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Youtube has an advertising opportunity called Affinity Segments. ‘ Affinity audiences’ allow companies to target viewers based on their interests and preferences. Target marketing or audience targeting is when you advertise to a specific audience that is most likely to purchase your product or service. In the case of Youtube, it’s who is most likely to watch your video.
You have three options for ‘Affinity audiences’: People who are interested in popular topics, people whose YouTube behaviors show that they’re already customers, and people who are similar to your current customers.
With this option, you can reach people who are interested in popular topics
Which targeting option is best for achieving brand awareness? Affinity audiences!
YouTube has always been a great place for marketers to advertise because of its massive scale and detailed analytics, but until recently the only way that a company could target those viewers was through video watched or searches.
That’s where affinity audiences come in. Affinity audiences are specific groups of people who share an interest, passion, or commonality with brands and companies.
Affinity Audience Examples
The most obvious example is gamers – almost every game company has a presence on YouTube so the potential number of people to target is massive. Even if you don’t make games, if you sell an accessory for consoles or a peripheral that’s used in conjunction with games then gamers are a great affinity to target.
Netflix is another good example of a company that could benefit from this type of targeting – there are millions of diehard fans out there who have invested considerable time and money into their subscriptions, so having the ability to advertise Netflix products directly to them on YouTube would be a big marketing win. Since YouTube is one of the biggest places for people to discover new content it makes sense to run ads here too.
Affinity audiences aren’t just for offline businesses either – while they’re best suited for companies who have already built up an audience, many B2B companies represent potential customers that may not have a huge YouTube presence but could still benefit from affinity targeting.
Affinity audiences are available for all types of videos, including TrueView in-stream ads that appear on the Home tab and other popular watch pages. Targeting your ad to gamers or Netflix fans is just one example – you can also target by location, language preference, ethnicity, device type, content recency, and so much more. You can even create an audience based on people who have watched similar videos to yours!
Affinity Segment Types
There is a list of affinity audiences that Youtube allows targeting to. This guide will explain the types of affinity audiences and how to market to them.
Bank and Finance: People who are interested in home loans, credit cards, insurance, or other banking products. A video type for this audience could be improving your credit score, buying a house, or banks for lending.
Beauty and Wellness: People who are interested in skincare, haircare, or bath and body products. A video type for this audience could be a tutorial on how to do your makeup or the best way to remove wrinkles.
Food and Dining: People who are interested in cooking, baking, wine, beer tasting, cocktails, or different types of cuisine. A video type for this audience could be a recipe video or a review of a new restaurant.
Home and Garden: People who are interested in DIY, decorating, gardening, or outdoor living. A video type for this audience could be an instructional video on how to replace a faulty toilet flapper or tips for keeping indoor plants alive.
Lifestyle and Hobbies: People who are interested in fitness, yoga, pilates, workout apparel, healthy recipes, and cooking. A video type for this audience could be a review of a new workout machine or a tutorial on how to do Pilates at home.
Media and Entertainment: People who are interested in TV shows, movies, music, and concerts. A video type for this audience could be a review of the latest blockbuster or an unboxing of the newest must-have gadget.
News and Politics: People who are interested in reading about current events from mainstream media sources, political blogs, news networks, or local news sources. A video type for this audience could be a daily headlines show or discussions about important issues in the US election year.
Shoppers: People who are interested in shopping for products or browsing reviews and coupons. A video type for this audience could be a review of the best sneakers to buy or an unboxing of the hottest electronics gadget.
Sports and Fitness: People who are interested in the latest news, games, or highlights around their favorite teams or leagues. A video type for this audience could be an instructional tutorial on how to perform the perfect golf swing.
Travel and Outdoors: People who are interested in learning about different destinations, planning trips, booking hotels, or reading reviews of vacation spots. A video type for this audience could be a travel vlog or learning about the best places to visit in Europe.
Technology: People who are interested in the latest technology, gadgets, or mobile devices. A video type for this audience could be an unboxing of the newest must-have tech device or how to use different smartphone apps.
Travel: People who are interested in learning about different destinations, planning trips, booking hotels, or reading reviews of vacation spots. A video type for this audience could be a travel vlog or learning about the best places to visit in Europe.
Vehicles and Transportation: People who are interested in cars, motorcycles, boats, planes, or other types of vehicles. A video type for this audience could be a review on the latest sports car or tutorials on how to maintain your motorcycle.
How To Use Affinity Segments
When placing a Youtube ad through Google Ads, choose an affinity category to reach a specific group of people
The more you narrow down the search, the more targeted your audience will be.
1. When choosing a Youtube campaign click on “interests” and find a shared interest with your target audience.
2. Click on “affinities.” You can now see all of Google’s available affinities for those shared interests.
3. Choose from suggested affinities or type in any new ones that may not have been included in the list by clicking “add segment” at the top right of the page. You can also use keywords as well as both broad or specific topics to include or exclude viewers based on what they like and don
Summary
Youtube Affinity Audiences (Segments) allow advertisers to target audiences that have some interest in the product you are marketing. This is great because it allows for more specific targeting and will lower your costs. The main point of Youtube Affinity Audiences is so that brands can advertise more effectively on YouTube. It allows advertisers to focus on their best customers rather than trying to “beat the system”.
Lori Ballen is a real estate agent in Las Vegas. She’s a digital marketing specialist, speaker, and marketing coach and loves to share her “Ballen Method” to generate website traffic and leads online. Lori’s specialties are SEO content writing (ranking on the search engines), social media strategies, and affiliate marketing. Need a website? Contact Lori’s brothers Jeff and Paul Helvin at Ballen Brands.
