We already know that younger audiences are watching YouTube. In fact, our global ‘From funnel to flexibility’ study showed that 29% of consumers under 24 primarily use YouTube to watch video content. Yet many marketers still aren’t using YouTube to its fullest potential.
But with the right data, activation and optimization, YouTube can become a marketers’ best friend.
Read on to learn what makes YouTube such a good performance engine, how to unlock the best from it, and why it should be a priority for you.
Ready to drive measurable business results that are far from average?
1. Focus on your audience (not the algorithm)
The first rule of performance? Know who you’re trying to reach.
Broad demographics and generic audience segments get your ad campaign moving, but they don’t necessarily get you closer to the people who are most likely to engage with your brand.
In fact, the audience you think you’re targeting and the audience most likely to deliver results aren’t always the same. So it’s smarter to combine different signals on demographic, interests, viewing behaviors, content preferences and real-world consumer data. This helps to build a better picture of your ideal audience.
Imagine you’re a sportswear brand trying to reach active young adults. Sure, a traditional approach might be a good starting point. But what if you could identify the people actually consuming fitness and sports content, and then use browsing and buying signals to see if they’re on the hunt for relevant products?
Suddenly, your audience is more than an age bracket. It becomes a group of real people that matter to your business.
2. Connect YouTube to your wider video strategy
YouTube doesn’t exist in isolation. And your consumers certainly don’t behave as if it does. They move between YouTube, connected TV, linear TV, social video and other digital environments throughout the day. So why plan and activate each channel separately?
A joined-up approach can help marketers understand where YouTube fits within the wider media mix and, more importantly, where it can add incremental value.
That could mean using YouTube to extend reach among audiences who are harder to find on traditional TV. It could mean using viewing insights to identify content environments that over-index with your target audience. Or it could mean coordinating YouTube with other video channels to build reach and frequency more efficiently.
YouTube gives marketers access to an enormous range of viewing behaviors and content environments. When you use the data strategically, you can make smarter decisions about where it can deliver the most value.
When you work with an official YouTube Activation Partner like MiQ, you’ll better connect YouTube activity to broader video and omnichannel strategies so every impression works harder.
Want to see how IKEA made a winning YouTube strategy part of the furniture?
3. Optimize for outcomes
If you’re aiming to drive consideration, site visits, sales or other business outcomes, then metrics like impressions, views and view-through rates only tell part of the story.
The next step is to continually connect media performance back to the outcome you’re trying to achieve, and then use those insights to make smarter decisions.
That means looking beyond “Did my ad run?” and asking questions like:
- Which audiences are driving the strongest engagement?
- Which content environments are delivering the best results?
- Where are we paying too much for incremental reach?
- Which creative or formats are driving action?
- What should we shift budget toward, or away from?
And remember that YouTube audiences, content and campaign performance changes. The strategy that worked on day 1 might not be the strategy that delivers on day 30.
Get the YouTube strategy you deserve
YouTube is now one of most powerful and flexible environments for reaching consumers throughout their purchase journey. And when you combine the right data, the right activation, and the right optimization, YouTube can deliver much more than views.
You heard it here first: start with better audience intelligence, activate YouTube as part of a broader video strategy, and optimize until you can’t optimize anymore.
Ready for a YouTube strategy that’s far from average? Discover MiQ’s YouTube solution.
