09 Sep How Targeting YouTube Shorts Increased Ad Efficiency for Our Clients
In the dynamic world of social media advertising, precision and efficiency are crucial for maximizing returns on investment. Recently, we observed a significant improvement in the efficiency of our media buys when targeting YouTube Shorts, rather than running ads across the entire YouTube platform.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into how this strategy led to lower Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) and improved overall performance for two of our actual clients, which we’ll refer to as Client A and Client B.
The Shift to YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts, a relatively new feature, has rapidly gained popularity as a platform for short-form video content. Recognizing its potential, we tried targeting YouTube Shorts specifically for our media buys. The results were strikingly positive, showing substantial improvements in key performance metrics.
Client A: Achieving Lower CPM with Targeted Shorts Campaigns
For Client A, targeting YouTube Shorts proved to be a game-changer. Prior to this shift, the campaigns were running across the entire YouTube platform. The data, from September 2023 to February 2024, showed an overall CPM of $8.16. However, when we started targeting YouTube Shorts from March to May 2024, the CPM dropped dramatically to $2.17, or only 27% of the original cost. This significant reduction in CPM underscores the efficiency gained by narrowing the focus to Shorts.
Client B: Enhanced Efficiency and Engagement
Similarly, Client B experienced notable improvements in its campaign performance when targeting YouTube Shorts. The broader YouTube campaigns had a CPM of $3.32 from September 2023 to February 2024. Upon shifting to YouTube Shorts, the CPM fell to $1.55 between March and May 2024, or just 46% of the original cost.
Client B’s campaigns showed similar trends as Client A’s, with a significant drop in CPM but a slightly higher cost per click. As these were awareness campaigns, we were not optimizing for cost per click but tracking them as we went.
Why YouTube Shorts?
The key to these improved metrics lies in the unique nature of YouTube Shorts. These short, engaging videos are designed to capture viewers’ attention quickly, making them an ideal format for ads. Additionally, the algorithm behind Shorts tends to promote new and trending content more aggressively, which can help ads achieve greater visibility at a lower cost.
Practical Insights for Media Buyers
For media buyers looking to enhance their ad efficiency, here are some practical insights based on our experience:
1. Target Specific Formats: Instead of spreading your budget across an entire platform, focus on specific formats like YouTube Shorts that offer better engagement at lower costs.
2. Leverage Trends: Utilize trending formats and content types to capitalize on the platform’s algorithm, which can help improve ad visibility and performance.
3. Monitor and Adjust: Continuously monitor campaign performance and be prepared to adjust your strategy based on the data. The digital advertising landscape is ever-changing, and staying agile is key to maintaining efficiency.
Conclusion
Our experiments with targeting YouTube Shorts have demonstrated that this approach can lead to significantly lower CPMs and better overall campaign performance. For both Client A and Client B, this strategy not only reduced costs but also increased the reach of their ads. As YouTube Shorts continues to grow in popularity, leveraging this format for targeted media buys could be a powerful tool in any media buyer’s arsenal.
Advertisers can achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their campaigns by focusing on more precise targeting and taking advantage of emerging trends. As always, we’ll continue to monitor this, as algorithm and platform changes are pretty much constant.
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