Module 5 - Key Timings and CTA's within ads

Why does the hook matter so much?

The hook matters because you are disrupting somebody who was watching something else, so you have to capture their attention immediately. With in-stream ads you want to say something that makes them stop, think and pay attention to what you are about to say.

If they do not pay attention, then they are not the type of people you want watching your ads anyway, and they are not the type of people you want to be paying for.

The hook also has to excite the audience. You have to make them want to continue watching and not skip the ad.

What should the hook actually say?

The hook should enter the conversation the customer is already having in their head, and answer the questions they are already asking themselves. Whatever you are advertising, this target audience is already thinking about the product or service.

By answering those questions in the hook you are not only capturing their attention, because they are already thinking about it, you are also allowing your target audience to feel understood, because you are answering their question.

There are two different ways to structure a hook. You can pose a question to them, along the lines of "are you looking for", or you can use a statement that makes them stop dead, listen to you and think about what you are saying. That is why the hook is so important.

Why must the first call to action come before 29 seconds?

Because 29 seconds is the point at which you start paying. With YouTube in-stream ads you do not pay for the first 29 seconds when someone is watching the ad. You only pay when they watch past 29 seconds, or you pay if they click the ad.

So if someone clicks the ad before 29 seconds, they are clearly interested, and we want those people clicking. If they do not click the ad before 29 seconds, there are things we can do later in the ad to weed out the people who are not interested and are not our target audience, and things we can say to direct people to click on the ad and go through to the website.

In the first call to action we would advise that you create urgency, and that you make them want to click, because you are going to be paying after this point anyway. So you want them to click, especially if they are your target audience and especially if these are the people interested in the product.

What goes in the educate section?

The educate section, which also sits in the first 29 seconds, needs to answer the question of why you. We say why rather than what.

When people advertise, they normally answer the what: what do we provide, what is it. They do not answer the why. Why does someone want you, and why would they choose you over someone else? At this point you are going to need to think about what your USP is and what your ESP is, which you will have touched on earlier in the discovery session. You can use the things you covered there to help you with scripting and to help you make your ad.

So the educate section needs to be about why you. You can introduce the product or service, but do not focus on the what. Focus on the why, because that is what makes you unique, that is what makes you special, and that is why people want to buy from you.

What is a golden nugget?

A golden nugget is a key piece of information about you that explains why somebody would want to buy from you and why they would want to click on the ad. We advise you drop these in, and, as I said, you need to make sure this is all inside 29 seconds. That is crucial.

What do the second and third calls to action do?

Later on in the ad there are two more calls to action. The second one is there to create urgency. The third one is to give them that last push if they have not already clicked.

If they are not going to click at this point, I do not know why they have watched, because if they have watched up until this point they are clearly interested, so they should be clicking.

What else goes into the back half of the ad?

By the final call to action you want to introduce a couple more educate sections, and you can do this by talking directly to the viewer, which creates some personality. We normally say to do this after that first call to action as well.

You have introduced the product by then, and, as I said, make sure it is why and not what. From there you can go on to explain a little more about the product or service you are providing, and educate more. You can talk directly to the viewer, or insert other footage that explains more about the product or service. But the hook and the first call to action are really the key timings within the ad that you need to be focusing on.