For a long time now, YouTube has been ruling the digital video space. Many have tried, but none have succeeded in dethroning YouTube.
But that’s not how things will always be. In fact, TikTok and Instagram are coming relatively close now. So what would you do if you were running YouTube?
Shorts. That’s what YouTube has come up with, and honestly, as things stand it seems like the right answer.
YouTube launched Shorts in late 2020 and has been expanding ever since.
Let’s take a look at how it all works!
So what are Shorts?
They are basically YouTube’s version of Reels or TikTok. They are limited to one-minute video length. They are shot in 9 x 16 format (or even taller) whereas traditional YouTube videos are shot in 16 x 9 format.Â
This is what that looks like:
What You Need to Know to Post Shorts
You can shoot a video wherever you’d like and later post it as a YouTube Short, or you can even shoot a Short directly on YouTube’s app. If you’re going to shoot it elsewhere just make sure the format is the correct one and you’re good to go.
Are Shots Good For Your Channel?
When Instagram started pushing Reels, creators observed that when they posted a Reel instead of a normal video post, it performed much better. The conclusion was clear: the platform was pushing these short-form videos much more fiercely than other content present on Instagram.
The story is similar on YouTube. Shorts are getting a push and especially the smaller creators have seen the difference. As a whole though, the channels that have adapted a sort of hybrid model are performing quite well.
Future With Shorts
If you’re looking to see how serious YouTube is about Shorts, consider the following:
YouTube set up a pool of $100 million in the early days of Shorts as an incentive to the creators to start creating more content for Shorts. It worked.Â
Shorts add to your channel’s watch time certainly, they also help in increasing your subscriber count since YouTube has been pushing them so much. The good thing here is that your subscribers (if they have notifications enabled) will also be notified every time you post a Short.
Plus, if you’re looking to get more eyeballs to watch your content, definitely consider Shorts. You know what? Don’t just consider it, actually make some!
Advantages and Hacks
If you were already creating content in the same format as YouTube Shorts, you already have a lot of content that you can simply post on YouTube as well. You can even create the same content in one place and use it in 3 different places, i.e, TikTok, IG Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
The biggest advantage is that these videos require less time editing (but that highly depends on the complexity of the video you’re going for) and that means you have more time for creating more or even better quality content.
And if you’re already creating a lot of other long-form content and don’t really have much time to create specialized content for Shorts, I have a solution for you!
It’s pretty obvious, really. All you have to do is cut clips (or one small impactful clip) out of your videos and voila! You now have a Short ready to be posted. This solution is not only the easiest one but also the most convenient.
Nothing should stop you from posting Shorts on your channel. So what are you doing still reading this? Go ahead and post a Short already!
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