Difference between overlay Ads and Shorts in YouTube

YouTube has become the world’s most used social media platform in very short period. Approximately 1 billion hours of YouTube videos are viewed every day and around 300 hours of videos are uploaded each minute. YouTube audience ranges from 2 years to 80 years. With such a huge audience, any brand can market the product very well. Also, with that amount of content, brands can reach a massive audience through a variety of ad types.

Selecting the right marketing technique is very important to any business. Marketer’s main target is to maximize their profit, subscription and views with the minimum cost incurred. There is a variety of ads option available on YouTube. Some of them have a high cost, some are very pocket friendly and one of the new features requires no cost at all. You got me right….no cost!!!

So the two options present with the lowest and no cost are Overlay ads and YouTube Shorts. Let’s study them one by one.

What are overlay ads?

Overlay ads are like banners, displayed on the bottom side of the video without interfering with the viewer’s view. These ads can contain images or text. Viewers can interact with them on their will. These in-video overlay ads are excellent at grabbing viewers’ attention without disrupting the user experience. Today overlay ads are high - quality designed, animated and even interactive. These ads take up around the bottom 20% of the video window. Users can see your ad while still watching the video, and they can even close the ad at any time by clicking the “X” in the top-right corner. If they click your ad, it takes them to your destination URL. Advertisers only pay when viewers click the ad overlay to expand and view the full ad campaign.

Benefits of Overlay ads

Better User Experience − For decades we have seen that pre, mid or post - roll ads are annoying for viewers. Overlay ads are non-interruptive ads to give the best viewer experience.

Contextual Targeting − Overlay ads are contextual based. In particular, advertisements can be shown to the audience that are directly relevant to the products shown within the frame. It is beneficial for both advertisers and publishers (Video Owner); the former gets more effective target audience, and the latter gets better monetization opportunities by offering advertisers their desired place.

Interactivity − Overlay ads can be used for a variety of other purposes like polls, quizzes, tweets, backstories, special offers and more. The creative and innovative use of overlay ads can provide a less intrusive experience for users and more powerful advertising options for advertisers.

What are YouTube shorts?

The first video published on YouTube was only 18-seconds long, amend “Me in the zoo”. Since launching in 2005, the founders have learned that content doesn't need to be long to engage audiences.

YouTube shorts after a year - long beta version was released in 100 countries in July 2021. YouTube Shorts enables users to publish vertical short-form videos, with features such as video segmentation, app recording, with musical overlays. Videos must be 60 seconds or less and they do not disappear like Instagram Reels or Facebook Stories. They remain on your channel forever and ever. Using the YouTube creation tools, anyone can record videos, edit, add music, and text, and publish Shorts directly in the YouTube app.

Every creator can enjoy watching Shorts from mobile devices and desktops but it can only be posted from their mobile device from the YouTube app. Down below is the image of the YouTube short.

Benefits of YouTube shorts

YouTube have maximum reach − YouTube have the highest audience, so the potential of marketing the product, brand or channel can be best done here. If already a channel has a good subscriber list, then also creating short videos to engage your viewers is the best idea. Engaging and retention both is a necessity on any social media platform.

Universal Platform − Unlike TikTok, YouTube audiences are of every age. YouTube is equally popular between children, young adults, adults and the elderly. The content for all age groups is there. There's a video for everyone on YouTube. With Shorts, more brands will be able to engage audiences from a wider range of audience targets.

Long - term benefit − Insta reels and stories expires after 24 hours, and shorts remain on YouTube forever on your channel. Content can be seen after long - time also; this provides long term audiences.

Can work as Video Ads − Without paying to YouTube, shorts can act as ads. Like a famous game Coin Master promotes its app on shorts.

Overlay ads and shorts both provide marketers and channel creators to market their brand. At last, it can be said that creators can utilize any video-sharing platform to engage the viewers possible through ads or shorts. Be sure to regularly post a short video on social media platforms for your target audience. As the world’s second-largest social media platform, it is a wise decision to run ads on YouTube because it has a reach far beyond what most other platforms offer.