You finally finish it: the perfect video that’s going to help drive awareness, spark interest, or maybe even help generate more sales. Now what?
It’s important to not only get your content out there, but also to get it in front of the right audience. That’s where paid digital ads come in, allowing you to target exactly who your content is intended for! We went ahead and did the digging for you, compiling our list of where to advertise video content in 2024.
At a glance, this lengthy list might seem intimidating. But once you hone in on the goals of your campaign, what buying stage your content is supporting, and what your budget is, this will be a huge help in helping you determine which channels could work for your video!
Paid Social
Paid social refers to any social media content you pay to show to a targeted audience that might not already follow your account.
Why it’s unique: Paid social is one of the most cost-effective ways to get in front of your audience with video content. The targeting capabilities vary by channel, but they all allow you to really narrow in on your audience and connect with potential customers on the platforms they frequent daily!
Facebook and Instagram (AKA Meta)
Facebook and Instagram are great because you can leverage a variety of placements on one platform for a relatively low cost.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around :30 - 2:00, allowing you to advertise in all placement options available
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, interests, customer lists, and website engagement
- Placement options: In-Feed placements among friend posts and search results, Reels, Stories, and more!
- Budget: $
- Tip: Using more than 1 placement ensures your video gets in front of the most users
LinkedIn is such a powerhouse because the targeting capabilities are unique in that you can reach users based on their profession (think current role, education, affiliations and more!) – making it the perfect place for B2B companies to promote video content!
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 30 - 90 seconds
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, demographics, customer lists, company lists, website engagement, and more
- Placement options: Sponsored content video ads reach your audience as they scroll through their feed
- Budget: $$
- Tip: LinkedIn video ads are muted by default, so be sure to include captions if your video includes commentary
TikTok
TikTok is the shiniest paid social channel currently on the market, and for good reason. TikTok reports that TikTokers are 1.5x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform compared to other platforms' users.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 0:09 - 0:15
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and device type
- Placement options: Place your ad in the For You feed, Following feed, Profile feed, search results, and more
- Budget: $$
- Tip: Due to the nature of the platform, capture attention in the first 3 seconds of your video if you don’t want your target audience to scroll away
Snapchat
Snapchat can be a great option for those trying to reach a younger audience. The nature of this channel makes it a great candidate for campaigns where brand awareness is a main goal.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 0:03 - 0:10
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, demographics, interests, customer lists, and website engagement
- Placement options: Users can view your video alongside their friend’s stories or in the Spotlight section of the app geared toward viewing content from any user on the platform
- Budget: $
- Tip: If you’re able to run 2 different versions of your video ad, a shorter video would be better suited for the story placement and a longer version would be better for the Spotlight placement
Google Ads
Google Ads offers almost a dozen different ad types, some of which are great candidates for video content.
Why it’s unique: Many Google Ads campaign types have targeting abilities that other digital ad platforms don’t — namely their keyword targeting, where you can show your ads when users are searching for relevant words or phrases or visiting relevant websites.
YouTube
YouTube can be a great campaign type for your video because the platform is rooted in long-form video content and search. It’s 2X more likely than any other video service or social media platforms to be used for researching products and brands.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: The ideal video length for this channel depends on the goal of your content. We recommend: 0:15 – 0:20 for awareness driven content, 2:00 – 3:00 for consideration style content, and 0:15 – 0:20 for content you want to lead to a specific action
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, demographics, interests, keywords, website engagement, customer lists, and more
- Placement options: Reach users as they watch video content on mobile, a computer, tablets, and their smart TV via the YouTube app
- Budget: $
- Tip: After five seconds, the user can skip the ad. Front load your video with engaging visuals and commentary that captures your target audience’s attention
Demand Gen
Demand Gen is a newer campaign type that allows you to reach users in a unique way across Google’s most entertainment-oriented properties like YouTube, Gmail, and Discovery Network.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 0:10 - 0:30, depending on the placement
- Targeting available: What’s most unique about Demand Gen is the new lookalike audience segments, allowing you to target those who share similar characteristics and behaviors as those from one of your existing first-party audience segments
- Placement options: Place your shorter video ad in the Shorts placement, opting for longer ads in the Landscape and Square size across Google properties
- Budget: $
- Tip: Load up the campaign with as many unique assets as allowed. Because these campaigns can include both images and video, they offer extra flexibility. For example, you can connect with potential customers via image ads in Discover, video ads in the shorts feed, and a product feed in Gmail, giving you far more opportunities to drive demand.
Performance Max
Performance Max is also a newer campaign type that actually allows you to access all of the Google Ads inventory from a single campaign. This campaign type heavily uses Google AI across bidding, budget optimization, audiences, creative and more.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: 0:10 - 0:60, depending on the placement
- Targeting available: While this campaign type doesn’t allow for keyword targeting, by setting your goal and leveraging Google AI, it’s audience-only targeting has proven to be very effective!
- Placement options: Any and all of Google’s properties including Search, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps
- Budget: $
- Tip: We recently had a Google rep compare Performance Max to adding sand to a jar already full of rocks (AKA other campaign types). Adding it to any ad mix allows you to “fill in the cracks” of any placements you may have missed in everything else “Google” you’re running!
Streaming Platforms (Including Live TV Placements)
Everyone's streaming something these days! And many of your favorite streaming platforms have opened up their ad inventory to allow almost any brand to get in on the ad action. The interest-based targeting capabilities make this category great for brand awareness and educational videos.
Why it’s unique: Streaming platforms allow you to reach users with video content in a way that we’d never been able to before. With ads that are typically non-skippable, and incredibly engaged audiences who are binging a show or listening to a new album, it’s a great option to consider in your ad mix.
Hulu
Hulu was one of the first streaming platforms to introduce a monthly subscription that still required users to view ads, then launching a self-service ad platform in 2020 so that brands like yours could get in on the action. While they aren’t the only streaming giant with this offering, they are one of the most user-friendly and cost-effective on the market.
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend 0:30
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, interests, and content genres
- Placement options: Reach users while they watch on their smart TV, phone, or tablet
- Budget: $$
Tip: Utilize interest targeting to advertise during content that is most relevant to your buyer persona
Spotify
While it isn’t the first channel you might think of when it comes to video, Spotify is a great channel for brand awareness campaigns for video content that leverages voiceover!
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 0:30, allowing you to advertise in all 3 placement options available
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location and listening habits
- Placement options: Run your ad while a user is listening or sponsor a 30 minute ad-free session for your target audience
- Budget: $
Tip: Since the user must listen to your ad before receiving 30 minutes of uninterrupted streaming, the sponsored session option is your best route to ensure the user views your ad
Connected TV (CTV)
Beyond advertising directly via a streaming platform, there are dozens if not hundreds of platforms out there that aggregate ad placements across your favorite networks and platforms. Some options include platforms like MNTN and Vibe, but there are so many you can explore based on your budget and campaign goals. Many of these offer placements on live TV, which historically meant a direct (and costly) buy.
MNTN, VIBE, and so many more!
- Basic Specs:
- Ideal video length: We’d recommend around 0:15 - 0:30, allowing you to advertise on most CTV platforms
- Targeting available: Target by geographic location, interests, demographics, website engagement, and more
- Placement options: Place your ad as users stream live content across a variety of genres, with the ability to exclude or include channels that best align with your brand and message
- Budget: $$$
- Tip: The two platforms we mentioned include the ability to track whether a user visits your website after viewing your ad, despite the lack of a direct CTA link – a unique benefit to CTV placements for both B2B and D2C brands
In conclusion…
Now that you’ve combed through some options, you’re ready to start thinking about which combination of platforms will work best for your next video campaign.
Need help creating and advertising your next piece of video content? Hit our line!