The tool is aimed at small businesses that "don’t have resources to create videos from scratch," may not have the experience building video or just don't have the staffing to do so.The tool is free to use, and no ad spend is required.
"With this tool, any business who needs a video can create one that helps connect with their customers and keep them informed – whether through an advertising campaign, website or email," said Ali Miller, director of Product Management at YouTube Ads, in a blog post.
YouTube joins myriad video editing tools already on the market, most notably Vimeo. However, the company is placing its bets on the fact that videos produced by its tool are optimized for YouTube viewers and integrated with the Google Ads program.
"It’s a free beta tool that animates static assets – images, text and logos – with music from our library," Miller added. "You can choose from a variety of layouts based on your message and goals, customize colors and font and quickly generate a short YouTube video (six seconds or 15 seconds)."
To access the tool and save the videos they produce, businesses need a Google account (e.g. Gmail account or other), their own YouTube channel, and to sign up here.
Watch Full Video: YouTube Video Builder
Different businesses have different creative needs. A restaurant may want to communicate changing hours or promotions, while a supermarket may highlight new services like curbside pickup. For brands or agencies with existing video resources, Video Builder can help bring agility and experimentation to the creation process by generating supplemental, lightweight videos. For smaller businesses and those with less creative experience, it can provide an efficient, low-resource way to create videos, perhaps even for the first time.
