Top YouTube Video Ads in Singapore

YouTube is a video sharing site that has grown to become a platform where customers engage with brands. Singaporeans and other users all over the world are using mobile devices to access YouTube and this has increased video viewership.

According to reports from Google, there are approximately 400 hours of video uploaded on the platform every minute, and this has made the platform very competitive. However, the trick most businesses are using is to create ads that direct viewers to their channels or website.

With the said, most YouTube viewers, not only in Singapore, are becoming oblivious to all the advertising and will skip the ad after 5 seconds or ignore them completely. However, some ads have been able to break this barrier. YouTube has a leader board where they list the top videos and ads and for Singapore, it consists of a diverse range of ads right from 15-second teasers, to 3-minute-long ads that are a representation of the changing trends in the Singaporean digital space.

The YouTube leader board uses an algorithm that factors in paid and organic views, audience retention, and watch time for ranking. In this article, we look at the top YouTube video ads in Singapore and collectively, the ads garnered over 53 million views. Here is an overview of the different types of YouTube video ads and actionable tips on how to create compelling YouTube video ads in Singapore.

Top YouTube Ads of 2018

McDonald’s Ramadan ad

The ad features a McDonald’s delivery rider named Zul, who rises up before 6 am during the Ramadan period and goes about his job while observing the mandatory fast. He not only makes deliveries, but he also helps people during the day, right from helping a guy push his car that has stalled on the road and giving directions, all on an empty stomach. The ad aim was to highlight the act of sharing which is expected of all Muslims during the Ramadan.

Zul’s last order of the day is to his uncle, who notifies him that it is time to break his fast. The ad received over a million views in less than a week, and among other aspects, it landed the first position on the Singaporean YouTube leader board.  The ad was created by DDB, a creative agency, and OMD the media agency.

Three Minutes – A Short Story by Peter Chan – Apple

Apple is one of the best tech companies in the world, and their iPhone X sold out in the first 24 hours after its release. Peter Chan produced the ‘Three Minute’ ad, which is more of a short story. The plot revolves around a mother-son relationship who only have three minutes together due to her demanding job as a train captain on one of the longest express trains that runs for six days week.

In the three minutes that they are together, the mother is very strict on her son reminding him to stay out of trouble while she is away; during the time the mother is at work, her daughter takes care of the boy. The story is based on actual events, and it is almost unbelievable that it was shot using the iPhone X. MAL is the creative agency behind the short story with OMD the media agency. The ‘Three Minutes’ has garnered over 2.3 million views to date.

Mr. Lim’s Reunion Dinner

This is an ad by Singtel that runs for 5.55 minutes. It features Mr. Lim whose two children have successful careers overseas. The son is a lawyer in Sydney, while the daughter is a banker in Hong Kong. He starts out going shopping for groceries to cook the reunion dinner for the Chinese New Year celebration. When he gets home, he finds a recorded message from his son saying that he will not make it for the reunion dinner due to work engagements. The following day the daughter calls saying that she will not make it.

The story unfolds to a heart-wrenching tale of Mr. Lim seeing his neighbours’ children coming home, while his are away busy with their lives. He cooks dinner and sits down to eat alone hoping that his children will come home. Singtel brought in Amobee as the media agency, and the ad has more than 1.2 million views thus far.

Magic – MOE Singapore

This video revolves around a student struggling with his school work and a teacher who helps him overcome his learning difficulties. This is an ad that was inspired by a primary school teacher, Edwin Wan, who uses magic tricks to make reading fun and thus ignites the students desire to learn. The ad starts with a shy young student who is struggling to read; the teacher does a magic trick that even adults will find amazing.

In the end, the young student is able to read an advanced learners’ book to his fellow students. The ad by the Ministry of Education Singapore in conjunction with Little Red Ants Creative and Wavemaker has received over 4.9 million views. 

LEGO City – Mountain Police Madness Part 1 – Minimovie

This is a minimovie where the characters are made from LEGO bricks. It is the story of three crooks whose getaway plan is undone by the brave Mountain Police, a skunk, and a bear. There are more parts to the storyline, and the animation is very appealing. This is part one of the minimovie and the second part is expected to garner as many views if not more. The YouTube video ad has over 10 million views, and it is collaboration between LEGO and IPG, a media agency.

Episode 4 – The Devils, The Angels and I

This is a video ad by Govsingapore that features Mark Lee who plays Chin Chye and Aurelia Hathaway who plays Chye’s sister. The ad is about fake online news, and the characters add mild humour when questioning the news. It has gained close to 80,000 views, and Govsingapore also brought in King Kong Media Production as the creative agency and I.M. communications as the media agency.

On Top of the World

The ad is part of the Shell’s, the energy company, ‘make the future’ campaign, and it features Jennifer Hudson, Yemi Alade, Pixie Lott, Mponali Thakur, and Luan Santana. The ad shows the five stars celebrating five clean energy initiatives in On Top of the World Make the Future campaign. The ad comes amidst fears that the current sources of energy, fossil fuels, are responsible for most of the environmental degradation and will one day run out.

The ad aims to get people to start using clean renewable energy, which is not only safe, but economically, environmentally, and socially viable in the present time as well as in the future. The ad has over 19 million views thanks to a collaboration with Mediacom, a media agency.

Types of YouTube Video Ads

As you will see, the top YouTube video ads are diverse in length among other details. This is because there are different types of YouTube video ads. You have to understand your target audience to pick the best video ad format that will increase conversion. These are the three types of YouTube video ads to consider when making YouTube video ads in Singapore

TrueView

There are two forms of TrueView YouTube video ads; In-Stream and Discovery, which is also known as In-Display. In-Stream video ads are those that play before the selected video plays, and Discovery ads are posted at the top right corner of the page above the playlists and suggested videos. For the In-Stream, viewers can skip the ads within 5 seconds. TrueView ads are pay per view though they are defined differently for In-Stream and In-Display.

Pre-Roll

These are pay per click videos and viewers cannot skip them. You can publish a 30-second Pre-Roll video, but Google is discontinuing them in favour of the shorter 15 to 20 seconds long ads. These are cheaper compared to the TrueView ads. They are the best when you goal is to optimise for clicks if you are selling products since it is easy to get viewers to your channel or website.

Bumpers

These are 6-second-long video ads, and like Pre-Roll video ads, they are non-skippable, but they are similar to TrueView ads in that they are pay per view. They are best suited for branding campaigns and can increase your ad recall. Bumper video ads allow you to include a click-through option, but they are best optimised for views.

Each of these video ads types work for different uses, and it is best first to define the action you want your viewers to take. However, you must invest time and the necessary resources for the creation of your ads. In this light, we have prepared for you actionable tips to help you create compelling YouTube ads in Singapore.

A Step-By-Step Guide For A Successful YouTube Ad Campaign In 2019

In 2019, 80% of website traffic will be driven by video marketing. That is a tremendous amount of traffic that you can capitalize on to promote your brand in Singapore. Some of the successful brands in the world today such as Google Earth, Progressive, and Facebook rely heavily on video marketing campaigns to generate sales and connect with potential clients.

Video marketing is not just for the large companies that are already considered an authority in their respective industries. SMEs can use YouTube, the largest and most preferred video sharing network, to achieve their set goals and objectives. However, they need to have a clear set of goals and an organized video marketing approach to get maximum ROI.

Global brands have been increasing their spending on YouTube ads every year. A good example is Walmart that spent $600,000 on YouTube ads in the first quarter of 2015. The company had spent more than $2.5 million on these ads by the fourth quarter of 2015. Here are two facts to helps you understand why it makes sense to spend such a considerable amount of money onYouTube ads.

• YouTube video ads are very useful in generating traffic
• YouTube conversions exceed all other social networking platforms. Currently, the average conversion rate is 14% compared to 10% on Facebook.

Can video ad traffic achieve such a high conversion rate? At this point, you probably think what the catch is. The secret is spend time creating high-quality videos and optimise the ad campaign. Just like any other digital marketing campaign, if you are willing to invest time and money on YouTube ads, you will get impressive results.

Here are actionable tips and a comprehensive guide to help you create a successful YouTube ad campaign that will catapult your Singapore business to success.

Create a YouTube Channel

Create a YouTube channel before you embark on developing the ads. Below is a guide to help you create the channel in less than 10 minutes.

Log into your YouTube Channel

Because Google owns YouTube, you can log in using your business or standard personal Google account.

Go to “All My Channels” Page

Hover your mouse to the “All my Channels” tab and click on it. If you are having problems locating your profile page, this link will direct you there.

Create a New Channel

On the “All My Channels” page, you will see a dialogue box labelled “Create a New Channel,” click on it to start the process of creating your very own YouTube channel. Choose a name that is relevant to your brand and also appealing to your target audience. Next, select a category that best suits your brand and what it offers. YouTube gives users the option to create a channel for the company or a particular product/brand.

Before we proceed, it is important to note that you can create multiple channels, it all depends on the size of your company and the types of products or services that you offer. It is recommended to create one primary channel for your brand and several others for your main products/services. However, most SMEs prefer having one channel that highlights the business and everything that it offers.

Before you accept the YouTube terms, conditions, and click on the “Create” button, take a few minutes to think about the name of your channel and the category. Make sure that both are correct to avoid any conveniences and regrets later. Consider how the channel’s title will affect your SEO rankings and overall branding strategy.

For SEO purposes, consider including several keywords in the title. For example, you can add the name of the industry and the region that your business operates it. More importantly, include the brand name that your existing customers know. Prospects will also use it to look for your videos on this platform.

Do not get confused about SEO at this stage, as there are many other ways of improving the ranking of your YouTube channel such as including high-value keywords in the descriptions of videos that you upload.

Write a Description of your YouTube Channel

With your YouTube channel now in place, the next step is writing a description to help people know what to expect from it moving forward. Click on the “About” tab on your main channel page then click on “+ Channel Description” button. This will open a form where you can add the key details of your channel.

Ideally, the description should give visitors insights about your brand and type of videos or content that you intend to upload. For SEO purposes, several target keywords should be included in the first 70 characters of your description. The inclusion of these keywords in the description will increase the chances of your channel ranking for them. No need for keyword stuffing, adding them once or twice is enough to enhance your rankings.

Go a step further incorporate links that clients can click on to visit your website or social media profiles. Below are two important facts that you need to know about these links.

• YouTube team will ban links that appear spammy so make sure that every link is properly structure and avoid adding too many of them
• Since these are nofollow links, there is no need to use keywords as anchor text. The best thing to is to create a branded link or a phrase with an enticing CTA to grasp the attention of the visitors and encourage them to take the desired action

Concisely, take your time to create and optimise the description. Even though a majority of the visitors will be visiting your YouTube channel to watch the videos your upload, the description will play an essential role in driving traffic back to your website or social media pages. It will also enhance your brand awareness efforts.

Create Stellar Videos and Upload Them

The most successful YouTube channels have top quality and compelling videos. Make sure that you do the same before you start promoting the channel. Do not be in a hurry, take your time and make sure that the videos paint a positive image of your brand. Obviously, low-quality videos with poor audio and resolution will influence your business negatively.

Well, it will take time to master the process, but that is fine. Besides, even some of the global brands such as Sony have made some embarrassing blunders when creating YouTube videos. Learn from the mistakes and strive to perfect every video that you upload.

Link the Channel to Your AdWords Account

Link the YouTube channel to your AdWords account even though the two will still operate as two different entities. That is, someone who has access to your AdWords account cannot delete or upload videos to the channel unless they have access to it. YouTube channel manager can also not create AdWords campaigns.

Google offers clear guidelines on how to go about this on this page, but here is a brief guide to help you:

• Log in to your newly created YouTube channel
• Click on “My Channel” tab then the channel icon
• Click on “Advanced” tab located under the channel page
• Click on “Link an AdWords Account” tab to complete the process

You will receive an email notifying you that the two entities have been successfully linked. If you created multiple channels, repeat the same process to ensure they are interlinked.

Create a Good Bidding Strategy

Now that your YouTube channel is live and optimized correctly, the next important step that you need to take is to create ads. This process is quite extensive and involves a bit of experimentation. Make sure that you follow the steps to the letter to get positive results.

Understand the Bidding Process on YouTube

A majority of AdWord users create campaigns using cost-per-click bidding (CPC) instead of cost-per-view (CPV) strategy as it is easier to optimize and less risky.

• Cost Per View (CPV): You will be charged based on the number of views or the interactions that the video gets. Note that CPV is the default setting in AdWords.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): You will pay based on the number of clicks in your campaign

Unfortunately, YouTube ads only support CPV bidding, and this is usually a challenge for most marketers who have experience running AdWords campaigns using CPC strategy.

One of the advantages of CPV is that you only pay when a user watches the video. You will get good ROI if the right audience views your ads.

Choose your Bid

How much are you willing to spend on this campaign? It is recommendable to have a budget before you start to create the ads. Note that CPV is the amount that you are willing to pay per view. Remember that in CPC strategy, you are only charged when a user clicks on the ad.

Another critical aspect to note is that the bid you set is not necessarily the actual amount of money you will pay per view. In most cases, you will be charged a penny above the second lowest price. That is if your CPV bid is $0.35, and the next highest bid is $0.36, YouTube will charge you $0.37 per view.

Well, you can get more traffic by increasing your bid, but it is still important to make sure that the bid does not exceed your budget. In addition, CPV can change significantly as other advertisers using the same platform adjust their bids upwards or downwards.

Your primary goal at this point should be to set a bid that is high enough to get enough traffic to your videos but low enough that a few changes in your competitors’ pricing will not exhaust your budget quickly.

So, what is the right bid for your YouTube ads?

It all depends on the amount of traffic that you want to get as well as how you are targeting your YouTube ads. Also, note that, AdWords allows advertisers to create custom bids for different target audiences.

Here are the steps on how to create custom bids for your YouTube ad campaigns:

• Click “All Video Campaigns” sections located under your AdWords account
• Click to open the “Targets” tab to view the bid column
• In the next column, you will see a small icon written, “Customise bids per format.” Click on it to set bids for each category or segment of users you want to target

Setting Targeting Options

A high-quality ad video that resonates with your brand will not deliver the expected results if it is not shown to the right audience. Luckily, AdWords offers several targeting options that you can use to ensure that the right prospects watch your videos. Otherwise, you might end up spending thousands of dollars on the wrong views.

Here are some of the things that you need to consider when selecting target audiences.

Select Topics

Your ads should be shown on videos that are similar to the ones you upload on your channel. For example, if you sell fitness equipment, you want your ads to appear on sports and fitness videos. Google provides thousands of different topics, take time to choose topics that best match your brand.

Broad topics will give you the most visibility but if you want targeted viewers, go for the specific subtopics such as Beauty Pageants instead of settling for a general topic such as “Beauty and Fitness.”

Concisely, choose topics that are specific to your brand’s niche. You will need to experiment with a few categories to know which one relates best with the target segment of viewers.

Focus on User Interests

Google recently introduced a new targeting option: the ability to target users based on their interests. This means that it is now possible to target people who are an avid sports fan, follow the news, and enjoys working out. You can improve your conversions by selecting multiple interests to narrow your audience.

However, be vigilant not to select too many interests that do not have a substantial user base that you can target with your ads. The best thing to do is start with two or one interests then monitors the results (conversions and traffic) for a while before adding more.

Targeting Specific Videos Uploaded on YouTube

AdWords also give digital marketers an opportunity to target specific videos that are uploaded by other YouTube users. This is great if you have located some videos that are relevant to your brand and Ad campaign. To leverage this option, copy-paste the URL into the placement target. Make sure that the videos you select have enough traffic to support your campaign.

Target Search Phrases

Running an AdWords campaign entails bidding for keywords that the target customers are using to search for content related to what your brand offers. Adwords offers you the same option when bidding for YouTube ads. Make use of this feature to bid for specific phrases that your target customer use to look for videos on YouTube search bar. Note that your ad will only be displayed in exact match cases.

Creating Your Ad

Now that you have set the targeting options correctly and have videos that are ready for promotion, the next step that you need to take is to create stellar ads for your company. There is a wide array of options available that you can capitalise on to succeed.

Know the Various Ad Options Available

The first thing that you need to note is that there is no single type of YouTube ad and that is right for every campaign. The video ad can:

1. Appear before the video
2. As the video plays or afterward
3. Be skippable
4. Be non-skippable

There are different types of formats namely:

Overlay Ads

These are ads that are only viewed on the YouTube desktop platform, and their dimensions are 728×90 pixels or 468×60 pixels. Usually, they appear in a semi-transparent state in the bottom 20% of the videos that you select for targeting. The information contained in the ads can be in the form of text or images.

Videos Ads (previously referred to as in-stream video ads)

Videos ads are played before a user is allowed to watch the video they select from the search results page. YouTube allows marketers to display a small banner ad next to the ads at no additional cost. Some give users an option to skip, and others don’t.

If the users are given the option to skip the ads after 5 seconds, the ad can only be up to one minute or 60 seconds long. On the other, if the ad cannot be skipped and the users have to watch it to the end before watching the video, it can only be 15 seconds long.

In-Search Ads

In-search video ads are displayed at the top of YouTube search results page above the organic results. They are also marked with a yellow icon that reads “Ad.”

This type of ads is very useful in getting new viewers that are looking for content related to your niche or the categories that you selected. You can also use these ads to get content ideas from competitors.

For example, there is a YouTube channel that runs video ads for “Top 10 Safety Razors of 2017,” and the main target is people who use the phrase “Dollar Shave Club” on YouTube search bar. Dollar Shave Club already has a huge number of people who search for their videos on this platform. You can cut the chase and connect with this audience by running ads under the target keyword “Dollar Shave Club.”

Unlike in-stream video ads, this type of ads is less interruptive as users are not coerced to watch content that they do not like.

Discovery Ads (previously known as in-display ads)

Discovery Ads are thumbnail image ads that appear on the upper right corner of watch and search pages. YouTube gives marketers an opportunity to specify the pages this kind of ads should be displayed on. It is also possible to display them on YouTube main homepage, but only when no other ads is been shown at the top of the page.

One of the highlights of these ads is that they grasp the attention of the viewers as they browse the “related videos” section. In the past, YouTube used to use a yellow border to mark them as ads but decided to remove it in a bid to make advertising more native. That simple improvement made discovery ads more valuable to brands.

The name of the ad is “Beginner’s Guide” and is targeted at people who are looking for information about WordPress and SEO on YouTube. Prospects who click on the ad are redirected to the main Bluehost YouTube page where they watch a 2-minute video.

Take note of the series of short videos displayed under the video. They provide additional information on how to leverage WordPress to the users. They are also easily accessible to the target audience.

However, the discovery ad does not always have to be a few minutes long. Check out this ad that is more than one hour long.

One of the mistakes that marketers make is assuming that clients do not bother to watch long-form videos. They perceive that only short videos can capture their attention and generate sales.

The truth is that you can convert potential customers’ faster using long-form video ads if they are at the right stage in the buyer’s channel.

Here are three things to keep in mind about discovery ads.

• They are designed to keep the target audience within YouTube, so do not link them to a different platform such as your website. This is one of the main reasons why they are ideal for marketers who want to boost their YouTube following.
• Because these ads are meant to keep the viewers on the platform, look for other ingenious ways of directing the viewers to your landing page. For example, you can use annotations or add a link to the page in the ad description section.
• The conversion goals and target audience will help you determine the ideal ad format to use.

Here are a summary to help you select the right one.

• Video ads spur engage with prospects that are yet to interact with your brand.
• Skippable ads provide the best user experience because it gives users an opportunity to decide whether to watch the video or skip it. That said, generating sales using this kind of ads can be an uphill task. Make sure that you highlight the unique selling points of your brand, product, or services within the first few seconds to capture their attention.
• In-search ads are ideal for building trust with potential customers who are already searching for your brand. You can complement and enhance their effectiveness by coupling them with TV ads, as most clients search for brands on YouTube after seeing their advertisements on TV.
• Search ads are suitable for connecting with prospects that are in different phases of the buying process. To do this correctly, you need to first identify clients are using keywords that indicate they are looking for additional information about your products or services.

Select the Right Video for your Ad

The next important step that you need to take is to select one of the videos on your YouTube channel to display the ad. The video should be in line with the message that you want to pass to the viewers. Check the length of the video to avoid contradicting the set limits for your preferred ad type. In addition, consider your prospects stage of mind when they come across your ad on YouTube.

For example, if they are looking for two-minute videos on how to use certain WordPress features, the chances are that they are still in the initial stages. Therefore, you will need to provide more informational videos before you can attempt to sell a product or service to them.

On the other hand, if they are already watching a long video sales letter, you can confidently go ahead and pitch the product or service to them. The pitching should be done towards the end of the video ad.

Decide the Destination of your Ad

Where do you want viewers who watch the video ad and show interest in your brand to go? Luckily, AdWords allows you to direct them to one of your other videos or your main YouTube channel. Consider linking the ad with your channel if your primary goal is to engage with the new prospects for the first time. This will give them a chance to browse and watch more videos and get a clearer perspective of your brand.

If you are targeting viewers, who are ready to place an order, link the ad to videos that have a strong and compelling call-to-action. As with every other stage that we have discussed, carry out tests regularly to know the right destinations for each YouTube ad.

Note that the success of your YouTube ad campaign is dependent on your ability to engage with the target audience effectively. Customise your videos and ads for specific segments of the audience and make sure that each ad resonates with your conversion goals.

Summary

YouTube is the most popular video sharing platform on the Internet. The platform has more than 1 billion users from all across the globe, which means you will not encounter challenges optimising your ads for the target audience. To succeed in YouTube Video Ad marketing, you need to put in a lot of work and effort. Create top-notch videos and invest your time and resources in testing and targeting.

How to Create Compelling YouTube Video Ads in Singapore

All the above video ads have several things in common, and you can pick up a point or two for your YouTube video ad campaigns. However, there are scores of video ads that do not generate any engagement, and this can be demoralising. After much research and analysis of the top YouTube video ads in Singapore, we have come up with the following tips to help you create compelling YouTube video ads in Singapore.

Make the Ads Look like A Video

The main reason that most ads do not get the engagement intended is by the fact that they are too pushy. This is the leading reason why people cannot wait to skip the ad after 5 seconds. One thing that is common in the above ads is that they appear as videos and not mere ads. While shooting your video ads, treat it as a video; besides, the goal is to get brand recognition and to draw viewers to your YouTube channel where they can watch and share your other videos.

Always Tell A Story

The one thing all the top ads in Singapore have in common is that they tell a story. Many businesses often try to keep their YouTube ads in line with all the marketing guidelines that they end up forgetting about the viewer. With that said, craft your message in a creative and fun story for the viewer.

Create an Emotional Connection

Most ads on YouTube are created with a pushy sales language, and without a doubt, most people will ignore or skip them. When you appear as real in your video ads instead of talking about features, you will create an emotional connection with your viewers, and they will be compelled to keep watching your ad.

For example, Mr. Lim’s Reunion Dinner ad by Singtel, it hardly tells that it is an ad, and by connecting on an emotional level, Singtel was able to make YouTube users keep watching to the end, where they made their CTA.

Maintain Relevancy

There are various ways that you can add stylistic features to your YouTube video ads, for example adding humour elements. However, no matter the style used, it will be useless if it is not relevant to your cause and the target audience. Most companies, on the other hand, give flat and known information with a pushy sales tone.

Keep in mind that the information you provide should be useful and offered without obligation. The viewer will be hooked and will most likely visit your YouTube page and share your content.

Create Anticipation

You only get 3 seconds to hook a viewer to your video ad. While you may have content to fill a ten-minute video, your ad should create anticipation in the viewer to keep watching. Use the first 3 to 5 seconds to tease the viewer into watching more of the video ad. To gain the most out of the anticipation, make a series of ads that creates content flow from one to the other.

In the first and second ads, create teases of your product, and in the last, unleash all you want to tell your audience. The chances are that if a user has watched your first ad, they will be waiting for the release of the other parts.

High Definition Videos

Posting grainy and heavily pixelated ads will be unappealing and few people if any will want to keep watching. For example, the Three Minutes ad was produced using an iPhone, and the results were terrific.

With many businesses lacking the financial might to invest in professional marketing, they cut corners and produce less than desirable videos. The thing with YouTube videos is to keep in mind that quality and execution is everything. Be sure to invest time and the necessary equipment to create ads that will resonate with your audience.

Prioritise Mobile

According to YouTube, more than 50% of its users watch videos via a mobile device while commuting, walking, or waiting. With the introduction of high-speed internet connections, YouTube users are now watching videos during the day using their smartphones or tablets. Make your YouTube video ads mobile-oriented, short and impactful from the start.

Integrate Your Marketing Campaigns

While video ads are enough to get you the desired brand recognition, you will need to integrate other platforms to increase brand engagement. You need to tell one story through the SEO content on your site, social media, videos, as well as advertising and PR to entice your audience.

This way, your target audience will be able to resonate with your brand with more depth than using a single platform. Think of it as the supporting documents to your ad that will go along away into increasing conversions.

How To Promote Your YouTube Channel

YouTube is a marketing hub for businesses that are keen on using Youtube videos to market their products and services. According to the latest statistics, more than 5 billion videos are watched on the platform every day. The company has come up with a system that recommends certain videos to users and this, in turn, helps to boost their viewership as well as outreach.

How do you successfully promote a YouTube channel in Singapore? The problem is that most people do not know how to utilise the various YouTube channel marketing resources available properly.

You should leverage on the various means of growing your subscriber base to achieve the desired viewership and to meet your goals. This article looks at the various strategies you can use to promote a YouTube channel in Singapore. 

Focus on Retention

The primary task of any brand using a YouTube channel should be to engage viewers to watch the video until the end.  The logic is that the longer users view your videos, the more ads they will see. 

For this reason, YouTube favours videos that offer a high retention rate, which should be one of your goals. If your channel already has traffic, you can use YouTube Analytics to check the necessary metrics. 

If you have a retention rate that is lower than 35%, then YouTube is not the proper marketing channel to pursue. However, a retention rate above 35% means that you have a better chance of success when you decide to promote the channel.

Use a Powerful Intro

The introduction to your videos is vital to improving your channel’s retention rate. You could use a brief intro or outro, or bumper to boost viewership. However, a majority of the videos lose a minimum of 20% because they execute the introduction wrongly. 

The best way to optimise your introduction is by experimenting with short titles and sound clips on your videos and having background music. Studies show that a majority of the people will stop watching if the video did not capture their attention by the third second.

This goes to show that, if you cannot capture the viewers’ attention, YouTube itself will not care much about promoting your videos. 

How to Minimise Viewer Loss

For you to succeed at promoting your YouTube channel, you need to approach the exercise strategically. Here is how to do it:

• Reduce your bumper to no more than 3 seconds
• Add a preview section of what the viewers can expect from the video
• Invest in a professional theme and format of your videos

This might seem like a simple way to minimise viewer loss on your channel, but the results will not be immediate. This will call for patience to get it right.  

Know Your Audience

Typically, there are four sources of traffic you ought to know when you promote a YouTube channel:

• Direct search
• Search requests
• Relevant videos
• Links

However, the source of your traffic will vary based on the theme you choose for your channel. 

Direct Search

Logically, the more subscribers you have, the more traffic you will attract based on views in the new video notifications and feed section. Ideally, the viewers’ begin their watching experience directly on your channel. However to leverage on direct search, you must improve on other sources of traffic. 

Search Requests

Studying search requests is one of the best ways to increase traffic to your channel. You will be able to see what prospective viewers are searching for and start creating similar content. You can begin by monitoring Google Trends to see what is trending in the searches. 

There are also several SEO tools that you can use to find the best performing keywords used by searchers in your industry niche. Better yet, there is an increase in the number of third-party tools that allow you to see what people are searching for on YouTube. 

Google Trends also suggests the keywords you should use, and how to configure the location settings to get better keyword suggestions. The goal here is to get the search requests that are not as competitive but can deliver good traffic. 

You could also create a video that is yet to start trending. For example, iPhone X is already out, and there is a high likelihood that there will be an eleventh iPhone coming soon. By making a video for the 11th iPhone, you will be on hand to beat the competition to the market. 

Relevant Videos

One of the ways YouTube uses to promote content is by linking videos that have a similar theme. The chances are that there is someone producing related content to yours and you can feed off this traffic to grow your viewership base. 

You can follow this trick:

• Identify a clip with high views and make a video with a similar icon, description, length, and name. However, you should strive to have content of a higher quality
• Write comments on the description section about the selected video and invite users to watch your version 

However, there are no promises that your videos will get into the recommended videos list. If you continue with this strategy to promote a YouTube channel, at least 10% of your videos will make a list.

Focus on Engaging the Audience

A report by Novel Concept is of the idea that YouTube algorithm gives more preference to videos that receives lots of dislikes, likes, and comments. Philip Zeplin, the mastermind of this report, also goes an extra step to state that videos that receive more views naturally engage the audience. Based on this fact, it is recommended to create content that engages the audience and also motivate them to post comments. Make sure that you respond to the comments promptly to keep the conversation going.

Work on the Video Titles

The first form of metadata is the title, and so it is paramount to optimize it to secure high ranking for keywords that are related to your niche. If you intend to produce a series of videos in a given period, show the algorithm that the videos are linked to each other by including an episode number in the title. A good example of a well-optimized video title is “Episode 4: 3 Foolproof Ways of Getting More Web Traffic”.

Use Playlists and Annotations to Interlink Videos

Interlinking all your YouTube videos using playlists and annotations is another excellent way of dominating the suggested videos algorithm. Businesses whose channels have millions of subscribers often comment on older videos and provide links to newer videos in the description and comments to boost viewership for the new videos.

Links

Linking is one of the best strategies to promote a YouTube channel. However, it takes a lot of time to execute. It involves leaving links in various popular blogs and hoping that they do not get deleted. For example, if you have a channel about insurance in Singapore, find several frequently visited blogs and leave a link to your channels in the comments section.

Another way to use links to increase traffic is by writing guest posts on the popular blogs in your niche. Moreover, you should also look into your competitor’s channels and see how they have optimised their YouTube channel marketing strategy. You will be able to note their mistakes and improve on them to increase views and subscribers. 

Promote YouTube Channel Often

Another of the best ways of how to promote a YouTube channel is to promote new videos within the first 24 hours after release. When used correctly, this method is very useful, and you can set aside approximately $20.

It is recommended that you promote at least 30% of your videos that have a high chance of receiving good traffic within the first few days of posting. If you have great content, you are sure to get the video in the recommended list on the main page. 

Post Frequently

The number of posts on your channel could make or break your channel’s success. You need to create a content marketing strategy that looks into when you should post and how frequently.

However, the trick is to have consistency in your posting schedule. Sporadic posting will cause a drop in uninterested, especially when you go for long periods without any new content. 

Repost, Like, and Comment

Comments show how likeable your videos are to the public. This means that if the public does not like your videos. YouTube will not appreciate them either. This reduces your chances of making it to the recommendation list on videos or YouTube main page. The best way to increase interaction is by engaging the viewers who have commented on your videos.

You should also ask the viewer to like your videos, subscribe to your channel, and leave comments. You could also run contests to help your videos receive more reposts, likes, and comments. 

Learn to use Catchy, Attention-grabbing Thumbnails

Working almost close to your video title, the next most important factor in getting more people to click through your videos are the thumbnails you use. They’re what makes the difference between a scroll-by and a click-through.

Here’s where the secret lies – instead of using YouTube generated thumbnails, why not use custom ones?

Canva should be your friend in this. If you’re good with PhotoShop and all that, then that’s still awesome. However, if you’re a complete amateur, with zero graphics designing skills, then Canva could be the only solution you’ve got.

The first thing you want to do is make your videos not easy to pass up without being tempted to click and look.

With Canva, you can capture your entire video and play around with different elements to make them more clickable and more likely to go viral.

Of course, you need to take a snapshot of your favourite part of the video, and then use text and other design elements to create a clean-cut thumbnail design that’s in sync with the rest of your channel and video playlist.

Just use this link to access the thumbnail section of Canvas, choose a template, and then upload your snapshot. Canvas has one of the most intuitive interfaces you’ll ever come across. It shouldn’t take you much time to figure out how to proceed with the rest of the steps.

How to Make a Custom YouTube Template using Canva

Step 1: You can start by choosing a template from a list of templates provided in the Canva library. Use this link to access the Thumbnail’s section of Canva (link: https://www.canva.com/

You should be able to see the templates on the left sidebar of the screen.

You have hundreds of thumbnail templates to choose from. So be patient as you go through the themes until you find one that matches your style and taste. Another option will be to design one from scratch if you have an idea in mind.

Step 2: This is the point where you play around with the various elements. You can change the banners, frames, icons, and so much more. You have a full library of various graphic design elements, running to a count of 2 million images. You also have the option to upload your own images and design elements.

Step 3: You can use your own text and get rid of the placeholder text. Just click on the placeholder text and erase it before replacing it with your own text. Remember you also have hundreds of free text fonts to play around with until you find one that snugly matches your taste.

Step 4: You can change the background, fonts, and colour until you come up with something totally unique. It’s a fun experience, too.

Step 5: Once you’re done creating your thumbnail, you can download it and upload it on your YouTube video, and you’re good to go.

Create an Email List

If you have not created an email list for your YouTube channel before, then here’s your chance.

With Millions of videos being published on YouTube every day, you can’t just upload your video and wait for videos to stumble across it. You can’t spend countless hours creating a video, and then post it on YouTube and leave it there without doing anything.

You’ve wasted enough of your time already, brainstorming on an idea, filming, editing, and running the video through after effects, and lastly on creating a thumbnail and uploading it on your YouTube channel. The least you could do is promote it and get it enough eyeballs.

Cross promoting your videos is a good start, but it’s not enough. If you’re in this for the long haul, then your plan should be to create a fanbase for all your videos. You need a more advanced version of your YouTube subscribers and something you have total control over.

If YouTube decides to delete your channel after you’ve managed to grow it to, say, 1 million subscribers, that shouldn’t be the end of you. With an email list, you can always set your camp elsewhere, and remember to bring your fans with you.

Plus, there’s room for you to go an extra with how you handle your email list. In your email newsletter, how about you post a snippet of your videos; just a small preview of what’s in the video, especially the part that creates the most suspense.

Let them watch the preview, and click through the link you’ve provided to go to YouTube to watch the rest of the video.

Also, remember to add YouTube follow buttons in your emails and website, just in case some of them decide to subscribe to your YouTube channel.

How to Create an Email List for Your YouTube Channel:

You can begin by creating an email magnet: This is a free incentive that you’ll be offering to your viewers in exchange for their email addresses.

It can be anything – an actionable piece of content that they can download, like an eBook, premium video, PDF checklist, and so forth.

You need to give out something to get your viewers to soften up and be more willing to submit their email addresses to you.

Remember to add a Call to Action (CTA): A call to action is meant to guide your users on what they should be doing next. For a YouTube channel, a CTA can come in the form of asking your viewers to subscribe to your channel or like a video you uploaded.

However, for this case, the CTA you create will be about asking your viewers to download your lead magnet.

Here’s how to create one like a real pro:

“Looking to create perfect sales videos that you can use to sell your stuff online? We created a simple cheat sheet that you can use to create your next sales videos. Here’s a link you might want to click to get your hands on this beautiful PDF.”

Post links to Your Lead Magnet Everywhere: At this point, you have two things, a lead magnet and a CTA. The next thing you want to do is add a link to your website where you’ll be directing your viewers to go and download the freebie that’s your lead magnet.

Just create a simple page and add an opt-in form. For better results, make it a two-step opt-in, followed by an exit-intent lightbox.

Here’s a list of all the places that you can include the links:

• In your video description: This is the most obvious spot to place the link. With every video that you publish, be sure to include the link in the description.
• In your channel header: Remember also to include the link in your channel header. Try linking it to a universal lead magnet that’s attractive to all your viewers, not just those with a narrowed interest.
• In the About Tab: YouTubers hardly pay any attention to this section of their YouTube channels. Yet it’s among the few places that your biggest fans go to look for more information about you.

You can include a link to your website page with the lead magnet here, too.

• On the comments that you make or the replies that you leave on other people’s comments. This is an opportunity that you want to capitalise on really good, and which presents itself every day. Are you active on YouTube, always commenting and responding to other people’s comments?

Well, here’s what you can do:

With every comment or reply that you make, be sure to follow it up with a link to the website page containing a link to your lead magnet.

Use it even more in your channel, in the replies you make. When someone wants to learn more about a video you made or has a question that they would want you to reply to, why not refer them to the page where they can subscribe to your email list and get to learn more from you?

Add Annotations: Use YouTube Annotations to add links, hotspots, and text over your video. You can also use it alongside a customised CTA to add your lead magnet link.

Creating an Annotation isn’t that hard. Here are the steps to follow:

• You can start by going to the video manager section of your channel.
• Find the video that you want to edit, and click on the down arrow, found on the right of your edit button. You should be able to see “Annotation.” Select it and proceed to the next step.
• Click in “Add Annotation,” and then make all the changes that you have in mind. Click on “Apply changes” after you’re done, and you’re good to go.

Brand Your YouTube Channel

Branding allows you to make your channel visually attractive. Other than that, it’s what you use to make it identifiable and get your visitors to start taking you seriously.

Branding also helps with brand awareness. Meaning, if you were to carry your belongings from YouTube and set your camp elsewhere, people should be able to identify your business by just the look at it without reading anything.

Use a company logo for the channel. If you’re operating as an independent vlogger, use your headshot instead.

Now, to make it easy for people to search and find you, you might want to add video titles and descriptions to the videos you make.

Also, use Canva or Bannersnack to create a banner, and on top of the banner that you create, be sure to add a link to your website and social media accounts and pages.

If you’re involved with certain products and services, you might want to cover them as self-branded overlays. You probably don’t know about this, but they’re a good chance to retain the people that watch your videos.

Just as important as creating a visual branding that’s up to a professional standard is creating a more relevant and informative bio about your personality or company. Find a way to come up with a more inspiring and compelling description of yourself or the company.

You can talk about what interests or inspires you. And while at it, try not to make it extra-long, and covered in pure pabulum and fluff. Instead, stick to what’s relevant to your viewers, and try to make it as interesting as possible.

Even more important is to find out what keywords do you viewers use to find you or enter into Google or any other search engine trying to find your products. You want to make sure that your description is well-optimised for these keywords.

Here are a few other takeaways for your Profile:

• Frontload all the relevant keywords in your description and title
• Don’t exceed the 5000 characters limit
• Try creating a content page with a timestamp that will be helping viewers find the type of content that they’re interested in.
• Create links to a relevant playlist
• Remember to include a few hashtags. You’re, however, reminded that YouTube has a few hashtagging rules that you might want to abide by while at it.

Another trick would be to try and mention the keywords in the videos you create. However, you’re reminded that people tend to lose their attention quick. For this, consider throwing in the keywords at the intro and outro section of your videos for the best results.

Learn to Work with Other YouTubers

There’s a reason collaborative videos have become so popular. And that’s because they offer a chance for you to tap into another blogger’s fanbase.

It’s a tactic you’d want to use if you’re looking to grow your audience and stretch out your customer base.

A win-win situation for both you and your partner – as both of you will be tapping into each other’s audience.

Collaborating with other video bloggers can also act as social proof. Your audience will get to respect you even more after they learn that your network swirls far and wide. Bonus points if the other blogger is even more successful or has managed to grow an even bigger audience than you.

Create a Video Series

A regular video series is what you need to give your viewers enough reason to hit the bell and subscription button on your channel. You have to give them something to look forward to.

It’s even better and more effective if you were to apply your creativity here. Be creative with your cliff hangers and the suspense you create. Make them want to watch the next episode of your videos so bad that they’ll be left with no option but to subscribe to your channel.

Another approach would be to prepare a list of topics that you’ll be covering in the video in advance. If your viewers know what to expect, they’ll be more enticed to hit the subscription button so they can be notified when you post the next video.

Reading from the same script is Moz. Their Whiteboard Friday videos show that they’re the masters of using video series to grow their following. It’s a calculated move that’s only going to make the bulk of their viewers to subscribe on their channel

Conclusion

It takes a lot of creativity and hours to shoot YouTube video ads, almost as much as it takes to create a video. This makes it all the more important to have a defined plan to avoid diminishing your marketing budget and using up too much time. There is also a lot of expensive equipment and logistics that go into the creation of compelling YouTube video ads, and for small businesses, it is not logical to invest in the equipment from the onset.

All you need is to design a concept and then hire a professional creative and media agency to do all the work. With that said, we have helped various businesses bring to life their video marketing campaigns. Our work has been instrumental in increasing conversion rates on their YouTube channels as well as on their websites and we would love to add you to our list of esteemed customers.

We have all the necessary equipment and a creative as well as a marketing team that will pull all the stops to meet your deadline and deliver professional YouTube video ads that will resonate with your target audience.

This is the strategy used by the companies that have their video ads ranked high on the YouTube leader board in Singapore. Be sure to follow this post and subscribe to our newsletter for an update of the top YouTube video ads in Singapore.

Call us today on +65 6789 9852 for more tips on how to market your YouTube channel as well as  best YouTube marketing in Singapore practices.