Whether you see them as a nuisance or a clever marketing tool, it’s hard to ignore YouTube video ads. With more than 1 billion users, incorporating YouTube into your marketing plan is a no brainer, and video ads are a great way to reach new and existing customers.

There are four main ways to advertise on YouTube, and the pre-roll video ads that you skip before your favourite cat video – called TrueView InStream Ads – are probably the kind that you’re most likely to remember, but do they actually work?

The truth is that online advertising can and is working for many companies. Last year, 120 ad agencies took part in a survey for and 72% of them said that online video advertising is as effective, if not more, than TV. It’s not just the ad agencies taking note though, the same agencies said that they have seen a huge increase in client interest around video ads – 88.6% to be exact.

However a lot of people are missing the point when it comes to YouTube Ads, and aren’t taking viewer habits into account. If your YouTube ads are getting skipped, these top mistakes could be the reason.

1. The video ad is targeting the wrong viewers YouTube Ads

The great thing about TrueView InStream ads on YouTube is that, like your AdWords campaign, you can zone in on your audience to ensure the right people are seeing your video. The viewer can choose to skip your video ad after 5 seconds, and you’re only charged if they continue watching after this point. This makes it a pretty cost effective way to get your content seen.

According to YouTube, 70% of people do want to watch your advert. You just need to make sure that you’re targeting the right viewer, and giving them the information they want.

2. The video ad isn’t visually engaging

A study on viewer engagement conducted last year found that 56% of viewers choose to skip online video adverts on sites like YouTube most of the time. This means that even after specific targeting to reach your audience, over half are skipping your video ad.

So why do we skip video ads that should appeal to us?

Even if your video ad  is targeted at the right audience, you’ve only got 5 seconds to grab their attention before the skip button appears. Your viewers haven’t chosen to watch your video ad, so you need to give them a reason to stick with it and not keep them too long before they can watch the video they wanted to watch.

3. The video ad is too long 

The study also asked participants what the optimal length for a video ad is, and the result could be a key reason that many choose to skip ads. A massive 81% of participants thought that video ads should be no longer than 30 seconds, and over half of those people thought that 15 seconds was the optimal length.

Getting everything you want to include in a 15 second video ad can be difficult. But when planning your video marketing campaign, why not factor this shorter edit into your plan. Your 30 second advert can run across different platforms, but you can then have a shorter 15 second edit that you use for YouTube specifically. In addition to this, YouTube also gives you the choice of attaching a CTA (call to action) to you video, which could be a driver to your lengthier advert.

To find out how you can make online video marketing work for you, get in touch with the Holler team on 020 7112 8665 or email hello@holler.video

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