Social media marketing is one of the many techniques organizations have had to adapt to meet customer demands.
Organizations must research their target market and the best social media platforms to promote their goods or services. As the second most visited site globally, it’s obvious that YouTube’s marketing capacity is enormous.
Besides paying for regular ads, companies must collaborate with content creators in various niches, aligning with their brands to promote their goods or services. These collaborations are known as paid promotions.
A paid promotion on YouTube is a disclaimer YouTubers use to tell their viewers they have received compensation to endorse or advertise a specific company’s goods or services. This disclaimer helps draw an ethical line between the creator’s opinion and the viewer’s experience. Some YouTubers might unintentionally mislead viewers, but with a paid promotion tag, viewers will understand any opinion expressed in a video is the creator’s.
You’re not alone if you’re struggling to understand what paid promotions on YouTube are. This post explains the importance of disclosing a paid promotion and how to add the disclaimer tag to a video.
Overview of YouTube Paid Promotions
Paid promotions are an excellent way for organizations to expand their marketing efforts and reach a particular audience. Usually, YouTubers will research companies that may benefit from their audience and then pitch a marketing plan.
If the company likes the plan and sees the marketing advantage, they pay the creator for a paid promotion. Compensation for paid promotions can vary depending on the company and the YouTuber’s policies.
For example, some companies offer merchandise or products for their paid promotion. The creator will then review the merchandise or products as part of a paid promotion. Some companies provide both merchandise or products and financial compensation for paid promotions.
Note that failing to disclose a paid promotion in a YouTube video violates online advertising policies in several countries, including the U.S.
As noted earlier, the paid promotion tag helps viewers understand that the YouTuber’s opinion on a product or service may not align with theirs. It also helps a creator avoid claims of misguiding in case a viewer has a bad experience with a product.
Guiding Principles for Paid Promotions
If you’re considering YouTube content creation, understanding the guiding principles for paid promotions and endorsements will help you avoid online advertising policy violations or losing subscribers because of false advertising claims. Here are some general guidelines.
- Disclosing a paid promotion allows your viewers to make independent decisions about a product or service.
- Endorsements should be honest and backed by evidence. The YouTuber and advertiser can be held liable if found to have misguided viewers.
- Any testimony from a YouTuber claiming particular results or experience generally means the audience can expect similar results. YouTubers should avoid making blanket statements and fully disclose expected results instead.
How To Get Paid Promotions on YouTube
The first step to getting paid promotions on YouTube is to have a sizable following. Remember, organizations need an audience to market their products to before paying you to endorse them.
To appeal to your target audience and get more followers, try incorporating the right keywords in your videos, creating high-quality content, and posting videos consistently.
If you already have a good subscriber audience, research organizations with products and services you like and feel your audience would buy.
Remember, seeking paid promotions from companies is a value proposition, meaning you have to tailor a creative marketing pitch to show how a company will benefit from collaborating with you.
Besides finding companies in your niche, some organizations also approach YouTubers for marketing campaigns. However, a creator has to meet the company’s audience standards and have a recognizable brand to qualify for a paid promotion.
How To Add the Paid Promotion Label to a Video
Here’s how to add the “Paid promotion” label to an already-published video.
- Sign into your YouTube account.
- Click the profile icon at the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Select “YouTube Studio” and click “Content.”
- Click on the video you wish to add the label to.
- Scroll down to the “Paid promotion” section. If you don’t see that section, click “Show More.”
- Check the box next to “My Video contains paid promotions like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement.”
Summary
A paid partnership on YouTube is a label YouTubers add to their videos to inform viewers they have received compensation for product placement, review, or endorsement of a service.
This label helps viewers form independent opinions on a product or service and not hold the YouTuber liable for misrepresentation.
