Pre-Roll and How to Make It Work for You
It’s no surprise that people’s viewing habits have changed drastically over the past decade considering the changing landscape of cable television, streaming services, smart devices, and social media. But what may be unexpected is the venue that dominates those viewers’ screens.
According to marketing data source, Wordstream, YouTube is the preferred digital viewing platform for 90% of Americans and they are consuming about a billion hours of video each day. That’s an awful lot of music, tutorials, comedy, commentary, and reaction videos, but we’re here to talk about getting dental practice marketing in front of a portion of those eyes – through pre-roll.
What is Pre-Roll?
If you’ve googled even one online video, you’ve experienced the power of pre-roll. It’s the ubiquitous visual tool that reaches its target audience via an advertisement playing before the start of a selected video.
Depending on the type of ad purchased, they typically run between 15 and 30 seconds long and can be very cost-effective with the right strategy. Like other digital marketing tools, the advertiser only pays when the viewer clicks. You’ll also see some pre-roll ads on Twitter and certain websites, but YouTube viewership is clearly the larger and more lucrative target.
The Captive Audience
There are also self-explanatory placements referred to as mid-roll and post-roll ads, but viewers tend to find the pre-roll content less intrusive and are more likely to absorb the message while waiting for their video to begin.
Some pre-roll plays for five seconds before giving the option to skip to video, so ads need to grab the viewer’s attention, or at the very least, be memorable. An ideal pre-roll ad should be concise while targeting the right audience, creative with an intentional hook within those first few seconds, and don’t forget the important call to action.
Include website and contact information so if the ad does stay top-of-mind, the viewer will know where to find you.
Who’s Watching and How to Find Them?
While it’s true that YouTube’s largest audience globally falls between the ages of 25 and 34, don’t rule the platform out if your ideal patient falls out of the range. Much like Facebook, you’re able to filter the best videos for your particular ad placement.
YouTube – which is owned by Google – provides options for targeting by audience or content. The former allows you to define who you want to reach, while the latter focus is where you want your ads placed. In other words, you can filter by audience demographics such as age, parental status, income, life events, interests, and more. Or you can target the videos by content using topics, keywords, and even video placements within blogs, websites, and news sites.
For instance, cosmetic dentists may want to market their practice by education and income or on beauty influencers or tutorial channels. Pediatric practices or orthodontics would target mom and parenting demographics or content, and so forth. The possibilities are limitless.
If you’re ready to tune in and unlock the power of video, RAMP is ready to help. We can not only help with professional video production, but we’ll determine the best place to find your potential patients. Set up an appointment today for a free consultation and let’s get started.
