YouTube audience targeting Archives - Strike Social

YouTube Audience Targeting Case Study: Achieving 77% Lower Costs For Driving Foot Traffic In-store

strikesocial — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 13:20:40 +0000

A leading family entertainment brand wanted to drive foot traffic and reservations for its Party and Play package. To enhance its social media advertising effort, the brand partnered with Strike Social to utilize YouTube ads, effectively reaching targeted audiences and converting online engagement into in-store foot traffic. Strike Social designed a campaign that used precise YouTube ad audience targeting and optimized ad placements to ensure every ad reached the suitable viewer at the right time.

7.8x

ROAS achieved through precise targeting and optimization

51,000+

Store visits generated from the campaign

$1,025,000+

In-store visit revenue

Download a copy of our YouTube audience targeting case study

The Power of YouTube Ads Location Targeting

One key component contributing to the campaign’s success was the strategic implementation of YouTube’s ad location targeting feature. For performance marketers, merely reaching a broad audience is insufficient—timing and contextual relevance are critical.

Location targeting empowers brands to deliver ads to viewers based on their geographic proximity, enhancing relevance and increasing the likelihood of fulfilling consumer needs. This approach is particularly effective for driving foot traffic to physical stores, as it aligns ad delivery with potential consumers’ immediate contexts.

When viewers see a targeted ad alongside information about the nearest local store, converting from online viewer to in-store visitor becomes seamless. This strategy makes location-based ads especially effective for businesses with a physical presence, as they help drive foot traffic to stores by offering a clear next step—finding the nearest location and visiting it.

Beyond enhancing relevance, YouTube narrows the audience to those most likely to visit a nearby store, reducing wasted impressions and improving overall ROI.

Further Reading

Optimizing your YouTube Ad Targeting for Maximum Engagement

To optimize your YouTube video ad campaigns, consider segmenting your audience by factors such as device, location, and interests. Understanding and utilizing these targeting options can help you connect with audiences who are more likely to engage and convert, leading to better campaign performance.

YouTube State Targeting, DMA, and Zip Code Targeting Offers Precision at Every Level

YouTube offers additional layers of precision with different levels of location targeting. Each approach allows advertisers to refine their ad delivery based on geographic granularity.

State Targeting

State targeting enables advertisers to deliver ads to users within a specific state, allowing campaigns to be more regionally focused and suited to different geo preferences, events, and promotions. State targeting tailors ad messaging to a broader audience.

Designated Market Area (DMA) Targeting

DMA targeting goes a step further, focusing on specific media markets within a state or region. A DMA is a group of cities, counties, or regions that share the same media outlets, providing advertisers with a highly focused area to target. For instance, locations in a busy metropolitan DMA like New York or Los Angeles may require a more aggressive ad strategy than less populated areas.

Zip Code Level Targeting

For the maximum specificity approach, zip code-level targeting allows businesses to deliver ads to users within specific postal areas. This hyper-localized strategy benefits brands aiming to increase foot traffic to brick-and-mortar locations. This method amplifies campaign effectiveness and ROI by minimizing ad waste and closely aligning advertising efforts with audience proximity and intent.

Mastering Zip Code Targeting with Data-Driven Precision

By narrowing the focus to the most relevant areas around each store location, Strike Social prioritizes that ads are seen by the consumers most likely to convert—those in immediate proximity to the stores. This hyper-local targeting strategy was vital in driving foot traffic and converting YouTube ad views into in-store visits.

Integration of Strike Social’s proprietary tool anchored in machine learning allowed the team to refine the delivery of YouTube ads in real time. Whether adjusting bidding strategies or honing in on which zip codes produced the best results, this helped achieve a 77% reduction in cost per store visit, with close to 8x ROAS.

Ready to Drive Foot Traffic and Boost Your YouTube Ads ROI?

This YouTube ads case study exemplifies how a data-centric, optimized approach can boost brand visibility and drive foot traffic for brand and performance marketers with brick-and-mortar stores. Strike Social’s mastery of YouTube ads location targeting and integration of Strike Social’s SWAS tool sets campaigns apart, offering a powerful solution for businesses looking to connect digital ads with in-store actions.

Ready to see how our expertise in YouTube ads can deliver results for your brand? Request a demo today and discover how Strike Social’s innovative solutions can elevate your next campaign, drive in-store visits, and maximize your return on ad spend.

The post YouTube Audience Targeting Case Study: Achieving 77% Lower Costs For Driving Foot Traffic In-store appeared first on Strike Social.

Methods In Motion: A Comprehensive Comparison Between YouTube Contextual Targeting vs YouTube Audience Targeting

strikesocial — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 11:50:25 +0000

Are you grappling with your video advertising strategies, having experimented with both YouTube contextual targeting and audience targeting without achieving the desired results? Recognizing that many YouTube users primarily seek entertainment rather than actively shopping or exploring brands and products is crucial. You must balance entertainment and the optimal targeting mix to engage with the right audience effectively.

In this blog, we explore YouTube contextual targeting vs audience targeting, providing insights to reach your target audience effectively.

Determining the Perfect Targeting Approach: YouTube Contextual Targeting vs YouTube Audience Targeting

Have you ever wondered why up to $65,000 out of every $100,000 advertising money is wasted due to mistargeted ad impressions? As it turns out, employing the best targeting strategies for YouTube ads is crucial to avoid this problem. Beyond location, interests, recent searches, devices, and more demand careful attention.

When it comes to video ads on YouTube, there are two primary targeting options: YouTube contextual targeting and audience targeting. Both avenues offer distinct advantages and have their share of disadvantages.

Let’s understand the intricacies of these two approaches, understanding their similarities and differences.

What are the Key Differences Between Contextual Targeting and Audience Targeting in YouTube Ads?
- When To Use YouTube Contextual Targeting
- When To Use YouTube Audience Targeting
How To Choose the Right Ad Targeting For Your YouTube Ad Campaign

What are the Key Differences Between Contextual Targeting and Audience Targeting in YouTube Ads?

While both methods aim to reach relevant viewers, their underlying strategies and targeting criteria differ.

Contextual targeting focuses on the content consumed by the viewer when the ad is displayed. Advertisers place ads alongside videos, channels, or topics related to their product or service. For example, an advertiser might promote running shoes alongside fitness videos about sports and recreation.

Find out more about contextual targeting on YouTube

Audience targeting, on the other hand, utilizes data about the viewer’s demographics, interests, behaviors, and past interactions with YouTube. Advertisers collect data through various means, such as browsing history, search activity, and past video interactions. They use this data to understand viewers’ preferences and characteristics, which allows them to deliver more personally relevant ads.

What audience segments can you select for YouTube ad targeting?

We have summarized here the key differences between YouTube contextual targeting and YouTube audience targeting:

Feature	YouTube Contextual Targeting	YouTube Audience Targeting
Targeting Criteria	Video Content Channels Topics	Demographics Interests Behaviors Past interactions
Ad Delivery	Based on current content consumption	Based on viewer’s identity and characteristics
Relevance to Viewer	Relies on content relevance to the ad’s message	Relies on viewer’s past actions and preferences
Use Cases	Reaching audiences interested in a particular topic	Reaching audiences based on their unique characteristics

Optimizing your YouTube advertising strategy involves a strategic balance between contextual targeting and audience targeting. Let’s explore the ideal scenarios for employing YouTube contextual targeting vs YouTube audience targeting:

When To Use YouTube Contextual Targeting

Broader reach

Reaching a large audience interested in a particular topic or category.
Example: A clothing brand showcasing its latest collection alongside fashion videos and channels.

Lower cost

Reaching a wider audience without the expense of in-depth audience segmentation.
Example: A fitness meal plan ad on workout tutorials and fitness enthusiast channels.

Topic relevance

Ensuring ads are displayed alongside related content for a more seamless viewing experience.
Example: A tech company promoting their new smartphone on tech review videos and gadget-related channels.

When you want to align your ad content with the videos users watch, YouTube contextual targeting shines. It’s a cost-effective way to promote your ad alongside relevant videos, enhancing the viewer’s overall experience.

When To Use YouTube Audience Targeting

Targeted reach

Reaching specific audience segments based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Example: An online shopping app targeting women aged 18-34 with a keen interest in fashion and trends.

Personalized ads

Delivering highly relevant ads tailored to individual preferences and past interactions.
Example: A hotel and flight booking application targeting individuals who have previously searched for travel destinations and accommodations.

Conversion-focused

Increasing the likelihood of desired actions, such as website visits or purchases.
Example: A job search app targeting students and graduates aligned with their academic interests and career goals.

YouTube audience targeting excels when precision matters. Tailoring your ads to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors ensures a personalized viewing experience, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

The choice between YouTube contextual targeting vs YouTube audience targeting boils down to your campaign objectives and audience type. Integrating both approaches strategically can offer a well-rounded YouTube advertising strategy tailored to your brand’s goals.

How To Choose the Right Ad Targeting For Your YouTube Ad Campaign

If you wonder, “Which targeting method is ideal for my ads?” — fret not. Here are key questions to guide you on choosing the right YouTube ad targeting options:

What is the goal of your campaign?
What is your target audience?
What is your budget?
How much control do you want over who sees your ads?
How relevant do you want your ads to be to the videos they are displayed with?

You can determine the most suitable YouTube ad targeting approach for your campaigns based on your answers to these questions.

Allow us to illustrate this through a visual comparison:

In addition to these considerations, here are some tips for refining your YouTube ad targeting strategy:

Combine Targeting Methods: Utilize both contextual and audience targeting to broaden your reach and enhance campaign results.
Experiment with Different Methods: Test various targeting approaches to identify what resonates best with your campaign objectives.
Diversify Ad Formats: Explore different YouTube ad formats like Shorts, bumper ads, or in-feed ads to reach your target audience effectively.
Track and Adjust: Regularly monitor your campaign results and adjust based on performance insights.

Choose with Confidence Between YouTube Contextual Targeting vs YouTube Audience Targeting

Analyzing the specifics of YouTube contextual targeting vs YouTube audience targeting has shed light on the pros and cons of each approach. Mistargeted ad impressions can be costly, stressing the importance of implementing the best targeting strategies for YouTube ads. Your campaign’s success hinges on considering your campaign goals, target audience, budget, control preferences, and ad relevance.

Knowing these insights now, you’re better equipped to refine your video advertising strategy. Ensuring your brand resonates with the right audience on YouTube requires a continuous cycle of testing and optimizing your approach. This iterative process sets the stage for more impactful and successful YouTube ad campaigns.

Expand your expertise. Browse Strike Social’s latest blogs here:

The post Methods In Motion: A Comprehensive Comparison Between YouTube Contextual Targeting vs YouTube Audience Targeting appeared first on Strike Social.

How Can You Effectively Influence Viewers with YouTube Audience Targeting?

strikesocial — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:35:23 +0000

YouTube audience targeting can boost your ad viewership, but beware – a misstep can lead to zero audience reach. This year, the US claims the second-largest YouTube user count, with Statista recording 239 million users. However, success on this platform isn’t a numbers game; it’s about precision and specificity.

By directing your ads toward those who genuinely share an interest in your brand, you maximize your ad’s impact. The focus shifts from reaching every user to engaging potential clients who are more likely to view or make a purchase. So, how do you accomplish this? That’s precisely what this blog is here to guide you through.

Reach the Right Viewers with YouTube Audience Targeting

Are you aware that advertisers serve the wrong ad creative to the wrong consumer in 1 out of 3 cases? It’s a substantial consequence of poorly strategized video advertising, steering viewers away from your intended message.

To truly connect with the right viewers, it’s essential to master YouTube audience targeting. By understanding how this YouTube targeting method works, you avoid negative impressions and consider your potential audience’s user experience. It’s a win-win strategy that benefits both you and your viewers. When you tailor your ads to a precise target audience on YouTube, you enhance your brand’s exposure to the right sets of eyes.

This blog will analyze the strategies and techniques that will empower you to do just that.

What is Audience Targeting on YouTube
- What are the Available Demographic Targeting for YouTube Ads
How To Set Up Audience Targeting for YouTube Ads
How To Use YouTube’s Demographic Targeting Effectively

What is Audience Targeting on YouTube

YouTube stands as the leading platform for users wanting to know more about their interests and looking to accomplish tasks. Ensuring that your ads reach users most inclined to engage becomes crucial. It’s not simply about reaching as many viewers as possible; it’s about connecting with the right ones. Despite YouTube’s enormous user base, the focus shifts from sheer numbers to pinpointing potential clients who align with your brand.

What are the Available Demographic Targeting for YouTube Ads

To accomplish this, Google has devised a system for categorizing users into distinct audience segments. These segments include:

Demographic Groups
Audience Segments

Gender
Age
Parental status
Household income (only available in Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States)

Detailed demographics: Expand your reach by targeting users with additional shared traits, such as college students, homeowners, or new parents.
Affinity: Increase brand awareness and consideration by connecting with users who are strongly interested in relevant topics.
In-market and life events:
- In-market segments: Focus on users actively researching products or services like yours, reflecting a clear intent to purchase.
- Life events: Reach potential customers on YouTube and Gmail during pivotal life milestones. Buying behaviors often undergo significant shifts in events such as moving, graduating, or getting married.
Your data segments: Extend your reach across YouTube and Google’s video partners by utilizing past interactions with your videos, video ads, or YouTube channels. Additionally, you can display ads to users who’ve engaged with your website or mobile app.
Combined segments: Combine existing segments to refine your audience targeting on YouTube.
Custom segments: Custom segments allow you to target users as they make purchase decisions based on keywords they’ve recently searched on Google.com, reflecting specific interests, purchase intentions, and more.

How To Set Up Audience Targeting for YouTube Ads

To maximize the YouTube audience targeting options, follow these instructions to integrate it into your campaign:

1. Start by logging in to your Google Ads account.

2. Click on New campaign.

3. Choose Awareness and consideration as your campaign objective.

4. For the campaign type, select Video. Depending on your ad preferences, you can choose Video views or another appropriate subtype.

5. In the General settings section, configure the specific parameters for your ad campaign. Define your bid strategy, budget and campaign dates, networks, targeting locations, preferred languages, and more.

6. Under Create your ad group, start by naming your ad group. Then, you can proceed with setting up your audience targeting on YouTube.

Click on Demographics. Here’s where you can select the targeting for Gender, Age, Parental status, and Household Income.
Note: Household income targeting is only available in select countries.
Click on Audience segments to choose the specific audience to be exposed to your ads. Choose from pre-defined audience segments or explore the available segments for customized combinations:

7. Insert your video ad into the ad group, and configure the remaining details for your ad campaign.

8. Once all the necessary settings and components are in place, click Create campaign.

How To Use YouTube’s Demographic Targeting Effectively

Given YouTube’s diverse audience, it’s crucial to understand the intricacies of effective demographic targeting. Implement these tips to maximize the potential of YouTube’s audience targeting, fostering connections with your desired viewers and boosting the effectiveness of your advertisements.

Craft Detailed Audience Personas

Develop comprehensive audience personas that align with the specific demographics relevant to your business. You can select the most fitting audience groups by understanding your target audience’s interests, challenges, and behavioral patterns. Adopting AI tools like ChatGPT or Bard, you can swiftly create audience personas in minutes. In cases where you can’t find a predefined group that matches your desired demographic, consider making YouTube custom audiences tailored precisely to your campaign objectives.

Learn how to develop buyer personas with AI here

Utilize A/B Testing

Engage in A/B testing with various combinations of demographic options. Try your campaign with different age groups, genders, or locations to gather insights to evolve your strategy further. A/B testing allows you to adapt and refine your targeting based on data-backed learnings.

How does A/B testing work? Click here to learn more

Narrow vs. Broad Targeting

Granular targeting can work well for specific products or campaigns, but it might restrict your audience. To reach untapped markets and broaden the impact of your campaign, consider experimenting with broader demographic segments. The key is to fine-tune your messaging to resonate with specific niches while simultaneously reaching a wider audience.

Get more engagement with YouTube’s VAC targeting

Diversify Your Approach

While YouTube audience targeting is a potent tool, pay attention to the benefits of contextual targeting. This method lets you channel your ads toward users engaged in content related to your industry or specific search terms. Integrate diverse targeting methods to create a dynamic advertising approach, allowing you to adapt to various user behaviors and preferences.

How does YouTube contextual targeting work?

Boost Viewer Engagement with YouTube Audience Targeting

The core principle is clear: YouTube audience targeting empowers you to reach the appropriate viewers with the right content at the right time.

YouTube depth of inventories and consumers’ eyes can be very useful to provide campaign efficiencies. Yet, the key to standing out is the adept utilization of YouTube audience targeting. You can optimize your ad campaigns and reach specific user segments using the YouTube demographic targeting options.

Through YouTube audience targeting, you can avert negative impressions through indiscriminate advertising and elevate the overall user experience. By tailoring your ads to a precise target audience on YouTube, you enhance your brand’s exposure and deliver content that genuinely matters.

Digital marketing is dynamic, and your audience is constantly evolving. So, go ahead – experiment, refine, and adapt. Utilize the features of YouTube audience targeting to create resonant, impactful, and influential content. Viewer engagement is no longer a mystery—it’s your superpower. Now, it’s time to put it into action and watch your audience engagement soar.

Expand your expertise. Browse Strike Social’s latest blogs here:

The post How Can You Effectively Influence Viewers with YouTube Audience Targeting? appeared first on Strike Social.

The top 3 audiences you’re missing in your YouTube campaigns

Kyna Garrett — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 09:00:05 +0000

Picture this: you’re running a YouTube campaign, and you’re confident you’ve selected the perfect target audience. You’re running everything by the book — targeting the ideal demographics, perfect industry keywords, affinities and topics. Everything seems to be working great.

Why change a thing?

As with any advertising initiative, the key to YouTube advertising is testing. What you might think is the less-than-ideal target audience for your YouTube campaign may actually be what eventually drives conversions.

So let’s say you decide to test another demographic or change up your audience groups. It takes time, critical thinking and analysis, but you learn that this particular audience is not only watching your ads but, to your surprise, they’re even clicking on them.

Believe it or not, this scenario is completely achievable.

Using Strike Social technology, we’ve uncovered the insights to give you a sneak peek into undiscovered audiences you might be missing in your YouTube campaigns.

In this article, we’ll break down those hidden audiences on YouTube by vertical based on average view rate (VR):

Automotive
Fashion
Gaming
Health & Beauty
Retail

What is view rate?

A view rate is the number of times your video ad has been viewed divided by the number of impressions. It is expressed as a percentage and shows how many people actually watched your ad. It’s important to note that view rates vary by industry, market and creative impact.

Automotive

It’s easy to assume that people in their mid-to-late 20s and early 30s are purchasing vehicles. It’s likely that these individuals are targeted based on competitive automotive keywords and interests — car brands, auto parts, you name it.

You might also imagine weather- and sports-centric topics are popular targets and perform well, but there are far too many missed opportunities by simply targeting the average audience!

Our research revealed that parenting topics along with rock music fans and news junky affinities are also likely to respond to automotive adverts.

Country music also sees an above-average VR. Additionally, we found that family keywords fell within the scope of targeting, though that’s not too hard to believe given car buyers must consider they’re family when purchasing.

Fashion

As you can imagine, targeting anything and everything to do with fashion along with shoppers, fashionistas and business professional affinities will likely receive fashion ads positively. It’s pretty much a given. But there are a few hidden opportunities worth testing.

In our findings, we discovered that music lovers, music keywords, social media enthusiasts and TV show topics have respectable average view rates. That means, of course, that there are some potential customers that fall within these specific groups — or at the very least, individuals who may respond to your ads that you can identify and retarget.

Gaming

When it comes to gaming, targeting bargain hunters, music lovers and TV show topics stand a chance.

As you may have assumed (and assumed correctly), focusing on video game brands, sports, and action and sci-fi topics or keywords is the norm in the gaming industry.

So why bargain hunters? It’s certainly an interesting out-of-the-norm affinity audience, but think about it: there’s a plethora of collectors, thrifters and gamers alike that are keen on scoping out collectibles, games or consoles for reasonable prices.

Like fashionistas, gamers are also receptive to music topics and keywords.

Health & Beauty

Our data revealed some insightful findings for Health & Beauty.

The audiences that surprised us the most are (you guessed it): gamers and action & adventure movie fans. Testing these affinities in your targeting efforts might actually earn you some surprising results.

When presented with a health or beauty ad, nearly 38.4% of action & adventure movie fans watch it. That’s a pretty outstanding average VR, so it’s worth testing to see how your ads could perform against this kind of audience.

Retail

Retail encompasses an infinite range of goods and services, so determining an audience will depend largely on your target market, age group and lifestyle preferences. As we’re talking about retail as a whole here, these are the audiences that you may not have considered:

Of our findings, DIY affinity and keywords are perhaps one of the more unconventional audience segments for retailers. That’s simply because DIYers are often lumped with bargain hunters — those who are trying to save money.

But that’s not all they want.

They want to be inspired, and retailers may offer that certain something DIYers are looking for.

Finding unique audiences that respond to your ads

Discovering those audiences may seem daunting, but it’s possible. It requires critical thinking and some rich data to give you the right insights to begin testing.

To begin your research, we suggest the following:

Look at your desired audience. Who are they? How would you describe them?
Sort through your contacts database.
Collect information from surveys or forms to learn more about your current customers.
Gather insights from your sales department. Who are they talking to? Who’s responding?
Utilize a recommendation engine or collect industry data from various tools.

YouTube audiences aren’t cut-and-dry

Everything isn’t always what it seems. You may be targeting an audience that’s getting money in your pocket, but there are others you may have never considered that could do the same.

These unconventional audience groups aren’t going to be the end-all-be-all to your YouTube campaigns, but what you’ll find is that there are untapped audience groups that may respond surprisingly well to your YouTube ads — perhaps by raising awareness or helping you identify potential customers likely to convert in the future.

The takeaway: never stop testing

After reviewing our data analysis, one thing is certain: never stop testing. There are far too many missed opportunities to always stick to mainstream targets.

While there are groups out there that may not always fall within your typical audience, those might be the same people who will become your customer down the road. The challenge is finding those people and understanding the correlation between their interests and your brand. That way, you can continue discovering audience groups that may, in fact, be on the lookout for your product.

There are audiences out there waiting to be uncovered, so keep testing.

Who knows — you may even discover that they outperform your average audience.

Schedule a demo of our YouTube advertising platform to learn how you can maximize your success and uncover new audiences.

The post The top 3 audiences you’re missing in your YouTube campaigns appeared first on Strike Social.