Don’t we all love the exciting pre-roll ads that take up 30 seconds of our Youtube watching experience. They are annoying, but for advertisers they can become very handy. Here are 4 simple steps to create amazing Pre-Roll Ads.

1. Don’t do boring pre-roll ads

Nobody wants to see your ad and the reality is you are interrupting their precious Youtube time. The same goes with TV commercials. We tend to turn off our brains when advertising comes on. But is doesn’t have to be this way. Just put in a little extra effort and create something that will grab their attention and entertain the audience.

Back of the Brain; Front of the Brain

Although people do not like advertising, they still have needs and wants. The front of the brain is always running and tends to control most things, but the back of the brain may have a serious problem that needs to be solved, e.g. a boss who needs an explainer video, or a presentation that she is worried about. A viewer may jump onto YouTube thinking of a music video, how to cook tutorial, basketball tutorial, or for entertainment. But without even knowing it they end up on Ydraw’s website looking at explainer videos. The same happens with Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, and most news channels.

Here is the secret of a successful YouTube Pre-roll Ad: interrupting what’s going on in the front of a viewers brain to fulfill the need in the back of the brain. The video will seize upon a lurking fear or desire, and exploit it. It interrupts and keeps on interrupting until action is taken. Here are some great examples:

2. Don’t repurpose your video…

What do I mean by this? Many first time YouTubers believe they can get away with a video that was created for a TV commercial. This has to be the worst idea ever (says everyone). The audience has the choice to watch your ad or not. It has to capture the prospect’s attention within 5 seconds and maintain that attention for 30 seconds.

You want to communicate with an audience that suffers from ADHD. You have five seconds to hook their interest, and 30 seconds until they decide they’re done with you. How do you do it?

I am sure you have all heard about how humans now have the attention span of a Goldfish. This rumor is spread by marketers, because they get get people to sit down and watch their ads. The reality is we know what we want and we do not have to pay attention to things we do not like.

Attention-Span-of-a-Gold-Fish

 

3.  Your Pre-Roll Ad should be 30 seconds or longer

There is some logic behind this rule. 15 second pre-roll ads can end up costing you fortune. Google will charge you per 30 second view or until the end of the video. By creating a 15 second video you will be charged at 15 seconds. By creating a 30 second video you are going to get more qualified leads and not pay as much.

4. Send Viewers To A Landing Page With A Strong Call To Action

YouTube now allows you to associate your website with your YouTube videos. You are able to build YouTube cards, annotations, and call to action slides. You need to create a strong call to action and tell the audience exactly what you want them to do. Drive them away from YouTube.

If you can’t link video marketing to leads, sales, customers and revenue…you’re doing it all wrong!

So there you have it.

If you need help creating YouTube video ads, just contact us.

Stephen-Curry