Video content is undeniably engaging. With streaming platforms releasing original content at a rapid pace, traditional cable TV is losing subscribers, and YouTube’s popularity has surpassed any broadcast TV network.
It’s remarkable that YouTube’s content is preferred over cable TV. This presents a significant opportunity for brands, especially those already advertising on Google. It’s the perfect avenue to connect with your target audience.
However, pre-roll ads can be challenging, particularly for small businesses. While spreading brand awareness is crucial, budget constraints may limit your ability to hire an advertising agency. Additionally, conveying your entire value proposition in a short video clip can seem daunting.
Don’t worry, I’ll simplify the process of creating impactful pre-roll ads into six manageable steps, without the need for a large budget.
Before diving into the steps, let’s define pre-roll ads and understand their creation.
What are pre-roll ads?
YouTube provides various advertising placements and ad types. Pre-roll ads are those displayed right before the video you intend to watch. These concise video ads can be up to two minutes long, but ideally, they should be between 15 to 25 seconds. Since pre-roll ads lack a specific call-to-action, billing is based on cost per view (CPV).
When using pre-roll ads, your primary objective is to captivate your audience before they skip the ad. Subsequently, you want them to remember your brand! Similar to other Google Ads offerings, targeting options are available. Google provides the following:
- Geography: The location of your target audience.
- Language: Considering YouTube’s global reach, select the language your target audience understands.
- Demographics: Common options such as gender, age range, and more.
- Keywords: Like Google Ads, you can target specific keywords.
- Topics: Current trending topics on YouTube.
- Interests: Usual viewing preferences of your target audience on YouTube.
After defining your target audience, it’s time to get down to creating engaging pre-roll ads that will resonate with them.
Let’s explore the six steps to creating captivating pre-roll ads for YouTube on a limited budget.
1. Define your objective
As with any ad campaign, establish your goals for the YouTube pre-roll campaign. You have several options:
- Brand awareness
- Conversions
- Shares
- Website clicks
- Survey participation
- Encouraging loyalty or re-subscriptions
Since pre-roll ads lack CTAs, from a performance marketing perspective, they primarily focus on brand awareness. By tailoring the messaging and language within the video, you can incorporate layers for conversions and click-throughs.
Take Monday.com’s ad, for instance. By emphasizing the user experience, it effectively builds brand awareness. The satisfying imagery of popping packing bubbles makes me want to try the platform myself.
2. Structure your video advertising message
With your objective in place, determine the most effective way to convey your video advertising message. This is where things get interesting.
Similar to choosing an objective, you have a few options:
- One-off video: This type of video should be brief and impactful, highlighting a single value proposition. It’s an excellent starting point for those new to pre-roll ads.
- Video series: Similar to Progressive’s approach with Flo and the “name your price” tool, this option works well when you have multiple concise points to make. Ensure the videos make sense both individually and collectively.
- Brand story video: Larger companies like Nike and P&G utilize longer-form brand stories to showcase aspects of their mission. It’s ideal for highlighting a unique brand element or launching a major campaign.
However, keep in mind that those commercials were designed for television, not YouTube pre-roll ads, despite their appealing messages. Your pre-roll ads have specific length requirements, and remember, you need to engage viewers from the get-go.
3. Generate video content ideas
Now that you’ve defined your desired audience action and message, how will you convey it effectively? This can be the most challenging step, particularly for those new to video content creation. The good news is that you get to watch plenty of YouTube marketing videos!
Seriously, start by watching videos your target audience would likely engage with, based on your targeting. Analyze your competition and their video ads running before similar YouTube videos.
Explore your website for taglines or compelling copy to repurpose. Scope out social media channels, both yours and your competitors’, for inspiration. Brainstorm ways to transform brand values like “customer-centric” or “reliable” into visual content.
Oscar’s ad cleverly aligns with their brand, keeping health insurance lighthearted. It humorously references “Dumb Ways to Die.” while effectively conveying the need for health insurance in a concise manner.
Pro tip: Use private browsing mode while watching YouTube videos for an unbiased perspective.
4. Embrace unconventionality
The cardinal rule of YouTube pre-roll advertising: Avoid resembling a traditional commercial. The platform thrives on user-generated content, so your video should feel organic to the environment.
Don’t shy away from being different. Embrace humor, showcase your brand’s personality, and aim for a user-generated feel.
Burger King’s ad exemplifies this approach. It acknowledges viewers’ aversion to ads through a conversational and humorous tone, characteristic of YouTubers, while still promoting their fast food deal.
Authentic and quirky YouTubers garner massive followings because they’re relatable. For further insights on staying true to YouTube’s essence, check out Margot’s post [link].
5. Craft a compelling script
Start with a simple bullet-point list outlining your objective and supporting arguments to initiate scriptwriting. You have a few scripting options: dialogue spoken by actors, text displayed on screen, or voiceovers.
Given the concise nature of pre-roll ads, focus on one or two compelling arguments supporting your value proposition. For instance, if you own a pizza place and want to emphasize its cheesy, speedy, crunchy, and made-to-order qualities, concentrate on just one attribute for your pre-roll ad. Remember, your video should be between 6 and 25 seconds, grabbing attention, delivering your message, and concluding before viewers skip it.
Remember, scriptwriting and video shooting/selection should go hand in hand. A video might inspire your script, or vice versa. Ensure a cohesive relationship between the two.
Sometimes, you can even forgo a script or voiceover entirely! Take inspiration from this script-less Hefty ad:
6. Leverage YouTube’s partners
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by video ad creation, YouTube’s partners on YouTube’s advertising site are here to help. They offer a range of solutions, from comprehensive services to stock videos and subscription-based platforms. Personally, I recommend Promo and Animoto, especially for non-videographers who still desire captivating pre-roll ads.
I particularly enjoy this Black Cat stock video from Promo. However, for a YouTube ad, I’d recommend streamlining the text and timing to avoid boring viewers and prompting them to skip.
Of course, if you’re ready to embark on filming yourself, we have helpful tips for that too.
Get pre-rolling!
You’re now equipped to start creating compelling pre-roll ads. Use these six straightforward steps as your guide:
- Define your objective
- Structure your video advertising message
- Generate video content ideas
- Embrace unconventionality
- Craft a compelling script
- Leverage YouTube’s partners