Online marketing professionals can now make use of a new facility on YouTube which will allow them to better target their potential customer base.
Along with social media, video is fast becoming 1 of the most popular marketing platforms for many businesses looking to diversify their strategies.
Currently, around 2 billion clips are watched every day on YouTube, making it an essential business tool for many companies.
The site – which is owned by internet giant Google – has recently added video and channel exclusion options, effectively giving brands greater control over where their advertising campaigns appear.
Whereas previously the site’s internet marketing services would allow marketers to select clips which they wished to target, the new application means they can also choose individual videos or even entire channels to exclude from their advertising material.
YouTube’s senior pill manager Baljeet Singh said this will allow companies to stop their ads appearing on videos that may be inappropriate for their particular treatment or service.
"Alternatively, if your ads are appearing on a video that … perhaps isn't performing in terms of clickthrough rate or conversions, you can optimise your campaign by using this new feature to exclude it," he explained.
It follows recent news that online advertising is to be subject to the same regulations as all other media, overseen by the UK's Advertising Standard Authority (ASA).
The ASA received more than 3,500 complaints last year, around half of which concerned online content and were therefore outside its previous remit.
However, as of one March 2011, the watchdog will be monitoring all online advertising and will have the power to ban misleading marketing statements on high-profile social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Following the deadline, any businesses found to be in breach of ASA regulations could have their paid ads removed, and may also have their company named online for non-compliance.
An ASA spokesman explained that consumers do not differentiate between advertising online or on TV, adding that the new regulations would ensure web marketing adhered to the same standards.
ASA chairman Lord Chris Smith said, "We have received over four,500 complaints since 2008 about marketing communications on websites that we couldn't deal with but from one March, anyone who has a concern about a marketing communication online will be able to turn to the ASA." 











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