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How to Create YouTube Shorts Ads Easily in Five Minutes

October 26, 2023

According to Google, YouTube Shorts receive 50 billion daily views. Besides TikTok and Instagram Reel, YouTube Shorts is also a promising and potential short video platform that hardly any advertisers would want to miss out on.

In this blog, Mega Digital will give you a brief yet overall understanding of YouTube Shorts ads thus showing you how to run a YouTube Shorts ad campaign.

Table of Contents

What are YouTube Shorts Ads?

YouTube Shorts is a short-form video platform created by YouTube to compete with TikTok, Instagram Reels, catering to the growing demand for concise and easily consumable video content. They are vertical videos that play for the maximum 60 seconds.

YouTube Shorts ads are, therefore, video or image advertisements that appear between videos in Shorts. They just pop in there as you scroll through the Shorts Feed, and you can swiftly swipe to see the next one. YouTube Shorts ads are no different from ads on TikTok and Instagram reel, they just appear on different platforms.

Here are YouTube Short Ads examples:

Just like In-feed Video ads, they have an apparent “Ad” tag and can link to your YouTube homepage or website.

What is the YouTube Shorts ads’ spec?

Length: < 60 seconds
Aspect ratio:
- Vertical content: 9:16
- Square content: 1:1
Resolution:
- Vertical content: 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels
- Square content: 1080 pixels by 1080 pixels
Frame rate: 60fps

If you upload a video that meets these specifications on YouTube, it will be automatically categorized into Shorts’ video. You can have the preview of your Shorts ad by clicking on the YouTube icon of the uploaded video and choosing “open in new tab”. However, to really run a YouTube Shorts ads campaign, you have to take the steps below.

Tutorials to create a YouTube Shorts Ad campaign

Step 1: Sign into your Google Ads account

Running YouTube Shorts ads is no different from running other YouTube ads, which means that you need to have access to a Google Ad account.

Once done, select “Create a new campaign”.

Step 2: Choose ad campaigns

If you want to run a YouTube Short ads campaign alone, choose “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance”

Then choose the subtype campaign: “Video view”. You can only see “Shorts ad” in this subtype campaign.

However, in this blog today, we will help you run Short ads in combination with other ad types as this is more complex and confusing.

First, you will need to choose “Sales” or “Leads” as your objectives.

Then, select the campaign type as “Video”:

Step 3: Set up your YouTube Shorts ad campaign

After choosing all your campaign settings such as bidding strategy, location, target audience,…, you will come to the “Creating video ad” part. You can also do this by choosing “Ad” on the bar on your left hand.

This is where you have to upload your video ad. Copy the URL of your YouTube Shorts ad and paste it here:

Make sure that your advertisement meets the YouTube Shorts ads’ specs as mentioned above. It is recommended that your Shorts ad is vertical, with a ratio (of 6:19) to make the most of YouTube Shorts format.

After pasting the link, you will have a preview of your YouTube Shorts Ads here. Click on the button “All formats” and choose “Shorts”. Review all your settings to make sure they are correct.

Finally, click “Create a campaign” to run your YouTube ad campaign.

How much do Shorts ads cost?

YouTube Shorts ads operate on a Cost-per-view (CPV) basis. With this method, advertisers will pay for each time a viewer engages with their Shorts ad. A view is counted when a viewer watches at least 30 seconds of your video ad or the full video (if it is less than 30 seconds); or clicks on the link in the video ad.

Just like any other YouTube ad using CPV bidding strategy, a YouTube Shorts ad costs advertisers between $0.03 and $0.3 per view.

You can read more about the cost of all YouTube ads’ types here

Are YouTube Shorts Ads worth?

In this era of rapid digital advancements, where our attention spans are getting shorter, short video content has become the game-changer for digital marketing. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels have led to the increasing popularity of short-form video content, turning short video ads into a global phenomenon.

According to Hubspot, 33% of social media marketers agree to invest in short-form video content, the highest compared to other types. 85% of them also say short-form videos are the more effective social media format.

Since people tend to scroll through things quickly, short videos are a perfect match for today’s fast-moving world.

But why should it be YouTube Shorts ads?

Have the widest reach

YouTube has a total of 2,5B monthly active users, which is ahead of TikTok in total users and in every age group. Thanks to this massive base of monthly users, YouTube Shorts Ads have the potential to reach significantly more people compared to advertisements on other popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Research done by InsiderIntelligent also reveals that YouTube is expected to achieve nearly twice the reach among millennials in 2022, nearly four times the reach among Generation X, and approximately eight times the reach among baby boomers compared to TikTok. If you’re a business using YouTube Shorts Ads, you can potentially get your message in front of a vast and diverse audience, from the youngest to the oldest.

Some social media apps can be a bit risky for marketers, such as TikTok. TikTok was banned in India in mid-2020 and now runs the risk of being banned in other countries as well. If advertisers put a lot of effort into making content for an app that might suddenly disappear, all that hard work could go to waste. However, YouTube is different. YouTube has been around with us for decades and is part of a big, well-known company. So, it might be a safer bet for marketers to advertise on YouTube as this is a more stable and secure platform.

It is clear that YouTube Shorts ad is a very cost-effective ad type. With an impressive audience of 1.5 billion unique logged-in viewers per month, Shorts is definitely growing in the future. At this moment, Mega Digital believes that YouTube Shorts ads worth investing money on, especially for advertisers seeking to expand reach and drive sales.

Best practices for your YouTube Shorts Ads

#1. Good music and sound

The use of music and sound can greatly enhance the appeal of your Shorts. We suggest choosing current trendy or viral songs for your Shorts ads, especially if your target audience is GenZ. Viewers may stay longer with your ads because they want to listen to the audio. Of course, we have to choose the soundtrack that fits the message and brand image. However, there will always be a way to make the best of both worlds.

#2. Make it short and sweet

When creating content for YouTube Shorts, it’s essential to keep your videos short and snappy, ideally aiming for a duration of 15 seconds or less. We all know that YouTube Shorts thrives on the concept of delivering concise and engaging content that can swiftly capture viewers’ attention. Making a short ad therefore fits with the modern audience’s preference for quick, impactful content consumption, making your videos more likely to resonate and leave a lasting impression.

#3. Make an eye-catching thumbnail

Design attention-grabbing thumbnails for your YouTube Shorts Ads. Since the thumbnail is the initial impression viewers get, it’s crucial to make it captivating. You can try to incorporate vibrant colors, engaging fonts, and pertinent visuals to craft a thumbnail that will halt viewers in their scroll.

#4. Integrate some trends

Stay updated with trending topics, challenges, and relevant events. These trends will make your video more interesting and easier to get viral. You can easily search for trends on Google or TikTok. However, just take what resonates with your ad’s message to make the ads both interesting yet still deliver what you want to say.

#5. Run with others YouTube ad types

We suggest you run your Shorts ads with others YouTube ad types as well. Each ad format serves a unique purpose, from building awareness with Outstream video ads to delivering concise messages through Bumper ads or engaging viewers with YouTube Shorts. This will ensure your content appeals to a wider range of viewers and create a well-rounded strategy that caters to different stages of the customer journey.

Final words

To sum up, YouTube Shorts ads are short, skippable, and captivating types of video ads that pop up on the Shorts Feed. Not only do they appear on YouTube – one of the most popular social media platforms, but they also come in short-form video ads – the currently dominant marketing trend.

The stage is set, the audience is waiting, and the potential is limitless. Mega Digital believes that It’s now time for marketers to incorporate YouTube Shorts ads into their marketing campaigns.