Last updated: Tuesday, November 15, 2022
We all know that as we grow more accustomed to having the internet at our fingertips, our attention spans are growing shorter. YouTube introduced YouTube Shorts in July, 2021, and it’s exactly what users of the platform have been searching for on other apps like TikTok and Instagram. Endless, quick, intriguing… and oh-so attention grabbing videos!
Short-form content isn’t new to YouTube, though. In fact, the famous ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ video (which has since been sold as an NFT and deleted) was only 56 seconds long. This truly was the OG of shorts!
The marketing goal with any business is to get the word out about it’s products or services, in an enticing and efficient way. Shorts content is a great way to do that! They’re typically best for the top of your funnel (like awareness ads), and since Shorts viewership is soaring globally, they could be an amazing asset to your business.
Interested in creating a YouTube Shorts strategy? We can help with that, learn more.
What are YouTube #Shorts?
YouTube Shorts are Short-form videos under one minute in length. Similar to TikTok or Instagram Reels. Just like on those other platforms, you can create these videos directly on your phone in the YouTube app. Shorts allow you to record, edit, add music, and remix sounds from videos across the platform.
As a result of Shorts’ popularity, it now has its own section on the website and app that performs similarly to its competitors with which we are already familiar. There is even a separate player on the desktop.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out YouTube’s introduction to it all.
Why Use YouTube Shorts for Your Business’ Channel
For starters, you don’t need any fancy equipment or big production budgets. There are so many benefits to this feature, including:
- Low investment in time and cost
- Tapping into a new and rapidly growing audience
- Mobile viewership is HUGE, and continues to trend upward
- #Shorts has some of the best reach on the platform (low hanging fruit)
Another great thing about YouTube Shorts is that they appear in search and are becoming more and more discoverable. Shorts can be used to supplement and support your long-format content, which makes it easier to drive engagement and build real connections with your audience.
You can even gain revenue from the YouTube Shorts fund if you’re a part of the partner program, and advertising on this platform is currently in the testing phase. (More on that here if you’re interested)
Best Practices for Making Epic Shorts Content
When it comes to actually making your Shorts, here’s a few important format guidelines to remember:
- The video has to be in vertical format, either filmed with a smartphone or cropped in an editing software
- In order to be categorized as a #short, the video must fall under 1:00 in length
- Include "#Shorts" in the title if you’re uploading from desktop
Important tip: If the video file is exactly 1:00, YouTube may register the length as 1:01 and it won’t be considered a #Short. To avoid this happening, export your video at 0:59 or shorter in length to give yourself a bit of a buffer.
Many of the other YouTube basics we discuss on our blog still apply to #Shorts. For example, you must grab attention right away with a strong hook, and deliver information quickly to keep that attention.
It’s important to make it interesting, informative and upbeat. Editing with lots of cuts and different scenes or transitions can help with that. Or, sometimes a really informative tip or inspiring anecdote is all you need. Think about how to pack as much value in as possible. Some practices from competitor apps can also be used like:
- Pick trending audio and edit your shots to the beat with some text (don’t forget a strong CTA!)
- Aim for a clean loop, since your video will repeat
Things to Remember
Add value, but keep it easy to digest! Don’t try to cram a ton of information into your #Shorts verbally – keep that energy for your long-form videos and more in-depth content. Think of your short-form content as a stepping stone for viewers to find the full-length equivalents.
Focus on telling your story visually, and pick the right audios and trends to deliver it. Properly optimize the title of your video, but don’t waste time on optimizing the rest like a regular video.
#Shorts used to have customizable thumbnails, as they were viewed as regular videos on desktop. However, this has now changed with the desktop #shorts player, now only identifiable by the red #Shorts logo and random vertical frame.
Ways to Use Shorts in Your Video Strategy
Firstly, you can promote your long-form content and overall YouTube channel using #Shorts. Take advantage of this separate section within YouTube and potentially different and wider audience. The subscribe button is also easy to access from the #Shorts feed helping drive subscriptions, and you can use a pinned comment to direct viewers with an additional CTA. Of course, try also using a vocal and visual call to action in your short videos, too to drive traffic or conversions.
YouTube Shorts are also good for behind the scenes or casual content such as event recaps, updates, vlogs and bloopers.
There are lots of benefits to using #shorts for user-generated content marketing as well, such as:
- It's an easy way to get more UGC, as short-form content is easy to make, and can be shot on a phone
- It feels more authentic, which increases trust and credibility
- They take up less time and allow for more creativity on a budget
Finally, you can also repurpose long-form content into #Shorts by splitting it up into multiple videos. Then you can use those #Shorts to drive back to the longer version, or as extra fire power to whatever your CTA was on the longer form video.
How to Make Money with YouTube Shorts
So far, all of what we’ve covered is important to know. One question remains though… can shorts be monetized beyond the extra exposure and views?
YouTube has been working diligently to figure out how to reward shorts creators the same way they do with long-form content creators. Currently, shorts can generate revenue through the YouTube’s Shorts Fund, but advertising revenue will soon be a part of the equation.
#Shorts fund
Starting in August 2021, YouTube rolled out its Shorts Fund to incentivize creators to start posting more short-form content. This program has provided creators access to $100M to reward them for their contributions to the YouTube community.
After the first week of each month, creators with high-performing shorts will receive a bonus notification via e-mail and the YouTube app to let them know they’re eligible for payment from the Shorts Fund.
This bonus payment ranges from $100 to $10,000, and depends on a specific set of performance metrics. These can include your monthly shorts views and audience location.
If you’ve met the requirements and have an AdSense account connected to your YouTube channel, you will receive this bonus the following month.
To be eligible for the YouTube Shorts Fund, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least 13 years old, or the age of majority in your country/region
- Be located in an eligible country
- Follow YouTube’s community guidelines and monetisation policies
- Have uploaded an original Short in the last 180 days
#Shorts Advertising
We’ve been waiting for this one for a while, and we’re excited to see that YouTube will be bringing ads to shorts!
Creators are expected to receive 45% of advertising revenue. This is slightly lower than the typical 55% that long-form content creators receive. However, there will also be some adjustments to YouTube’s Partner Program in order to address Shorts creators.
Current eligibility guidelines require creators to reach 4,000 total watch time hours over the course of 12 months, and 1,000 subscribers. Due to the length of Shorts, these watch time requirements are a bit of a barrier for Shorts-focused creators.
YouTube seems to want to change these requirements in 2023, allowing Shorts creators to join the program if they have received 10 million views in the previous 90 days. Hopefully, this will allow creators to monetize their content faster.
We’re still waiting for more information about exactly how ads will be integrated into the Shorts platform. However, what we do know is that they will not be attached to specific videos like their long-form counterparts. Ads will be displayed between videos, and revenue from those ads will be pooled together every month.
This is similar to how TikTok has been placing ads on their platform, so we can only wonder if they will soon follow YouTube’s new revenue model. What we do know is that this exciting change to YouTube Shorts will definitely increase the competition between these two companies and their user bases.
What do you think about this battle of the platforms? Who do you think will come out victorious? Let us know in the comments below.
Brands Using YouTube Shorts in Their Strategy
ESPN
Well-known sports channel ESPN has got their head in the Shorts game! This brand definitely knows what’s up when it comes to integrating short-form content into their strategy. They post a combination of repurposed video clips, and shorts-exclusive content to engage their audience.
ESPN’s Shorts content includes a variety of formats like game highlights, commentary clips, and trendy social videos that give a glimpse behind the scenes. These videos perform exceptionally well for them, and many of their Shorts have more views than their long-form content. In fact, the most viewed video on their channel is a Short!
You can tell they’ve decided to take a more laid-back approach with their Shorts format, and it’s working. They often load up their titles with emojis and use casual language similar to other social media platforms
A lot of their Shorts exclusive content is on the trendier side, and they’re not afraid to step outside of the box. There’s even a video of LeBron James tattooing his own tattoo artist!
America's Got Talent
You may have seen this clip making its rounds on various social media apps lately, but the magic all started on America’s Got Talent’s YouTube channel with a Short. Not only did this viral clip get America’s Got Talent in front of millions of eyes worldwide, but it also shone a bright light on the group performing—two birds, one stone!
This Short is really cool for a couple of reasons. First of all, it was posted months after the original performance aired, yet it managed to climb up the ranks and find popularity on a scale much larger than the full video. In fact, at the time of writing this, the Short has 55 million views. That’s over double the views of the full performance.
However, America’s Got Talent is smart with their Shorts strategy. Upon clicking the comments, you’ll see they’ve pinned a link to the full performance with a call to action.
Besides performance and audition clips, AGT also shares entertaining moments of the host and judges. Since this video blew up, they’ve been posting a Short between each of their longer pieces of content. It seems to be having a pretty positive impact on their channel!
Sephora
Sephora is another great example of a brand that has fully leveraged the power of short-form video content. But, they’ve approached Shorts with a bit of a different strategy than the last two brands.
UGC (User-generated content) has been taking the digital marketing space by STORM this year, and it’s not going to stop. Sephora is a great example of how brands can take advantage of the UGC boom to source great content without having to produce anything themselves. They combine this with the use of influencers as well, but the whole “real people using our products” strategy has been performing well for them. And it makes putting out consistent and fresh content a lot easier.
Besides the UGC strategy, Sephora has been implementing some other tactics as well. This includes team members showing off their products in action through makeup looks and beauty hacks, and following trends. For example, they created a video that shares the best scents for the “Dark Academia” aesthetic popularized on other social platforms like TikTok.
Additionally, they post short content highlighting exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from events. This is a fun way to bring your audience along with you without much extra effort.
Food52
Food52 is a cooking channel with a website that sells a variety of products. These range from recipes and kitchenware to home goods. They also have a blog, and a community section with areas to contribute and compete.
Food52 has been using YouTube Shorts to promote their long-form content in a few different ways. The first is by using clips from upcoming videos to create sneak peeks. This is a great way to get your audience excited about an upcoming piece of content, and to engage with them between uploads.
The second is simplified cooking tips to provide bite-sized value for their audience. These short tips are easy to consume, and viewers can use the information provided to enhance their experience when following recipes on the channel.
The last is short recipes. These are often filmed with a heavier focus on the food, rather than the host’s explanation. The shots are aesthetically pleasing, quick and to the point. They tend to focus on a specific point, like this example video on crispy chicken.
Conclusion
Shocking I know, but that’s it! YouTube Shorts are pretty easy in theory, but they take some practice to get right and find what works for your business. YouTube Shorts are having an exciting effect on the way we design content strategies and the results we’re able to achieve for clients.
If you didn’t catch it, we also mentioned #shorts in our 5 Digital Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2022 blog post! Head over there to see what other 2022 trends your business may want to consider tapping into.
Interested in developing your own YouTube Shorts strategy? Book a consultation with Vireo Video!
Author: Mikayla Boudreau, Vireo Video blog contributor
