While a huge audience still loves lengthy videos, it’s important to recognize that quick clips are ruling the internet at the moment, and it looks like it’ll stay that way for a long time. YouTube started its short-form video format back in 2020, called Shorts. It has given users the ability to create short and quick videos that have the potential to go viral sooner than longer videos, as it’s pushed more to the audience by the algorithm. This vertical video format keeps the users more engaged and creates a chain of views, as it’s difficult to stop once the scrolling begins. As bad of a habit as that might be, it simply is a fact. In this post, we’ll discuss a lot more about YouTube Shorts and how we can use this platform to our fullest. If that sounds interesting, let’s dive right into it.
Introduction
First introduced to India in September 2020, YouTube Shorts made its way to the US and other countries shortly after. Since then, the platform has grown so much that it receives 15 billion views daily. YouTube Shorts can be best compared to TikTok and Instagram reels for their short videos, which are mostly shot from a smartphone camera. This tells you how quick and convenient the process can be, and because of that, more and more creators are jumping into it to get a taste of the success. It has built-in tools that allow you to capture and edit videos and add music from major labels like Sony, Universal Studios, and more. You can go on to add animated effects and text and spice it up with various editing options. For users, it allows them to comment, like, dislike, and subscribe to their favorite creators. At the moment, YouTube Shorts will enable creators to upload videos up to 60 seconds long. It can be a continuous 60-second clip or multiple short clips combined.
Benefits
Since short videos look like the future now, there’s no reason creators shouldn’t get into this platform along with other short video platforms. Here are some of the many benefits of YouTube Shorts as a creator:
#1. Wider Audience Reach
YouTube remains the largest search engine after Google, and this stat is a huge selling point for any creator. This means you’re about to tap into an audience in huge numbers, so your content will get many views. People worldwide use it to look for solutions, entertainment, recipes, and whatnot. There is hardly anyone who does not use YouTube, and with the introduction of Shorts, people don’t hesitate to open the platform because they know they can find quick videos.
#2. It Serves Creators of All Niches
No matter if you’re in the business, cooking, entertainment, gaming, or any other industry/niche, YouTube Shorts is for everyone out there. You can use this short-form video platform to target your customer or attract B2B opportunities. The best thing about YouTube Shorts is that people of all ages use it, and there’s a mix of everything there. And if you can create niche-specific content, it can act as a laser target between you and your ideal audience.
#3. It’s Easy to Get Started With It
The process of getting started with YouTube Shorts is very quick and easy. You can get up and running with it in no time, as you don’t necessarily need equipment besides your smartphone. As long as you have a phone that has a decent camera and microphone, you can leave the rest to the platform to provide you with the rest of the tools to record, edit and upload your videos.
#4. Content Remains Easily Accessible to the Audience
Unlike some other platforms, the content you put out on YouTube Shorts remains very easily accessible to the audience even long after it has been uploaded. For example, a video you created months back can still be suggested to users today and can also be displayed to people looking for similar videos via the search option. YouTube uses different ways of recommending your videos to the audience to keep them evergreen. Also, gaining subscribers from Shorts is relatively easier, so your subscribers are instantly notified whenever you upload a new video.
Impact
It’s safe to say that YouTube Shorts have made a huge impact in the market by producing some mind-blowing stats since it was introduced. This also means it can be super beneficial to you in increasing your sales and getting seen by more people. It’s a great way to promote your content worldwide and increase brand awareness. Also, the fact that Shorts isn’t a new platform altogether but a part of YouTube makes things even better because the audience is retained rather than asking you to start from scratch. In fact, YouTube collected $28 billion in ad revenue in 2021, so it’s an assurance that many companies are investing in this platform. This indicates how big of an earning potential there is when you jump into Shorts. Not to mention, YouTube has announced a creators’ fund of $100 million to be distributed among creators of Shorts throughout 2021-2022. This is to encourage more and more people to start creating Shorts. This way, a creator who gets the most engagement on their Shorts will be contacted by YouTube to be given their share of the fund. Anybody can participate and be eligible to get a slice of the $100 million fund.
Steps to Create and Upload Shorts
It’s incredibly easy to create YouTube Shorts, and the fact that you can do it from the YouTube app itself makes things even more convenient. Depending upon your niche, you should already be well in tune with what you want to create videos about. It could be a quick unboxing video, a cooking tutorial, a valuable marketing tip, or anything you think would be useful to your audience. Follow the below easy steps to create and upload your YouTube Shorts: Step 1: Download and open the YouTube app. Step 2: Tap on the plus (+) icon at the bottom of the screen. Step 3: Tap on “Create a Short”. Step 4: You’ll see that the app opens your camera automatically. You have two options now. The first one is to use a clip that you already have on your phone. The second option is to record a video on the spot with the camera that’s already opened for you. Step 5: On the top right, you’ll be able to select the video length from 15 or 60 seconds. From the top center of the screen, you can add sound from the library. And finally, from the right of the screen, you can perform various actions, such as:
Flip the camera from front to back Add effects to the video Set video play speed Set countdown timer Utilize green screen mode Enable retouch option Apply filters Change lighting
When you’re ready, just tap and hold the red circle record button to start recording the video. Step 6: Once you’ve recorded the video, you’ll see a screen that allows you to add text, voiceover, and more. Step 7: Now, you can add a title for it. Make sure to caption it in a way that perfectly describes the video yet makes the viewers curious enough to watch it. You can set the visibility and select your audience (whether it’s kids-appropriate or not). Once you’re done, tap on “Upload Short” to publish it and put it live on YouTube for your audience to watch.
Strategies
Sometimes, people post the most random videos on the internet, which goes viral, which is pretty crazy. However, even though this is an excellent feeling for the creator, it DOES NOT happen every single time. This is why you must have a clear strategy in place before creating your videos to ensure you’re doing everything you can to make the video “share-worthy”. Here are some of the many tips you can keep in mind to ensure your videos turn out great:
#1. Get Straight Into It
These days most of us have very little attention span, so if you’re not grabbing the attention of the viewers within the first few seconds, there’s a possibility people will close the video halfway. Ensure you get straight to the point in your videos without wasting time with the “umms” and “ahhs”.
#2. Make It Easy to Digest
One of the main reasons why people watch YouTube Shorts is because they don’t want to sit and watch a 16-minute-long video. Because of this, you have to ensure your Short videos are easy to digest and do not contain a million pieces of information squeezed into 60 seconds.
#3. Use Effects and Visual Enhancers
There’s a huge number of young people who watch these Shorts, so you have to understand what they like. Using effects, adding text, utilizing transitions and other visual enhancers are great ways to grab their attention and keep them glued to your video.
#4. Keep Them Wanting For More
Try to make your videos in a way that keeps the viewers wanting more. This could mean creating quality content with tons of value, or you could use a little strategy, such as ending the video with suspense like “stick around what happens in part 2 of this video”. Creating short videos in separate parts makes them easily digestible and gets very addicting.
Monetizing Options
Currently, you cannot enable ads on your YouTube Shorts but starting in 2023; the option will be available to all creators so that they can directly monetize their Shorts. Apart from ads, there are other ways to make money from your Shorts, and these can be started as soon as today. Here are some of them:
#1. Attract Brand Sponsorships
Since YouTube Shorts have the potential to reach a wider audience quickly, it won’t be long before brands start reaching out to you to endorse their products or services on your Shorts. For this to happen, you must ensure you have a very well-engaged audience with your videos.
#2. Send Viewers to Your Main Channel
If you have the main channel where you put out your lengthy videos, then you can utilize Shorts to send them to it and get more views on the videos. More views mean more ad revenue and popularity for your channel, which will also open brand sponsorship opportunities for your main channel. The best way to achieve this is to upload snippets of your lengthy videos to your Shorts section/channel. This way, the viewers will be intrigued to check out the full video on your main channel.
#3. Sell Merch
Merch is super popular these days and if you manage to build a loyal fanbase, then selling merch is one of the best monetizing options out there. It has the potential to earn you a very handsome amount of income while also giving you a sense of fulfillment, knowing your viewers are going to wear something you created. Your merchandise-selling venture can be very profitable if you turn your punchlines or your most-used dialogues into t-shirts, hoodies, and more.
Shorts vs. TikTok vs. Reels
These three platforms are probably the best to compare with each other, as all of them are similar – the most common thing between them is that it’s all about short videos. Of the three platforms, TikTok is the one that started this whole “short video” concept and has been super popular ever since its inception. In fact, it remains one of the most preferred platforms for uploading, sharing, and viewing short-form videos. Instagram soon followed suit and announced their short video format called Reels. Again, it soon created a craze among users and has been widely used. YouTube Shorts is the latest response to short-form content, and unsurprisingly, it has been received well by users, and it keeps growing with each passing week. It has become a great addition to channels that already thrive with their views. While all of them are very similar, there are still differences, pros/cons, and other factors that make them stand out. Here’s a table differentiating them: Since YouTube is also a search engine, your Shorts could be found much easier than on TikTok and Instagram Reels. On the other hand, TikTok and Instagram Reels give you the social media benefit of users who’re already very active on the app, sharing posts, conversing with friends, etc. However, there’s no denying that all three platforms are great in their own ways, and there’s no reason why you wouldn’t want to post your videos on all of them.
Final Words
The new member to the short-form content, YouTube Shorts, is an incredible platform to post your videos and get traction on them. If used strategically, your videos will fetch massive views and subscribers in no time. It would be great to create and upload as many videos as possible so that even if at least one of them goes somewhat viral, it’ll also create a domino effect on your other videos. Don’t strive for perfection when it comes to short-form content. You’ll figure out the “quality” aspect of it while focusing on quantity to begin with. Next, check out these tips to promote your YouTube channel.
