YouTube has launched a short-form video creation tool — YouTube Shorts — vertical videos up to 15 seconds in length with the option to string multiple clips to create videos up to 60 seconds long. This is an absolutely new platform experience for creators and their audiences and a much easier way to create on YouTube.The days of switching from YouTube to another platform to create short videos with nothing else but your phone are coming to an end.
Shorts has been in beta in India since September of 2020, and arrived in the United States this March. But the tool is already becoming a powerful TikTok competitor and it would be quite a setback to miss out on this opportunity. Creators in other countries can also start using the new feature by uploading short vertical videos up to 60 seconds in length and adding the #Shorts hashtag in the title or description. Shorts has already shown amazing results in India receiving over 6.5 billion daily views globally and we can expect this figure to grow in the coming months.
YouTube Shorts Report
To stay on the top of the game and to encourage creators to use the tool to its fullest capacity, YouTube has introduced the bi-weekly Shorts Report. Each edition is a source of inspiration, product updates, and helpful tips to support authors on their creation journey with the new tool.
The last report is dedicated to science education content, helpful strategies for getting started on Shorts, and how to discover similar Shorts and sounds with pivot pages.
Another Short Video Platform? Think Bigger.
There’s a huge advantage to creating short videos on YouTube, especially for new creators on the platform. Short videos can generate subscribers and views without requiring as much effort and financial resources as regular YouTube videos.
Make Yourself Known
Shorts can become a powerful tool in making your content known to users. Plus, subscribers gained from Shorts are included in the YouTube’s Partner Program eligibility threshold of 4,000 hours watch time. Views for Shorts count the same as for regular videos, with one exception. The views are only included in YouTube analytics when users swipe up to a video in the Shorts player. If a viewer clicks to watch a video on the Home page, the view does not count. People enjoy watching short content and swipe through a range of videos to choose what they like. Taking that into account, Shorts provide a great way to improve your view count data.
How to Create Shorts
All you need is a smartphone and the Shorts camera in the YouTube app to create Shorts. The tool includes several creative features like:
- Music & Sound. You can select parts of tracks you want to use from the Shorts catalog or sounds from other eligible Shorts to create your video. Creators have an option to refuse to let their audios be used by other authors.
- Text & Timeline. You can add text to your video and control when it appears and disappears using the Timeline feature.
- Speed. This feature allows you to set the speed of your Shorts by accelerating or slowing down the recording.
- Timer and Countdown. The timer lets you record hands-free and set the beginning and ending of the recording. YouTube is working on more features that we can expect in the next few months.
YouTube Recommended Strategies When Creating Shorts
- Trends. Creating relevant content in response to trends and events or what people experience at this specific time period will help you win more audiences.
- Spend just the right amount of effort. Shorts is the easier, less energy consuming way of creating. Use it to your advantage and don’t spend too much time on creating a perfect video of the highest standard.
- Instead of focusing on a perfect picture, work on engaging, useful, or entertaining 15-second videos that your viewers will enjoy and might even go back to re-watch.
Why Creators Should Use Shorts
The creation process of long YouTube videos intimidates some creators. For this reason many authors turned to other platforms where they have a chance to express themselves in a less energy consuming way. But now things are changing for creators on YouTube. Shorts offers an easier way to create videos with top-notch advantages in place. This new tool can generate subscribers and views and help users find creators’ other content. These are things every creator should consider when choosing a short content platform. As of now, Shorts are not eligible for ads and can not be monetized but YouTube has kept this door open: ‘As we continue to experiment and improve the Shorts experience, there may be opportunities to monetize Shorts in the future.’ Stay updated with the AIR Media-Tech blog and be the first to learn what YouTube will surprise us with next.