YouTube TrueView for Shopping

As we have already announced, video format will keep growing this year and the coming ones in specific video platforms like YouTube or other social networks that allow this format.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction to Youtube TrueView for Shopping
• How to use TrueView for Shopping for Youtube Video Ads
• Case Study

Introduction to Youtube TrueView for Shopping

When talking about advertising, the video format was not one of the most powerful if we are looking for direct conversions, but from now on, it will be. When we insert an ad in a social network, our goal is to achieve engagement and a greater connection to our potential customers, or increasing our sales. Now YouTube’s new format, TrueView for shopping, combines both goals to offer a direct response layer.

Even so, this format is not completely new. As we know, YouTube belongs to Google, that offers probably the greatest shopping service of the world. That provides an endorsement to companies who are willing to use YouTube Ads TrueView for shopping.

Nowadays brands want to be seen, heard and valued by their potential customers. At the same time, users look for an interesting and helpful content, but they also want to be heard and valued. In this common point we find a chance. If we focus on users’ interests we can identify micro-moments to connect with them. The best way to do it is through video tutorials, how-to guides and entertaining stories where they look for tips, recommendations or entertainment. Once these spaces are created, brands have to be able to quickly shift from fostering customer connections to enabling smooth conversions.

TrueView for shopping lets ecommerce appear in the brand content in YouTube. A selection of the brand products will appear on the video side in order to be bought in just one click. It works through a cards system and the products offered there can be random or selected by the company so that they have a greater relation to the content of the video. This way, we can connect users to the products in our catalogue more akin to them.

How to use TrueView for Shopping for Youtube Video Ads

Through 5 steps you will be able to create TrueView video ads:

• Step 1: Create a Google AdWords account, if you don't already have one.
  
  
• Step 2: log in to your AdWords account. Once inside, click on the "Campaigns" tab in the top row. Then click on "+ Campaign" in its drop-down menu and click "Video".
  
  
• Step 3: Enter the details of the video campaign. You will need to add details such as campaign name, type, budget, location, and languages. Click "Save and continue".
  
  
• Step 4: Create an ad group. On the "Create an ad group" page, you will fill in the ad group name and video ad details. These details consist of two options: video ad type and ad formats.
  
  
• Step 5: Create your ad. Complete the information that creates your ad. You will see a preview of the final version. To display your video as a TrueView ad, it must be hosted on YouTube. That means you will need to create a YouTube channel. Once you create your video and upload it to your channel, you'll have a video URL. It is that URL that you add in the video details.
  
  
• Step 6: Offers section. This is where you will determine how much you are willing to pay for that interaction.
  
  
• Step 7: Finalize.

Case Study

One of the first brands that tried this new format was Sephora (beauty products). Sephora has an incredibly wide catalogue and users can feel daunted by all the possibilities out there. With the creation of video tutorials, Sephora helped users visualize how different products fit into their lifestyle, so they were more likely to buy. Sephora’s TrueView for shopping was also applied to pre-roll ads, skippable after 5 seconds. Even so, users decided to watch it for an average of nearly two minutes. Since its launch, Sephora's YouTube channel has grown to more than 300K subscribers and has more than 37M views. The brand saw a 54% lift in ad recall and an 80% lift in intent to shop at Sephora.

Creating useful videos with specific products that talk about our audience’s interests, Sephora provided YouTube users the perfect content to build a relationship with them.

What makes this format especially effective for Sephora and many other brands is having YouTube as a leader content platform and TrueView to add their e-commerce to this content. A winning combination.