The Official Lightswitch Guide to Understanding YouTube for your Business
Tips and tricks to help your business get the most out of YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, giving your business a unique opportunity to post both long form and short form video content.
If you're wondering how to start promoting your business via YouTube, whether that be organically or through paid media - you've come to the right place! We're breaking down best practices for YouTube videos, Ads, and Shorts.
YouTube Feed
The YouTube feed is separated into a variety of sections. The main homepage is videos you might be interested in, but on your own content channel, you can post long form videos, as well as YouTube Shorts, which are similar to TikToks and Instagram Reels.
Summary: YouTube is great for businesses that want to attract new visitors by constantly creating new video content.
The Basics
- Video
- Supports all aspect ratios from 9:16 to 16:9, but video resolution should be at least 1280x720 pixels
- YouTube also has YouTube Shorts, which are comparable to Instagram Reels and TikToks
Recommendations
- Be purposeful when picking your channel name
- Create eye-catching thumbnails
- Thumbnail resolution should be 1280 x 720 pixels, but must be a minimum of 1280 x 640 pixels
- Close caption your videos to make them more accessible to a wider audience
Who uses YouTube
- The percentage of active users on YouTube across all age groups is relatively even
- YouTube is the second largest search engine
- 70% of viewers have made a purchase after seeing a brand on YouTube (The Social Shepard)
Businesses Who Successfully Use YouTube
- Restaurants
- Home Services
- Subscription services
- Music & Performing Arts
- Direct to Consumer products
- Apparel
- Financial services
- Healthcare services
- Brands
Note: YouTube Shorts can be cross-posted in the same way that TikToks and Instagram Reels can. Recommendations and dimensions for Shorts are essentially the same as TikToks and Reels.
How to use YouTube most effectively
- YouTube playlists help you rank higher in search results
- Set a consistent posting schedule
- Use relevant keywords in video titles and video descriptions
- Include (and link) important information in the description – time stamps, your company’s short bio, etc.
- Set up channel tags
Note: There a 5 different types of YouTube ads: (1) skippable video ad, (2) non-skippable video ad, (3) mid-roll video ad, (4) bumper video ads, and (5) display ads
YouTube Ads
YouTube Pre Roll Ads (aka in-stream video ads) are short video ads that play before a YouTube video. This video advertising is done through the Google Ads platform.
Summary: YouTube video ads are great for businesses that want to attract new customers by advertising on specific YouTube videos.
The Basics/Recommendations:
- Resolution should be full HD (1080p)
- Recommended pixels (px) for HD:
- 1920 x 1080 px (horizontal)
- 1080 x 1920 px (vertical)
- 1080 x 1080 px (square)
- Aspect ratio:
- 16:9 for horizontal
- 9:16 for vertical
- 1:1 for square
Tip: Do your research on the specific videos you want your ad to show before
Types of YouTube Ads:
- Skippable Video Ad: This ad plays before, during, or after the content and is able to be skipped after 5 seconds. It is the only ad format that allows advertisers to monetize views from any viewing device, including TVs and game consoles. Max length is 6 minutes.
- Non-Skippable Video Ad: This ad is played before content, added during, or after a video. Users must watch the full 15 seconds. Views from TVs or game consoles don’t count towards a monetizable view. Max length is 15 or 20 seconds (some regions allow 30 seconds).
- Mid-roll Video Ad: Ad played mid-view (think: TV commercials) on content that is longer than 8 minutes. These ads are added either manually or automatically. Views from TVs or game consoles don’t count towards a monetizable view. These ads can be skippable, but users must watch either 30 seconds or the entire ad (whichever is shorter). Minimum length is 30 seconds.
- Bumper Video Ads: Small 6-second video ad played before content that cannot be skipped, usually optimized for mobile views. Max length is 6 seconds.
- Display Ads: These are ads shown in a users’ search queries and will sometimes appear in the right video column when a user is watching a video. They are static ads, and do not automatically play.
Paid Targeting Capabilities:
- Languages
- Interests (affinity audiences)
- In-market audiences
- Remarketing
- Keyword targeting
- Gender
- Geography
- Age brackets
- Behaviors
- Demographics
