YouTube Shorts is a relatively new and developing feature that allows creators to post short-form content of up to 60 seconds in length. Clearly intended to mimic TikTok’s catering to those with high content demands and shorter attention spans, Shorts is designed to be a quick and easy way for creators to share entertaining content with their audience without viewers having to necessarily spend a great deal of time finding the highlights. If you’re a creator looking to get started with Shorts, keep these few things in mind to stay ahead of the curve!
The Basics of Creating Shorts
Creating a Short on YouTube is as simple as you might imagine. You can either record a video within the Short’s camera feature or upload a video that is ready in your camera roll. Once you’ve recorded, edited, and uploaded a video, you can use a variety of tools and features that can make your content more engaging and visually alluring. You can add text, music, and other effects to the content in order to help it stand out and capture your viewers’ attention. While this process is true for most types of content, keep in mind that Shorts are meant to be just that—short! You should utilize this tool to post easily digestible bits of content that are 60 seconds or less, as a rule. Incomplete content is ill-performing, so be sure that what you’re posting makes sense for Shorts as a tool.
Optimizing Your Shorts for Visibility
Like your more typical content on YouTube, the success of your Short will depend on the visibility and engagement that you’re able to achieve. To get the most out of your presence on the platform, you should be sure to optimize your content delivery as much as possible for search and discovery. This will mean using keywords in your title and description, as well as making the best use of hashtags that you can. You should also promote your Shorts content on your other social media accounts to encourage more engagement and hype up what you’ve got going on! In general, the same rules apply to the visibility of Shorts that would apply to regular YouTube videos, so stay updated on YouTube’s latest algorithm changes and make sure your content is optimized for where it’s at!
Staying Up-to-Date With Trends
One of the vital keys to finding success with YouTube Shorts will be staying informed about trends. Short-form content is about capturing the attention of viewers as quickly as possible, and as we all know by now, trends are fleeting! That means content about outdated trends are likely to be overlooked and receive less priority in the algorithm’s highly progressive system. You’ll need to be sure to create content that is relevant to what’s going on in the here and now in terms of trend participation. Talk about things that matter to people today, participate in challenges that hold peoples’ attention and get them talking, and keep an eye on what’s trending to make sure you’re in the right lane!
Experimenting With Different Types of Content
The popularity of short-form content is an evolving concept. As time goes on, creators will find more imaginative ways of utilizing short-form tools like YouTube Shorts to cultivate an expansive audience. There’s plenty of room for experimentation and trying different types of content in Shorts to see what truly resonates with your audience in a way that maintains their long-term devotion to your message! Trying out various formats, styles, and subject matter to see what works and what doesn’t will ensure that you’re able to adapt and stay ahead of the curve that consistent algorithm changes may create for you in the future as the concept of short-form content evolves and adjusts to new rules and social climates.
Leveraging Existing Content
Most creators on YouTube that are navigating the world of Shorts have pre-existing long-form content on the platform already. Given that this is a fact, you can leverage that content to create Shorts that will entice a wider audience. Take highlights or snippets from your longer videos—anything funny, particularly informative, helpful, or meaningful—and turn it into a Short that will give viewers a quick taste of what they can expect from your channel! This is an efficient way to promote your longer videos that you’ve put so much effort into and encourage more engagement from new viewers. In fact, it’s highly recommended that anyone with existing long-form content make a swift transition into utilizing Shorts to promote their best image!
Monetizing Your Shorts
As of February 1, 2023, YouTube’s monetization rules for Shorts have changed and allowed users to monetize their Shorts content based on the ads revenue sharing. This means that Shorts now apply to the YouTube Partner Program, which means that if your channel hits certain things on the checklist (namely, 1000 subscribers and 10 million public Shorts views in the previous 90 days), you can apply to join the program and begin monetizing your short-form content on the platform. To be eligible for the program, your content needs to be of your own creation, which is one of YouTube’s standard rules for long-form content as well. Bear in mind that once your content is monetized, YouTube will keep 45% of the ad revenue earned through this process, but the availability of short-form content makes this option an absolute gold mine for creators who are serious about their success! (Go here to find out how you can get ahead of the game with your subscriber count!)
Engaging With Your Audience
As with all other forms of content, engagement is key. Make sure to respond to comments and engage with your viewers to build a loyal following that feels compelled to support you. Find creative ways of using Shorts to make your audience feel more connected to you, like sharing brief things about your lifestyle, asking questions, requesting feedback or input on a topic, or offering up snippets of information about your field that will invite discussion. There are numerous ways of making your content more engaging, and all you have to do is choose the path that makes the most sense for the connection you want to have with your audience!
Get Out There and Be Yourself!
One of the greatest benefits of short-form content is its versatility and lack of pressure on the creator or the audience. Creators and users can feel free of commitment in a way that allows them to connect with one another on a more basic level by offering up bite-sized hooks all over the place. This means that although Shorts content can be a fleeting blip in a person’s day, it also provides an opportunity to be an authentic, pressure-free version of yourself that your audience can notice and relate to more easily. Finding ways to incorporate your true personality is far easier with short-form content than with long-form, scripted content. All you need for success with YouTube Shorts is knowledge, optimization, an open mind, and your own shining, unique personality to go along with it!
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