To give you a quick introduction, we’ve narrowed it down to four of the most common types of video advertising. A good campaign may combine some of each.

In-stream video ads

We’ve all experienced this – it’s the ad that plays before the video you’ve chosen on YouTube, and it’s widely known as pre-roll. (Or mid-roll, or post-role, if it comes halfway through or at the end of your video.) Here, the main benefit is the significant reach it can offer – a potential audience of millions. The downside is that many in-stream ads give the viewer the opportunity to skip the ad after a few seconds, so reach doesn’t necessarily guarantee engagement. How to get around this? Target keywords carefully, and make those first few seconds really, really interesting.

In-banner video ads

Here, your video is placed in the standard advertising display areas on relevant websites. They might sit in a standard MPU (Mid-Page Unit) banner, and will play when clicked on, rolled over or automatically when the page loads. Or they might pop up into a small or full screen when the viewer engages with the ad. These ads tend to give more of an interactive experience, as you can support the content with additional features like social media or web links.

In-content video ads

Also known as native ads. This lets you place your video within some relevant editorial content. It’s less disruptive for the viewer as they’re already engaging with the topic, and see your video as an interesting extra. Often, brand will sponsor high-quality, high-ranking websites to enable their content to be included in a post. Do this, and your brand will benefit from the credibility of the website and author. A sponsored story on a trusted site will make your brand feel more trustworthy, too.

Social video ads

Social and gaming apps have become a great platform for ad distribution. As many viewers are using mobile devices, and engaging with and sharing content on the move, video is perfect. It gives you significant reach and, thanks to social media data, lets you advertise to highly targeted groups.