When it comes to social media marketing, YouTube doesn't get as much attention as Meta, TikTok, X (or Twitter, etc.). But brands are actually increasing their marketing spend on the platform, according to a semi-annual survey (including the first quarter of this year) of brand, retailer and agency professionals by Digiday+ RESEARCH. .
However, it turned out to be a different story for agencies.
A study by Digiday found that while the majority of brand and agency marketers use YouTube, there are more brands using the platform than agencies. Two-thirds (67%) of brands and retailers said their companies were using YouTube as of the first quarter of this year. In comparison, 59% of agency professionals said their clients were using YouTube as of Q1.
The difference in YouTube usage between brand and agency marketers may be due to the fact that both groups are trying to get different things out of the platform. The highest percentage of brands and retailers responding to Digiday's survey (38%) said impressions are the primary measure of their company's success on YouTube. Meanwhile, just under a third (32%) of agency respondents say engagement is the main measure of their client's YouTube success, the most of any agency. It is an important measure.
In general, these two forms of measurement were ranked highly in both groups. 31% of brand and retail professionals say engagement is their primary measure of success on YouTube, and engagement ranks second among brand marketers. Masu. Additionally, more than a quarter (27%) of agency professionals say their primary measure of client success is impressions, and this metric ranks among the top among agency marketers. Ranked second.
But Digiday's research found that the two groups disagree when it comes to click-throughs and conversions. According to Brands & Retailers, click-throughs are his number 3, with 16% of Brands & Retailers professionals saying click-throughs are their primary measure of success on YouTube. By comparison, click-throughs rank last among agencies, with 9% of them saying click-throughs are their clients' main measure of their YouTube success.
At the same time, conversions like downloads and registrations took third place for agency marketers. 18% of agency professionals say conversions are the main measure of whether a client will be successful on YouTube, compared to just 18% of brand and retail professionals who said the same. was 6%. Conversion was the lowest ranked metric among brands and retailers.
Brands and agencies have different goals on YouTube, so the two groups spend differently on the platform. Most notably, Digiday's research shows that while brands and retailers are increasing their marketing spend on YouTube, agencies are seeing a decline in their spending.
In Q1 2024, 85% of brand and retail professionals said they were spending at least a small portion of their marketing budget on YouTube. Six months ago, he had a 75% similar response. Meanwhile, 68% of agency professionals said their clients are spending at least a small portion of their marketing budget on YouTube in Q1 2024, down from 73% in Q3 2023. This is a significant decrease from 88% in Q1 2023.
Looking at the data from a slightly different perspective, the percentage of brands and retailers not investing in any marketing on YouTube is decreasing, while the percentage of agency clients not investing in the platform is increasing. In Q3 2023, a quarter (25%) of brand professionals said they are spending no marketing budget on YouTube. In the first quarter of this year, that percentage dropped to his 15%. A year ago, 12% of agency professionals said their clients spent nothing on YouTube marketing. Six months ago, this percentage rose to 27%, and in Q1 2024 it will reach almost a third (32%).
Interestingly, despite the overall increase in brand spending on YouTube, Digiday's research found that the majority of brands spend very little on the platform. . Almost half of brand and retail professionals said they spent a small portion or a small portion of their marketing budget on YouTube in both Q1 2024 and Q3 2023 (48% in Q1 2023) quarterly, and 49% said six months ago).
In the first quarter of this year, agency professionals were the largest group of marketers who said their clients spent nothing on YouTube marketing. However, he came in a close second with those who said their clients spend a reasonable portion of their budget on YouTube, with 30% of agency professionals saying the same.
Considering that more agencies than ever before claim that their clients are taking YouTube out of their marketing spend, the largest percentage of agency professionals in a Digiday survey found that their biggest challenge with YouTube is lack of budget. It makes sense that you answered yes. Just under a quarter (24%) said lack of budget was the biggest challenge for their platform.
By comparison, the biggest challenge for brands and retailers on YouTube is the cost of media. The same percentage of brand and retail professionals (24%) told Digiday that media costs are their biggest challenge on platforms. According to Digiday research, lack of budget is also a concern for 21% of brands and retailers, making it the second biggest challenge after lack of resources and content demand (18% of brands and retailers This is the biggest challenge (YouTube).
For agencies, lack of resources and content demand is the second-biggest challenge on YouTube, with 18% of agency professionals saying this is their biggest concern on the platform. Media costs, lack of commerce options, and brand safety concerns came in third, with 15% of agency professionals saying each was their biggest challenge on YouTube.
