands can unlock the full potential of YouTube and achieve their marketing goals.
To learn more about how to collaborate with creators on BrandConnect and leverage the power of community and interaction, attend Google’s live digital event on November 14th. You can also subscribe to YouTube Re:View for exclusive access to the latest industry insights, thought leadership, and best practices in video advertising.
Need a fresh perspective? Let’s talk.
At 360 OM, we specialise in helping businesses take their marketing efforts to the next level. Our team stays on top of industry trends, uses data-informed decisions to maximise your ROI, and provides full transparency through comprehensive reports.
