YouTube is the second-biggest search engine in the world, making it an ideal space for digital marketing. Over the past 8 years, Aleric Heck, CEO and founder of AdOutreach, has helped clients generate over $200 million in sales using targeted YouTube ads. At the Traffic & Conversion Summit, he explained how embracing artificial intelligence (AI) in YouTube marketing can optimize results for your scaling business.
Core Components of Effective YouTube Ads
Before you take on AI targeting, you must know how to create YouTube ads that appeal to the learner’s mindset and add value to audiences. Aleric breaks down the script into 3 parts.
Hook
Your hook should capture the audience’s attention and prime them for the rest of your ad using strategies such as:
- Pattern interrupts
- Questions
- Problems and solutions
- Funny or clever hooks
- Stories or case-studies
- Education or value-based hooks
The hook of your ad should generally be around 15 to 30 seconds.
Educate
Aleric describes this section as a golden nugget, a small but valuable piece of information. Common types include:
- Talking heads and screenshots
- Whiteboards
- Demos or slideshows
- Cinematic or produced segments
This should make up most of your ad, typically running between 1 and 2 minutes.
Call to Action
The call to action (CTA) inspires the audience to take action, but including just one CTA usually isn’t enough. Aleric recommends this structure:
- Recap value from the ad
- Stack value of the next step
- First call to action
- Add urgency
- Second call to action
- Personalization and a friendly push
- Third call to action
- Show your landing page on the screen
Put together, these CTAs should account for around 30 to 45 seconds of your ad.
Tips for Success With YouTube Ads
Aleric says anyone can create effective YouTube ads if they take the right approach. He emphasizes a few key points.
Authenticity
He starts with what you don’t need: fancy equipment, special skills, and complete confidence in front of the camera. Audiences respond best to authentic videos, not flashy or highly produced ones. They’ll connect if you come across as the authentic authority on a subject, regardless of how you look or sound, a fact Aleric learned from personal experience.
When he created his first YouTube ad to promote his own brand, Aleric almost didn’t click publish because of how he looked. Ultimately, his appearance didn’t make any difference, and it was the first ad that made his company over a million dollars.
Proactive Lead Quality
In addition to making your ad authentic, Aleric also recommends avoiding viewers who aren’t a good fit for your company, using exclusions such as:
- Location and language
- Demographics
- Household income
- TV screens
- Topics such as games and music
Limiting who sees your ads and how they see them ensures you get the most value from your advertising budget.
Audience Targeting
Google’s pre-built audiences allow you to choose in-market audience segments, affinity segments, life events, and detailed demographics for targeting. You can also target audiences using your own data, including YouTube users, website visitors, and customer lists.
The Alpha-AI Targeting Strategy
The term “alpha results” has long been used on Wall Street to describe the pursuit of above-average returns, and training AI is how today’s industry experts make that happen. You can take this same approach with YouTube ads, training Google’s algorithm with AI and human strategy.
Keyword Audience Segments
One way to get alpha results is using the custom audience segments feature. This trains YouTube based on audience interests and search intent. Targeting audiences with keywords helps you find people who are likely to need what your business offers. Aleric recommends using KeywordSearch to uncover what those keywords might be.
App Audience Segments
You can also train AI to focus on audiences with certain apps installed on their devices. For example, a business selling a health product might target audiences with related apps, such as Weight Watchers.
URL Audience Segments
According to Aleric, URL custom segments are one of the most powerful audiences you can target. You can find people who have gone to competitors’ or complementary sites using URL audiences for YouTube ad targeting. The next time they go on YouTube, they’ll see your ads.
Get Alpha Results With T&C 2024
The essential elements of Aleric’s presentation are using a value-ad script, custom audiences, and URL affinity, but he and all the speakers at T&C have a lot more to share. All the speakers at T&C have a treasure trove of tactical lessons to share that will skyrocket your sales. Secure your spot now and unlock the full potential of your business! Grab your T&C 2025 tickets NOW!
