With TikTok bringing back our love for short, palatable videos, it’s no surprise that YouTube wants in on the action.
Bite-sized content has been on the rise for some time, and HubSpot Academy anticipates a shift toward more user-generated content, behind-the-scenes videos, and explainer/educational videos. Brandon Saunders, a Digital Marketer for HubSpot Academy, hypothesized that the increasing use of social media (and which content types gain traction) shows how consumers’ attention spans are shrinking over time. As a result, marketers and businesses must adapt and incorporate more concise material into their digital marketing campaigns.
What Are YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts were first presented by Google in India. Chris Jaffre, VP of Product Management, stated in a press statement that it was designed for creatives who wanted to “shoot short, catchy videos” using only their mobile devices. YouTube Shorts are a smashing success in India, and worldwide viewership is skyrocketing. YouTube declared a beta debut for the United States in early 2021, promising a plethora of newer features such as a growing music catalog and increased visibility. These short videos, similar to Instagram Reels and TikTok, provide viewers with an easy way to digest one subject through snappy and engaging animations, music video parodies, documentary shorts, and brand content.
What Are the Benefits of YouTube Shorts?
Why would you choose YouTube Shorts over any other medium for short-form video? After all, it lacks some of the features that TikTok and Reels have- but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t have great benefits though. For starters, you don’t need much equipment to get started. You don’t even need have a computer- just a smartphone. Along those lines, this content is also very accessible due to its encouragement of digestible content that people can watch from anywhere. Not only is it convenient for consumers to watch, it is also convenient for you- you can upload multiple videos at a time and also add captions. In addition, YouTube has a very large potential audience for you to tap into with over 774.6 million active users just on iPhones and iPads.
What’s the Difference Between YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels?
The three main differences between YouTube shorts, TikTok, and Instagram reels can be broken down into three topics: length, features, and demographics.
First of all, YouTube shorts are a minute long maximum- if you are using the YouTube application, you only have 15 seconds. On the other hand, Instagram reels have a 1 minute maximum time limit regardless of whether the video is recorded in the application or uploaded from your camera roll. TikTok offers the most time with a 3-minute time limit.
When it comes to features, these three video formats differ as well. YouTube shorts will automatically add captions to your videos to make them more accessible and also includes several creative features to enhance video creation (for example, speed control). YouTube shorts also feature a multiple segment camera, the ability to choose which part of the song you want on your video, color correction options and fast upload speeds, and a wide range of music tracks to choose from. Instagram reels allow users to create a highlight reel of the photos and videos, allowing users to add music, filters, stickers, caption, and location tags. TikTok allows you to choose from previously recorded videos or you can make your own through the application, you can discover trending content from around the world, and you can share your video to other platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
When it comes to demographics, all three video formats kind of overlap. YouTube appeals to the 15-25 year old demographic, but is also popular with 26-35 year olds. Instagram attracts more of a 25–34-year-old audience, while TikTok is most popular among 16–24-year-olds.
Tips and Tricks for Creating Effective YouTube Shorts
Consumers want easy-to-access consumer content that they can view on the go. As mentioned in the introduction, this has resulted in a short-form video movement, with Reels, TikTok, and, more recently, YouTube Shorts. Despite the fact that they only recently launched and that the platform is only accessible in India and the United States, there are 15 billion daily views. However, just like any other site, if you want to maximize your success and attract your fair share of viewers, you must employ effective strategies.
Keep Your Videos to an Appropriate Length
Consumer attention spans are decreasing, which means you have fewer chances to pique their interest and a limited amount of time to communicate your message. That means keeping your movie to a reasonable length while saying everything you want to say. Let’s get right to the issue. This is possible even with difficult topics. If required, divide longer topics into sections and organize them into a series.
Customize the clip for the platform: make sure the ratio is right and the content is appropriate for your target audience. Begin with an attention-grabbing line, followed by a story to keep the viewer interested throughout the movie. Avoid having too many individuals talking or too much going on in one video. Reduce on-screen distractions and even make thumbnails: If you want to stick out on YouTube, you’ll need captivating thumbnails to catch the attention of viewers.
Understand What Tone Best Appeals to Your Target Audience
As with any of your other content, you must understand the tone that appeals to your audience. Is it demonstrative, enthusiastic, or informative?
Some brands use YouTube Shorts as how-to videos or for comedic purposes. Popular channels include CollegeHumor or Funny Or Die, which has millions of subscribers. When creating content, you should already have some idea of the tone that works. Make that your starting point. If you’re new to this and not sure, you can ask yourself who your target audience is. Now, decide what you want to achieve. Do you want to educate? Make people laugh? Inspire? What do you want the content to do for your business? You can then begin creating a video content strategy, including SEO, optimization, content promotion, and analyzing performance.
Optimize the Titles of Your YouTube Shorts
The process of creating the best potential title for your videos is known as title optimization. It’s an important part of how your visitors locate you on YouTube and aids the site’s algorithm in discovering your content.
Here’s how to improve your title: Look up terms. You can do this with the Ubersuggest application. Make use of keywords. YouTube suggests including #shorts in your description so that its system can promote them to viewers, limit the number of letters to 50-70, and place names over captions.
Repurpose Your Content
Video content is becoming a more common way to share stories and connect with a larger audience. It has also become an essential component of many businesses’ social media marketing plan. Repurposing your YouTube Shorts material can help it go further. For example, you could develop your video into a longer blog post, create an infographic and share it on asocial media, share YouTube shorts content on sites like Twitter and Facebook, and add your content on Instagram reels.
Create Relevant Content
Again, knowing your community allows you to provide them with the content they want to see. If you’re just getting started, you can figure it out by, talk to your existing customers about their problems and ask them what they want to see, identifying your intended audience and developing a content strategy around the viewing responses, viewing figures, and so on for other companies’ shorts.
You can also expand your influence by making material that is newsworthy, create material based on current events, trends, new surveys, and what’s going on in social media, include terms, understand the search terms that your target audience is likely to use to discover your content, and respond to the issues raised.