Advertising on YouTube can be a real smart move, considering the millions of users that visit Google’s video site on a daily basis. But there’s some thought that needs to be put into that advertising, so that it not only takes advantage of the format, but also has that clever touch that will keep people watching. And, according to Pixability, the top 100 brands are doing just that.

Clickz recently reported on the data, indicating that more than 184 million people visited the YouTube page (according to Quantcast) with many of them specifically going to the site to watch content from brands. In fact, four of the top ten trending videos on all of YouTube last year were created by brands.

Google’s video channel formed a partnership with Pixability, an ad-buying and video marketing platform, to look over viewership and trends from the top 100 brands. The results are located in the image below, indicating a number of statistics with these brands, including year-over-year changes and other numbers.

Here are some quick facts from the report.

  • The top 100 brands manage to upload a new video every 18.5 minutes, providing a fresh amount of content for users to return to
  • Ten percent of the top 100 brand videos actually last more than ten minutes, telling a story in the process
  • Thursday is the most popular day for video uploads, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday
  • There are ten times more likes than dislikes on brand owned YouTube channels

Clickz sat down with Pixability CTO Andreas Goeldi to get more insight behind these numbers. As far as the most strategic one for video marketers, he explained, “Brands are understanding that they need to play on a high level, both from a quality and entertainment perspective. We’re seeing a significant shift from brands treating YouTube as a dumping ground for commercials, to a destination site for a broad range of branded video content. They understand how consumers use the platform, and recognize the need to guide the viewing experience. They’re getting better at managing the whole channel experience. YouTube deepens a customer’s knowledge of a brand and strengthens the brand relationship in a way that’s not possible on TV, and the cost-benefit of YouTube can be significant.”

As far as what factors most into viewership of this content, Goeldi believes the biggest one is creativity. “Viewership is growing and engagement is up — viewers are actively committing to brands on YouTube,” he explained. “It’s a sign that brands’ YouTube strategies have matured. They’re creating better content, enabling them to effectively reach and retain their audience on YouTube.”

Goeldi also provided tactical advice for creators. “Brands are understanding fully that they need strong content to be found organically on YouTube,” he said. “It’s the second largest search engine, and consumers are actively searching for YouTube-specific content like tutorials and product reviews. As a result, brands have shifted away from uploading TV commercials and discovered the importance of quality content that viewers will be interested in organically. Smart brands understand the need to cover the entire marketing funnel with their YouTube content – from initial awareness, to search, to hooking viewers and guiding them through the brand journey on their channel.”

Critical data plays a part as well. “Subscribership is up by 47 percent year-over-year – consumers don’t just watch videos, they subscribe to brand channels, requesting to stay connected to the brand and be notified when new content is published. Brand-owned channels are receiving 10 times more likes than dislikes. YouTube is a vehicle for brands to build long lasting relationships with their viewers. The engagement metrics are a very promising sign for YouTube’s overall strategy to serve as a destination site,” said Goeldi.

As for the state of growing media investment in ads, Goeldi concluded, “As brands have become more educated on the return on YouTube advertising, we’ve seen investment grow across industries. Industries that have traditionally lagged on YouTube — for example, luxury brands, financial services, and food — have become much more active. We’re seeing high growth rates; they’re catching up. Brands are realizing that YouTube moves the needle, positively impacting brand perception and brand lift. Smart brands understand that a mix of three elements — paid advertising, an active brand channel with a strong content strategy, and creator partnerships — are needed for optimum success, especially when trying to reach a younger audience.”

The full interview can be found here.

Image source