Heard of YouTube shorts? If not, you soon will, as YouTube has launched its response to the TikTok-fuelled trend for short-form videos. We explore below exactly what these little nuggets of content are, the benefits they can deliver, and whether or not they’re worth investing in if you run a YouTube channel.
What’s a YouTube Short?
So, YouTube Shorts will act in a similar way to TikTok – users can view an infinite and scrolling feed of newly uploaded vertical videos and can choose whether and how to engage with them or otherwise. At the moment, the platform is still in its infancy, so expect to see lots of TikTok content that has simply been re-uploaded to YouTube Shorts – but this will no doubt change as time goes on. There has been speculation, too, that short videos posted to YouTube will not expire but will remain on the platform and searchable no matter how much time has passed since their creation.
What are the Benefits of YouTube Shorts for My Channel?
There are plenty of reasons why getting on board with YouTube Shorts is a great move if you have an already established or new channel operating on the main YouTube platform. Here are some of them:
Grow Your Subscriber Base
Creating a short video with a wide appeal can do marvelous things for your channel’s viewing and subscriber figures – and once you’ve caught your audience’s attention with a Youtube Short, they can easily be directed to your main channel to watch longer, more in-depth videos – which is where the potential for monetization comes into play.
Advertising Revenue
Although at this early stage, YouTube Shorts is ad-free, this will undoubtedly change in the near future, meaning that it can possibly provide an additional revenue stream in terms of third-party advertisements, just as your main YouTube channel currently does.
BrandConnect
This one’s speculative at the moment, but there’s a strong possibility that YouTube will ease the restrictions currently in place, which limit content creators’ ability to use BrandConnect, a tool via which creators can deploy to more easily access branded content, potentially opening up extremely profitable revenue streams.
YouTube Shorts Fund
If you have a YouTube channel and are considering investing in short-form videos, then now is the perfect time to do so: the YouTube Shorts fund is specifically designed to help creators make money from their videos.
Throughout 2021 and 2022, YouTube will be handing out $100 million to eligible creators of original short videos – YouTube has been open about the fact that the fund is simply the first step in figuring out how best to monetize Shorts. Right now, only those creators invited to apply can access the Shorts Fund, although it’s likely that it’ll be expanded to encompass a wider demographic of creators shortly.
How to Get Started with YouTube Shorts
The beauty of the platform is its accessibility. All you need to get started creating a Short is your smartphone and the Shorts camera, which can be found in the YouTube app. You’ll find Shorts creation tools here, too, to help you put together the perfect video.
Video makers can easily add sampled content, mixing in music from the YouTube audio library, or use music from other videos posted on the platform. All sampled content will be automatically credited back to the original source video.
Don’t forget to ensure your video has a running time of no more than sixty seconds!
Will Viewers Find My Shorts?
If you’ve got a YouTube channel and are considering investing in creating Shorts to boost your brand or online business, then you may be wondering how viewers will come across the Shorts you post as a way of judging whether creating them is worth your time.
Currently, viewers can come across your Short by tapping the Shorts button at the bottom of the YouTube app. Audiences could also find your Short via the YouTube homepage, in their notifications, or by checking their subscriptions. You could also choose to feature your short video on your channel’s homepage.
YouTube has said that it is constantly working on new ways to deliver content to viewers, so watch this space for future developments.
In the meantime, one of the best hacks to help get your Shorts in front of a wider audience is the wise use of hashtags; always include #Shorts in your video’s title or description – this will better enable YouTube to recommend your video across the platform.
The Takeaway
Short-form videos are a proven way for a business or brand to extend its reach and engage with new audiences – this type of content can also help to keep a current audience engaged; a viewer may not have time to watch a longer video but may well dip into a quick sixty-second how-to guide, for example.
Further, while TikTok is generally seen as the domain of younger viewers, YouTube has a much broader viewing demographic, meaning that just about every industry could leverage the marketing potential of the short video setting on this particular platform.
This is why YouTube Shorts might be very, very sweet for your brand.
