7 YouTube Ad Formats Advertisers Must Try

YouTube ads are effective ways of marketing any brand or product. If you are a creator, it’s a great platform to showcase your craft. However, YouTube is also for marketers and advertisers trying to get their marketing message out there. 

In fact, YouTube ads can be in various formats tailored to different marketing requirements. Whether it’s for increasing brand awareness or converting leads, YouTube ads offer great opportunities for running campaigns. 

In this article, we have discussed seven different ad formats on YouTube.

Best YouTube Ad Formats For Marketers 

All these formats can help brands tailor their marketing messaging at different funnels of their campaign. Learn how you can utilize different formats of YouTube ads to  make your campaigns a success from the following list –

1. Skippable in-stream ads

Skippable in-stream ads are one of the best ways of reaching a wide audience demographic. In fact, it won’t be a mistake to consider these as the best type of YouTube ad. Also, many services for YouTube creators and brands use this ad format for their campaigns. These are ads that appear between video streams. A skippable in-stream ad can appear during, after, or before a streaming start. 

The good part is that the audience can always skip these ads after 5 seconds. So, the user experience on YouTube remains consistent with brands getting their ads out. These ads appear to YouTube streamers on any device (smartphone, Desktop, tablet, and gaming console).

The main challenge here is to catch the audience’s attention and create something that really keeps them hooked. 

2. Non-Skippable in-stream Ads

These ads are just the same as the ones before. However, the duration of these ads is 30 seconds, and viewers cannot skip it.

Similar to the skippable in-stream ads, non-skippable ads also appear on any device. We’re talking about smartphones, tablets, and similar devices. These ads give markers the highest attention span of the audience. Whether it’s for a brand’s campaign or to deliver an important social message from the government, non-skippable ads are great. 

But ensure the creation of a compelling story so that the audience doesn’t feel bored throughout the ad. An expert copywriter can solve this by writing compelling ads that don’t feel intrusive. 

3. Bumper ads

Bumper ads are also non-skippable ads but take less attention span of the audience. These YouTube ads last for about six seconds. They play before, after, and during the video. And most importantly, the audience cannot skip these ads. Also, any device capable of streaming YouTube videos will show these ads. 

Even though these ads are non-skippable, their short nature makes them less intrusive. With a direct, surprising, and clear hook, these ads can capture the audience’s attention fast. These are great for building and growing brand awareness. 

Their shortness is the main challenge. It limits the amount of information or storytelling that you can convey. However, never compromise on impactful and creative messaging to grow your marketing efforts on YouTube. 

4. Display Ads

Display ads appear like image-based ads that appear on a website. They include links and texts. These ads appear beside the video and sometimes beside the video suggestion lists. It can also appear below the player and the laptop or Desktop.

Display ads aren’t too disruptive to the viewing experience of a YouTube visitor. They don’t interrupt during video playback. But these ads demand the audience to click through to a new domain and engage. 

Note: Display ads aren’t included in the user experience of a mobile device user. You can consider the high volume of YouTube traffic on mobile devices. This can also restrict the reach of these advertisements. Marketers can lose a significant number of viewers when aiming for an audience through display ads. 

In-Feed Ads

5. In-feed ads

This type of YouTube ad appears on the YouTube feed. These ads appear in the content areas where the users find new content. For example, these ads can come alongside videos in the search results or on the homepage of YouTube. 

These types of ads are great for objectives like increasing brand awareness or initiating product consideration. In fact, these are great for driving online sales and generating leads. Since these also appear in search results on YouTube, they can increase user engagement.

Here, the main challenge is to ensure that the ad content is engaging enough and relevant for viewers to click through. 

6. Overlay Ads

These are semi-transparent ads appearing over the bottom part of a video on Youtube. These ads can include visuals, texts, or both. These ads are created to engage the viewers and make them click on the advertisement to reach a website. 

These ads appear only on laptop screens and desktop screens. You’ll also find them appearing in the lower section of a video. Overlay ads are effective for driving traffic directly to a website.

However, there’s a negative point affecting the campaign. These ads also come with an “x” button. These buttons can reduce the effectiveness of the ad. However, the cost is incurred when the users click on the ad and do not just view it. 

7. Sponsored cards

Here’s another type of ad that appears during the YouTube video. These are small YouTube video content. Typically, these ads appear when the viewer is viewing the content. For example, these ads can appear during a product unboxing.

The good side of these types of ads is that they appear on both mobile and Desktop devices. Usually, these appear on the right-hand side of a video. Also, these ads pop up shortly, letting the viewers click on them to get more information. They appear for a brief period, letting the viewer click on the ad and get more information about the advertiser. 

Also, this type of YouTube ad is non-intrusive and subtle. Viewers can continue watching their videos without facing any disruption in their viewing experience. In addition, these are contextual and relevant to the content of the video, which makes them more effective for the viewers who are interested in the product. 

eCommerce businesses that are selling products online can use these ads as a way to drive traffic and buy directly. 

Conclusion

There’s a range of Ad formats available on YouTube. Each of them offers a different level of flexibility and creativity. The effectiveness of your campaign depends on how you craft your story and adapt to the different formats.

The seven formats we have explained are the best formats if you want to promote a brand or convert leads into paying customers. Which format of ad would you use for your marketing purpose? Let us know through the comments.

Additional Reading:

• How To Get More Views On Your YouTube Channel
• Mastering YouTube Channel Localization: Comprehensive Guide
• Increase Your YouTube Video Rankings with These 9 Effective Tips