Tell your brand’s story through video ad sequencing

Creating a progression of short videos with a carefully targeted campaign on YouTube can set up your brand’s success on the platform.

Every brand has a story to tell. But with the average attention span of adults being eight seconds (according to a study by Microsoft), how do you capture that user in the right moment with the right message?

Effective content marketing has become crucial because of this staggering statistic. As digital advances, content marketing tactics now encapsulate display and video strategies in order to keep a user engaged.

What is YouTube ad sequencing?

YouTube ad sequencing campaigns made its debut in the second half of 2018. However, I am convinced that not enough brands are taking advantage of this tactic.

Video ad sequencing is being able to show users a series of videos in a specific order that you define. The best uses for this type of campaign include:

• Building interest
• Reinforce messaging
• Create a unifying theme for your brand

What goes into a video sequencing campaign?

There are many settings to take into consideration while setting up your campaign for success. The first and most crucial piece is to select the right target audience to view in your first video in the sequence. If you’re not targeting your ideal audience, you will be wasting valuable marketing dollars on users that don’t fit into your key demographics. You’re able to use audiences and demographics within Google Ads, but not keywords, placements or topic targeting. Some of the audience options you can choose from include:

• In-Market
• Detailed Demographics
• Life Events
• Similar Audiences
• Custom Intent

The next pieces you’ll need to set up include:

• Bid Strategy
• Logical sequencing

There are only two bid strategies allowed in YouTube ad sequencing: Target CPM and Maximum CPV. The bidding strategy you choose will be dependent on the type of ad format chosen for your campaigns.

Lastly – make sure to pick logical sequencing for your videos. Meaning, if your goal is to tell your brand’s story through a defined sequence of videos, make sure placing those videos in an order that would make sense for the user. Pro tip – I tend to start with a longer video on the first step and narrow users out based on “views” of the first video. From there, I tend to see more engagement throughout the rest of the video sequence.

Want to learn more? Please join me at my SMX East session about YouTube Ad Sequence campaigns where I’ll cover the topic more in-depth on Nov. 13.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Brooke Osmundson serves as the associate director of paid search at NordicClick Interactive with over six years’ experience. She helps her clients grow their digital strategies using tactics from paid search, social media and programmatic marketing. With her experience and passion in analytics, strategic planning and everything digital, she helps create relevant customer experience strategies at every stage of the user funnel. Brooke has been featured in the Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, spoke at SMX West and PubCon Pro, contributed to NordicClick's 2018 US Search Award for "Best Use of Video in a Search Campaign” and most recently had her client strategy shortlisted for two 2019 US Search Awards. When not working, you can find her enjoying a round of golf, catching up on the latest episodes of Law & Order SVU or completing never-ending house renovations.