YouTube became an essential tool for both individuals and professionals. With more than 3,8 billion unique users in Belgium in 2011, a great opportunity is offered to advertisers (see previous article for more information).
Imagine you created your video advertising for YouTube. The format and content answer your expectations and you have a clear idea of the audience you would like to reach. However, you are not sure of the management you want to adopt for the diffusion of your advertisement.
This article will give you the first answers to put forward your ad on YouTube.
When can you broadcast your advertising on YouTube?
When an advertiser has produced his video and defined his advertising goals, he faces 2 choices: broadcast his ads everyday and at all time (by default), or customize the period in which the ads will be shown.
In the first case, ads will be distributed each day, no matter the time of day with the only condition that it enters the YouTube auction. This technique is useful for advertisers wishing to widely broadcast and reach a large audience with a simplified management and monitoring.
On the opposite, if advertisers prefer to push their ads at specific times or want a more active and direct management on YouTube, they will have to make an analysis of user trends and then, they will be able to use the tool "Ad Scheduling".
Are there any usage behavior on YouTube?
By analyzing the data (clicks and impressions) of many YouTube campaigns that Semetis manages, we identified the following seasonal effects for the day of the week and time of day.
1. Seasonality per day of the week
Example of YouTube analysis per Day of the Week
Based on the graph above, it is possible to separate the week (Monday to Friday) from the weekend (Saturday and Sunday).
We note that the number of views on the first days of the week is fairly stable or even decreasing until Wednesday. There finally is an increase over the end of the week starting on Thursday until the weekend.
It is usually on Saturday and Sunday that are YouTube usage peaks.
2. Seasonality per hour of the day
Example of YouTube analysis per hour of the day
On an entire day, there is first a slack period between 1 and 8 am. Around 9 am, the beginning of the day, the use of YouTube increases to reach a stable level from 12 to 4pm.
Finally, in the late afternoon until mid evening (from 5pm til 10pm), there is a greater number of views.
We can conclude from the above analysis that there is an increase in the number of visitors during the weekend, while that number remains stable for the rest of the week. In addition, the end of the days remain periods with the most visitors, whatever the day of the week.
Nevertheless, the choice of the broadcast period depends as much on advertiser's objectives as on several other factors such as the age of the users, the gender, the location …
How does the “Ad Scheduling” work on YouTube?
YouTube offers to advertisers the choice of the hours and / or days of the week where their ads will appear with the tool "Ad Scheduling" (with the same functioning as in Adwords). In addition to defining the diffusion periods, the advertiser can set in advance the increase in his auction. He then assures to be in good position in YouTube searches at key moments, whether by day or time.
Click here to learn more about Ad Scheduling
Example of Ad Scheduling with higher auction during the weekend
Conclusion
Thanks to the latest technology tools (smartphones, tablets, ...), the comparison in usage behavior between YouTube and television is now possible.
It has been 2 years that we notice a shift of TV users from offline to online. With over 80% of the Belgian population connected between 15 and 25 minutes per day, the use of Youtube takes an important place in the lives of users. Although this proportion is small, it can still grow up to be an essential tool for advertisers.
In addition, the platform continues to improve to facilitate online viewing. On mobile, for example, where television still has little influence, the YouTube app is the 3rd most used in the world. It allows users to watch videos whenever and wherever they wish. the "Embedded Videos", video that are taken from YouTube and put in a website or on other social networks, are another example of the freedom of viewing that increases thanks to YouTube.
With all these innovations, advertisers no longer have to wait for users to be in front of their television, they can reach them at any moment. This is why the management of broadcasting periods is now larger, more varied but is still a key element for a good position of a video advertising.
written by Dan Gelbard
