The YouTube platform is a game-changer for businesses and their audiences. YouTube provides access to a vast number of consumers and is a robust tool that can be employed to increase conversions and brand awareness. But the truth is, the vast number of viewers that YouTube provides is a double-edged sword. And the thing is, the open nature of the platform is such that your well-crafted ad may very well be accompanying content that is at odds with the values of your company.
Brand safety is a necessary component of a successful marketing strategy if your company is advertising on the YouTube platform.
What is Brand Safety?
This is a term that speaks to strategies employed to ensure that advertisements appear on platforms where they cannot harm the reputation of a company. Within digital advertising platforms, this is achieved by ensuring that your adverts do not appear next to content that may be inappropriate.
The potential that exists in overlooking brand safety is great. It’s more than just throwing money at an ad that doesn’t matter to audiences. The problem comes in by virtue of association. Say the consumer views the logo side by side with an offending video. The consumer then thinks that it’s supported by that logo by virtue of being right alongside it.
The Huge Size of the YouTube World
The reach of YouTube is simply breathtaking. It currently has more than two billion signed-in viewers every month. This compares to the reach of television. Viewership amounts to more than a billion hours of video every day. This runs across every possible niche. As an advertiser, it is the ultimate means to find clients based on their niche.
However, this comes with a flip side. The amount of content being uploaded every minute is so great that it is simply not feasible for a human review. The result is that the placement of the ads is more or less determined by the algorithm. This is very advanced, but not foolproof.
Navigating Challenges on the Platform
The biggest problem with YouTube is the reality of UGC, which is unpredictable. Unlike TV, YouTube is open to just about anybody; TV shows feature vetted content. There is a problem when ads run on a channel with manipulated information concerning topics such as fake news, conspiracy, or even just children’s content. There is potentially safe but not-so-silent content concerning harmful themes.
The placement of advertisements can also have issues with comments or ‘up next’ videos, forming an edge area around content that might influence user view negatively. Without regulation, your ‘family-friendly’ content might be surrounded by videos deemed utterly wrong for your target audience. As you exclude channels from YouTube ad campaigns, you ensure your ads appear in all the right places.
The Real Impact on Reputation
There are real repercussions for negative connotations. Consumers have become increasingly savvy about their societal beliefs, meaning that if a brand does not reflect their ideals, they will take a stand against it. A brand that promotes damaging content by utilizing advertisements as a funding source will realize that repercussions can be swift and severe.
Trust is hard to gain but easy to break. An unfortunate advertisement can become viral within a split second, creating a public relations nightmare. The price to fix a damaged reputation can cost exponentially more than prevention measures would have.
Strategies for Protecting Your Brand
All things considered, in terms of ensuring brand safety, there are multiple approaches to be adopted in a proactive manner. In fact, one of the best initial strategies relates to the implementation of content exclusion lists. With these lists, you’re able to ensure that your advertisements are not delivered on specific types of content. For example, this might include tragedy and conflict, or specific social problems, or even just children’s content.
Where basic exclusions are concerned, more complex advertisers use placement exclusions. Here, you are actively maintaining a set of channels or URLs where you do not wish for your advertisements to display. For instance, you can use an inclusion list, or a whitelist, to ensure your ads are shown only on channels you have approved.
Third-party verification services are also necessary in today’s campaigns. Collaborating with organizations with expertise in ad verification services provides an additional safety measure. These services review advertisements in real-time in a way that confirms the content conforms with your safety benchmarks before the advert is displayed. Further, checking your placement reports enables you to identify improper channels of distribution that may have been previously overlooked.
Securing Your Future on YouTube
With the increasing digital consumption, it has become more important to ensure a safe environment for advertising. Brand safety on YouTube means something more serious to businesses. It is not only about not making you blush with embarrassment. It is about managing the image and finance of your company. A company’s image can be protected by understanding the risks and implementing effective measures such as exclusion lists and third-party verification!
