Should You Worry About YouTube AdBlock? 4 Tips for Video Marketers

Imagine watching the Super Bowl with no ads – or driving through a busy city with blank billboards.

Now imagine watching YouTube with no ads.

For some people this is a reality. YouTube Adblock allows viewers to block ads in videos and on the website.

This begs the question: Should video marketers worry about ad blocking?

Let’s learn more about YouTube Adblock, whether consumers are actually using it, and tips from real video marketers on how to bypass them.

Ad blockers can feel like a marketer’s worst nightmare. But there is power in understanding why People use them.

Here are some quick statistics: 48% of ad blocker users felt that there were too many ads online. And 47% of users found these ads annoying or irrelevant.

Think about your own experience – have you ever been bombarded with pop-up ads while reading an article? Or did you watch a video ad that wasn’t relevant to your interests … not at all?

This study signals a clear trend: users want a less intrusive experience with digital advertising. And they are ready to protect their time and attention with ad blockers.

Do consumers use YouTube AdBlock?

We know the rationale behind using YouTube Adblock, but how many people are actually using it? Check out the HubSpot survey on the use of ad blockers on YouTube:

More than half (63%) of respondents don’t use any type of ad blocking software on YouTube, while just under 11% of respondents do.

Does this mean marketers can breathe a sigh of relief? Not so fast.

While the acceptance of ad blockers is low, it is slowly increasing from year to year. This may not pose an imminent threat to your digital marketing strategy, but this could change in the years to come.

And if your audience is Millennials, you can feel the effects of ad blocking more. People aged 18 to 24 are the highest users of ad blocking software, while people under 12 and 65 and older are among the lowest.

Marketers need to get creative to use YouTube without ad blockers getting in the way. Here are four tips from video marketers to get you started.

4 Tips for Navigating YouTube AdBlock, According to Video Marketers

1. Keep an eye on it.

Don’t let the fear of YouTube ad blockers put you off.

For Nicole Ondracek, Marketing Manager, Paid Advertising at HubSpot, advertising on YouTube is still proving to be effective – even with annoying ad blockers.

“You can still reach so many people on YouTube that [AdBlock] doesn’t really play a role in our strategy. “

Ondracek adds, “For example, one of our target audiences is a custom, shared-interest audience that targets people who are interested in B2B CRM software. That segment alone can still reach 500 million to 1 billion impressions per week.”

While ad blockers “mute” some of your audience, YouTube still gives access to billions of users (2.1 billion to be precise) along with plenty of ways to reach them.

2. Diversify your advertising channels.

It is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one (marketing) basket.

For example, if your digital marketing is all about YouTube advertising, diversify your marketing strategy to include “ad blocker-safe” channels like social media or content marketing.

Jennifer Brault, Channel Promotions Manager at HubSpot, tells me, “In any type of digital marketing campaign, it’s important to meet your audience where they are.”

Brault continues, “By diversifying your ad spend across multiple channels, you not only reach a wide variety of audiences, but you also learn more about which platforms your target audience spends their time on, which can help inform future ad spend and organic advertising Efforts. “

3. Create a meaningful ad experience.

“Rather than looking for ways to get around ad blockers, focus on finding ways to make advertising more meaningful and attractive to end users,” said Bernard May of National Positions.

With ad blocker usage slowly increasing, video marketers need to put their audience at the center of their video strategy. That means getting to the heart of the customer’s interests, questions and weaknesses – and then finding ways to address them.

Remember, consumers don’t hate advertising – they hate bad advertising.

4. Focus on targeting.

While we may not necessarily be able to bypass ad blockers, we can focus on serving ads to the right people.

With Google AdWords (YouTube’s advertising platform), video marketers can target people who are already interested in certain topics or keywords in your company.

Affinity Audiences is a particularly helpful targeting mechanism in Google Adwords. With Affinity Audiences you can reach people based on their browser history and place them in certain segments such as “bargain hunters” or “DIY”.

For example, a marketer who sells outdoor sports equipment might target users who recently searched for “ice fishing” or “best trails near me.”

Final thoughts

Ad blocking technology isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Fortunately, all is not lost for digital marketers who can still benefit from YouTube by reviewing their current practices, diversifying their marketing channels, and identifying areas for innovation.