YouTube Shorts is a brand new feature on YouTube and was launched worldwide in Mid 2021 — as a direct response to other vertical short-form video content platforms such as Instagram Reels and TikTok. Ever since the launch, users everywhere have found ways on how to upload YouTube Shorts to try it out.
YouTube Shorts can be especially beneficial for creators because, as of July 2021, it has over 15 billion daily average views with over 40 billion engagements (Likes, Comments, Shares, etc.).
If you’re an aspiring YouTube creator or own a business, it’s in your best interest to capitalize on what could essentially be a gold mine for your channel. However, you need to learn all about YouTube Shorts to do that.
With that said, in this article, we’ll explain all the information you need on YouTube Shorts from what this new feature is, what creators need to know about YouTube Shorts, and the best tips on getting more YouTube Shorts views.
Without further ado, let’s dig in.
YouTube Shorts are a brand new vertical video format on YouTube that allows you to post micro-content up to 60 seconds long. With an aspect ratio of 9:16, viewing YouTube Shorts is better on mobile devices as it often takes up a smartphones' entire screen, resulting in an immersive and seamless viewing experience.
You can find the YouTube Shorts tab to the right of your home tab at the bottom of your smartphones’ screen. Once you click on it, viewing content on the Shorts feed is as easy as scrolling up and down.
If you happen to find content from a creator you love and would like to see more of, you can tap on their profile picture or name to view all of the Shorts they’ve uploaded.
YouTube Shorts presents a massive opportunity for both creators and business owners to promote themselves and their products. This prospect arises because YouTube Shorts are less saturated compared to YouTube videos.
Regardless of whether you’re a tech enthusiast, gamer, or sell handmade crafts and t-shirts for a living, you should use YouTube Shorts to get your brand out there faster than ever.
For example, if you’re a tech enthusiast, you can share your thoughts on a particular tech product in several YouTube Shorts while teasing your upcoming long-form video content.
Similarly, if you’re a business owner, you can use Shorts to promote their products by creating short and snappy videos of real-life uses of their products that look natural and less like an Ad.
Furthermore, if your business already has long-form video content, you can recycle them into a 60-second video.
Because every time a social media platform launches a new feature, its algorithm tends to prioritize this new feature — generally resulting in a spike in video views to whoever uses it.
Due to this, if you decide to use YouTube Shorts, you may have a higher chance of reaching more people and experience a significant increase in engagement.
After figuring out what YouTube Shorts are and why you should use them, it’s time to learn about everything there is to know about YouTube Shorts on a more technical level—starting from the requirements below.
Suppose you want to upload content to YouTube Shorts. In that case, your videos need to have a vertical orientation (9:16 aspect ratio), are 60 seconds or less in duration, and comply with YouTube's Community Guidelines.
Shorts stay on your channel together with every YouTube video you’ve already uploaded and are mixed when you view the Analytics.
Remember that because your YouTube Shorts’ analytics is mixed with your long-form video content, you should pay attention to your audience’s reactions to your Shorts a bit more.
If you want to separate your Shorts’ analytics from your regular videos, you can create another channel dedicated to posting short-form content.
We’re going to be blunt here at the start: predicting the YouTube recommendation algorithm is complicated. One day, your video can get picked up by the algorithm straight away and get thousands of views, and on others, only a couple of dozens.
However, you shouldn’t get downhearted. Instead, try reading and interacting with the comments on those videos with only a few dozen views to find out what they like.
This way, you can create videos that those viewers love and increase the chance of your next Shorts going viral. Repeat these steps until you find the right blend of content that your viewers like.
Hopefully, after all this, your content is consistently picked up faster by the algorithm and gets plenty of views. But, again, if you see that your videos don’t get consistent views, don’t worry too much about it, as YouTube’s algorithm is volatile.
Because both YouTube Stories and YouTube Shorts are short-form video content, you might think that they’re the same. However, in truth, they are treated and operate differently on YouTube.
When viewing a YouTube Story, there’s a progression to them, and you tap until you get to the end of a story from a specific creator — much like how it works on Instagram Stories and Snapchat.
Furthermore, each video has a maximum duration of 15 seconds and disappears after seven days unless you decide to save them.
Meanwhile, YouTube Shorts videos are up to 60 seconds long, stay on your channel forever (unless you decide to delete them, of course), and there’s generally no progression your viewers need to complete.
Thanks to the YouTube Shorts Fund that gives creators access to $100M from 2021 to 2022, You can indeed monetize Shorts. Every month, YouTube reaches out to thousands of Creators based on their Shorts’ performance over the month before.
Creators can get a bonus between $100 and $10,000 from the Fund to symbolize YouTube’s gratitude for their contribution to the YouTube community. The bonuses Creators can receive is adjusted based on metrics such as views and the location of their audience.
As far as eligibility is concerned, apart from your Shorts’ performance, there are a few other things that make you qualified.
The mobile YouTube app has a few tools built-in for creating Shorts, which includes:
If you’re used to creating video content for your YouTube channel, then creating Shorts videos won’t be as challenging, you just need to tweak your thinking a little to make short-form video content.
However, if you’re relatively new to the space, then follow these steps to get started quickly.
Because Shorts reside inside the YouTube app, the first thing you need to do is open the YouTube app on your phone. After you’ve done that, open the Shorts tab that’s located on the right side of your Home tab.
Once there, you’ll see the Shorts feed where you’ll see trending Shorts from which you can take inspiration. When you have a better idea of what short video you want to create, tap on the plus (+) button that’s located to the right of the Shorts Tab.
You can choose from three options: Create a Short, Upload a video, and Go Live. Because you’re going to create a Shorts video, tap on Create a Short.
If this is the first time you’re creating a YouTube Short video, you’ll need to allow the app access to your camera and microphone. You can do this by tapping on Allow Access.
There are two ways to create your YouTube Short. You can either tap on the red record button and start recording straight away, or upload any pre-recorded vertical video in your gallery.
Learn more: 12 Keys to Effective Vertical Videos
Whichever one you choose, you’ll be able to use the various tools built into the app itself to edit your video to be the best it can be. Check the image below to find out what they are.
Finally, add captions to your videos in the Title section. You can add captions that are relevant to what your video is all about, but at the same time, relate to your audience. Once you’ve created your caption, click on Upload Shorts, and you’re finished!
After creating your first YouTube Short, you might find that your views are on the low side. One of the best ways to increase your views is, of course, to create more entertaining videos that are also engaging.
Here are five ways to do just that.
Generally, if you watch a Shorts video on the Shorts feed, thumbnails won’t matter that much because you view the video straight away. However, you need to remember that Shorts don’t only show on its dedicated feed; YouTube Shorts videos also show up in places like:
If your Shorts happen to show up in any of those places, then thumbnails will matter because users often need a convincing thumbnail to click on. Therefore, consider adding a proper thumbnail to your Shorts video instead of a random freeze-frame.
Depending on your niche, determine what your viewers want from your content. Whether entertaining, educational, or even inspirational videos, figuring out your users' wants and needs will be crucial to getting more views.
Post videos with the appropriate length. For example, don’t stretch stories that only need nine to ten seconds to tell the entire 60-second duration.
Often, videos become viral because anyone who watches them feels something — making them need to share it with others. With this in mind, try to make people laugh, cry, or even intrigued enough to make your videos shared with others.
As we know, Shorts are, at maximum, a minute long. To make your Shorts competitive, you almost need a 100% view duration on average. That’s certainly no easy feat.
However, one way you can do that is by perfectly looping your videos, so viewers will find it challenging to determine where your video started or finished — resulting in near 100% view duration.
After launching their beta in India in late 2020, YouTube Shorts and all their creation tools are available worldwide with the YouTube app since launching globally on July 13, 2021.
Repurposing a piece of TikTok content can make your YouTube channel a better place for viewers. Businesses or channels may use YouTube Shorts for advertising their product or services on YouTube.
As YouTube has partnered with various music labels, you can easily add music to your Shorts videos by choosing from the many options on the in-app tool.
Similarly, you can also add your custom text by choosing the text tool on the built-in creation tools, enabling your viewers to quickly understand things such as memes and educational content.
1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the top right-hand corner, click on Create → Upload Video
3. Choose a pre-recorded video file that is up to 60 seconds long and with a vertical aspect ratio.
4. Include #Shorts in the title or description to help YouTube recommend your Shorts everywhere on YouTube
5. Input the necessary information about your video.
6. Publish!
To determine which one is better for you between TikTok and YouTube Shorts ultimately depends on what you need. To help you decide which one suits your needs better, here’s a breakdown of what features each of these platforms offer.
Features available on TikTok but isn’t present on YouTube Shorts:
Features available on YouTube Shorts but isn’t present on TikTok:
When you’ve reached this point, we hope you’ve gained a firm understanding of what YouTube Shorts are all about and how to upload them. As you have seen, posting YouTube Shorts can be incredibly beneficial to creators and businesses alike because of the massive number of views and engagement they can attain.
Furthermore, thanks to the YouTube Shorts Fund, you as a creator can receive between $100 to $10.000. So not only does YouTube Shorts provide you with a bigger chance to reach a wider audience, you can earn money while doing it as well.
However, creating engaging YouTube Shorts content is easier said than done. If you don’t have much time or resources to create them, you can use Offeo’s video templates to do it.
Our vast library of video templates can help get you started quickly on any video project you want. And Because we already have an Instagram Story maker that shares the same aspect ratio of YouTube Shorts, then you’ll never need to worry about your video’s compatibility.
The best part of it all? You can create everything in under 3 minutes! Sign up for Offeo now and get your video rolled out in double-quick time!
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