How to market your business on YouTube

In 2025 the video sharing platform YouTube hit an all-time high of 2.7 billion active users per month, spanning 80 languages across 100 countries. 

But despite offering direct access to a massive and varied audience, many brands still overlook YouTube when building out their paid marketing strategies.

Watch our video to see how you can incorporate YouTube into your Paid Ads strategy

YouTube Marketing Strategy

A common misconception is that YouTube is just for brand marketing and not performance marketing and many brands assume that when we suggest YouTube activity we’re talking about posting organic, influencer style content two to three times a week.

Without the required in-house video team, this approach can be intimidating and potentially overwhelming for many brands but that’s just not what paid YouTube advertising is. 

Hyper-targeted online advertising 

At SOZO, we are using YouTube strategically to serve up on-brand client video ads to a set of hyper-targeted audiences, based on their interests and behaviors.

The audience targeting works in much the same way as next generation TV advertising does, but we retain a lot more control over how the ads are placed and who we are reaching as well as achieving greater depth to the insights and data we receive in the back of these ads performance. 

Caring is sharing 

So, why should brands adopt this form of YouTube advertising in place of other paid search activities? It’s largely due to the fact that the marketing landscape has evolved exponentially over a number of years. In addition, privacy updates have made it harder than ever to rely solely on lower-funnel tactics like Paid Search.

Meanwhile shifts in the economic landscape; the squeeze on disposable income and increased competition -particularly in the ecommerce space- mean that brand equity is more important than ever to drive customer loyalty and earn lifetime value.

In simple terms; in order to mitigate the negative impacts of an economic crisis or increased costs and reduce margins, in a super-competitive marketplace you need your customers to care so much more about your brand that they don’t jump ship for a better deal when money is tight.

To stand out your brand has to be something your audience can connect with and are prepared to share with their friends and family. 

Navigating complex buyer behavior

With the continued growth of the internet and linked social media platforms, the customer journey has become more complex than ever before.

No longer can a linear customer progression be mapped from awareness, to interest, to desire to action. 

Google’s own research suggested that, on average, a potential buyer will spend seven hours engaging with your brand’s content, have 11 touchpoints with the brand and engage across 4 different platforms or locations.

YouTube creates demand 

Rather than a push strategy, the most successful brands no longer just chase conversions but rather create demand and that is where YouTube excels. 

While the exponential growth in short form video as a content form has seen an explosion on TikTok, the resurgence of more considered, longer form podcasts or webinar-style video remains popular and this is where a platform like YouTube really comes into its own as the channel of choice.

Its particular form of engagement helps businesses escape the feast or famine cycle of discount-driven short-term revenue spikes and instead helps to build lasting customer relationships and sustainable growth with an engaged community of followers and subscribers. 

How to use paid ads on YouTube

In a nutshell it all comes down to the fact that YouTube is an extremely versatile platform and can deliver at every stage of the buyer journey. 

Because it sits within the Google Ads space, YouTube can optimise towards any goal that a paid search campaign can.

It can play a key role at the top of the marketing funnel; acquiring new users with video reach campaigns, the middle funnel; building trust by accelerating watch times through video view campaigns, or at the bottom/lower end of the funnel create conversions by using Demand Gen ads to harness YouTube in conjunction with broader placements – or potentially all three.

In addition, its wide range of assets including in-feed, in-stream, shorts or masthead ads, act as catalysts for any of these goals.

For example, if you wanted to build trust and credibility with a new audience, a smart way to do this would be to increase the amount of time users spend engaging with your brand. The more they see and connect with your content, the more likely you are to remain top of mind and be in the purchase decision process when it matters.

A way of achieving this would be to harness the power of Video View Campaigns (VVC). 

VVCs automatically test your videos across multiple ad formats — from in-stream to Shorts — to find out where they grab the most attention and drive the best results.

These campaigns typically see watch times soar compared to traditional formats, while also delivering incredible efficiency — with average cost-per-views often coming in at less than a penny. That means you can create more meaningful engagement, for less spend.

Because YouTube ads run across all devices — phones, tablets, computers, smart TVs — and across multiple placements on the YouTube platform, they help you reach your most valuable customers wherever they’re watching.

You’re not just showing up once — you’re showing up consistently, in different ways, at every key moment, creating multiple touchpoint opportunities.

That repeated exposure builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. And trust, over time, leads to loyalty and repeat purchases. 

The main types of YouTube ads include:

• Skippable in-stream ads: Play before or during videos and can be skipped after five seconds
• Non-skippable in-stream ads: 15- to 20-second ads that viewers must watch before their video
• Bumper ads: Short, six-second non-skippable ads
• Discovery ads: Appear in search results and recommended videos
• Masthead ads: Prominently displayed on the YouTube homepage for 24 hours

Conclusion 

YouTube provides a powerful platform to reach and engage your target audience through high-impact content that really influences buying decisions.

YouTube’s user base is huge and diverse. It’s the second-most-visited website in the world with nearly 3 billion users worldwide, which means almost unparalleled reach for your brand.

YouTube’s advertising platform has the ability to find your specific target market, regardless of demographics or interests.

YouTube Ad campaigns are great for launching a new product or service, promoting time-sensitive offers, boosting underperforming content and driving new traffic to your website or landing page.

We work with clients to leverage their video content to reach, engage, and convert a target audience on one of the world’s largest search engines.

If you’re ready to explore the possibilities of marketing your business on YouTube, get in touch with our team today.