It’s been said that indecision is the thief of opportunity. Yet even the most determined shopper can find it hard to make a confident purchase decision in today’s world of misinformation and uncertainty.
Across India and Southeast Asia, 1 in 3 consumers decided not to buy a brand they were considering because they felt anxious or not sure of that choice.1 But trusted platforms can make a difference.
Research shows that trusted platforms help to create a “confidence shift,” moving consumers from a place of questioning — if, and what, they should buy — to knowing and making a confident purchase. In APAC, people turn to YouTube as the No. 1 video platform to help them decide what to purchase, with 85% agreeing that when browsing on YouTube, they feel like they get the highest quality information about products.2
The potential for video platforms, especially YouTube, to create a “confidence shift” in the consumer decision journey is even greater today. People are watching videos across every screen, genre, and format, and no matter how their viewing habits diverge, they can all find a home on YouTube. It has a vast library of content that lets them go deep with their interests and the creators they love, across every screen and format, based on their mood and context.
APAC’s divergent viewing habits converge on YouTube
Notably, the divergence in people’s viewing habits is playing out on opposite ends of the viewing spectrum.
On the one hand, there’s the irresistible rise of short-form videos made for mobile viewing. YouTube Shorts, for instance, is now home to 1.5 billion monthly active users and it earns more than 50 billion daily views, up from 30 billion daily views previously.
On the other hand, there’s the rise of connected TV (CTV), which has transformed the oldest screen in our homes by giving us greater say over what videos we stream on it. People in APAC now spend more time streaming on CTV than watching traditional TV, so much so that 78% of viewers in India say YouTube is TV when viewed on a CTV. These viewing habits have contributed to CTV being the fastest growing platform for YouTube across many countries in APAC.3
CTV is the fastest growing platform for YouTube across many countries in APAC.
The increasing appetite for both long and short video formats across various devices tells us that the divide between screens is fading. People in APAC now move seamlessly across devices and screens, experiencing content they love. And whether the content is long, short, mainstream, or personal, YouTube is the one place where people watch it all, from unboxing videos to beauty recommendations and do-it-yourself projects.
For you and your brand, the divergent viewing habits in APAC mean two things. First, reaching viewers, regardless of genre, format, and screen, no longer has to be complex because YouTube is the one place where people’s viewing habits converge.
Second, adopting a multiformat video strategy on YouTube lets you deliver content in relevant formats and timely ways to turn curious viewers into active shoppers. Indeed, 7 in 10 shoppers in APAC agree that advertising on YouTube makes them more likely to purchase a brand.4
To supercharge your multiformat video strategy, you can tap into the power of Google AI in YouTube marketing with new ad solutions, and learn from YouTube creators, who are experts at creating multiformat content.
How YouTube creators engage viewers across formats
YouTube creators are so adept at using short- and long-form videos to grow audiences and engagement that their points of view can influence the consumer decision-making process. In APAC, 82% of YouTube viewers agree that YouTube creators inspire confidence, shortening the consideration phase and expediting purchase.5
One pro-tip for creating engaging long-form videos: give viewers in-depth information. For example, showcase your products through close-ups, tutorials, and product demos. This lets your brand meet consumers in their decision-making process. Indeed, 81% of viewers in India say YouTube enables them to “test drive” products before making a purchase decision.6
As for short-form videos, design them to capture people’s attention and drive engagement. Adding a vertical creative asset to your Video action campaigns, for instance, can deliver 10% to 20% more conversions per dollar on YouTube Shorts than if you used landscape assets alone.7
An added bonus of creating engaging short-form video is that it can fuel long-form video engagement, especially since 59% of Gen Z use short-form video apps to discover content that they then watch longer versions of.
How to multiply your marketing and creative with Google AI
You can further optimise your video content to reach more people watching YouTube, across every format and at every point in the marketing funnel, with Google AI.
To start, YouTube features like autogen video, trim video, voice-over, and flip video, use Google AI to simplify the creative process. They help you scale your assets efficiently across campaigns to reach diverse audiences across every screen and format.
You can then rely on the power of Google AI across your YouTube marketing campaigns to drive awareness and consideration, and reach more people with helpful information. Video reach campaigns, for example, deliver ads across all video formats, including Shorts, which was newly added, and it uses AI to optimise for efficient reach, ad completions, and target frequency, to deliver even more unique reach and a more efficient cost per impression.
As for the new Video View Campaigns, they let you deliver ads in multiple formats, including Shorts, and across various screens, such as mobile and CTV, to maximise views at a lower cost-per-view than standard in-stream campaigns.
To fuel demand, Google's newly launched ad campaign, Demand Gen, delivers immersive, relevant visual creatives that grab attention. It pairs custom creatives with specific audience segments to deliver the most relevant message to customers in their purchase journeys, powering a “confidence shift” that drives results.
People’s viewing habits in APAC might be complex, but reaching them on YouTube isn’t. As a trusted platform that has everything for everyone on any screen, it can help your brand connect with billions of viewers. And by unlocking the capabilities of Google AI in YouTube marketing, you can power a shift in the consumer decision-making process to drive confident purchase decisions across video screens and formats.
Learn more about Google’s latest AI-powered ad solution innovations at Google Marketing Live. And check if you have the right Google Ads AI Essentials in place.
