Buying Facebook ads to promote channel?

BrettTaylorYT

I've Got It
Joined
May 3, 2018
Messages
185
Reaction score
48
Age
26
Website
www.youtube.com
Channel Type
Vlogger
has anybody ever done this? If so is it useful? I have no idea how it works I just know you can buy ads on Facebook. Same with youtue . Has anybody bought an ad on YouTube? Or any other ad space I general?
 

JeffEvans

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Messages
5
Reaction score
3
Age
33
Location
Crossville, TN
Channel Type
Youtuber
I've considered it for a while, but haven't done it yet. I saw a video a while back about it and the guy gave his strategy on it. He would create the ad like normal but deactivate it on mobile and Insta because FaceBook opens YouTube in its built-in browser on mobile and same with Insta, most people aren't logged in to YouTube on them so they can't subscribe. So he ran them only for desktop users because it would take people straight to YouTube with their account already logged in. Again, I haven't tried it personally but seemed like a pretty good strategy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: darkstarmedia

The NotARubicon!

NotARubicon Productions
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Messages
663
Reaction score
328
Location
Southern California
Channel Type
Director
We've tried facebook ads several times trying to drive views on Youtube and get more subscribers, and it was never worth it. It seems that for our demographic, they dont like to leave the safety and comfort of Facebook and make the long, difficult journey over to Youtube.. We've also found that the majority of our Facebook followers dont even have a Google/Youtube account so they can't subscribe.
Our demographic is mostly male, aged 35-65, so it might be different for your followers...
 
  • Like
Reactions: darkstarmedia
Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Messages
10
Reaction score
6
Age
34
It works quite good, but you have to decide on the audience, target video then write clickable description and target ads as close as possible.

Great for someone like me, not sure if it will work for your vlogs.
 

darkstarmedia

Words are great.
Joined
Oct 19, 2015
Messages
1,913
Reaction score
1,142
Age
31
Location
United Kingdom
Channel Type
Other
I've considered it for a while, but haven't done it yet. I saw a video a while back about it and the guy gave his strategy on it. He would create the ad like normal but deactivate it on mobile and Insta because FaceBook opens YouTube in its built-in browser on mobile and same with Insta, most people aren't logged in to YouTube on them so they can't subscribe. So he ran them only for desktop users because it would take people straight to YouTube with their account already logged in. Again, I haven't tried it personally but seemed like a pretty good strategy.
That's pretty useful to know, actually! I tend to be logged in on mobile but I hate not having it open in the app, heh.

I've been using ads for a while, but that's mostly because I upload my videos onto Facebook as well and promote them there. For me, getting recognition on an alternative platform is not a bad thing - provided the message I'm still aiming to get across is received coherently. I've had a lot of extra views, although not as much engagement as I'd have liked, which can make it very obvious that more of your views are paid for rather than organic. That being said, I do have a smaller but very loyal audience, so perhaps my organic growth will increase in time.

Another thing to add; when marketing my vids, I have a tailor-made audience with specific interests in education & linguistics, meaning whoever sees my work is someone who actively wants to.
 

PVPavement

Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
6
Reaction score
1
Location
Pacific Northwest, USA
Channel Type
Gamer
Having ads running to promote your channel can be a good thing if done correctly. I believe Facebook allows for split testing ads, meaning that you run 2 different advertisements for the same channel/video with only one or two variables changed. You run a small sample of impressions on the ads and a few days later take a look at the analytics. The ad that did better is what you want to improve on. Continue that ad, but replace the other with a new ad with slight changes to the one that was doing better. Keep making improvements until you have a satisfying click-through-rate and viewing time.

This is the strategy that many entrepreneurs and marketing professionals use to great effect. It's a tried and true method of developing and growing brands.

I hope that helps! Good luck! :)