Did you know that the first video published on YouTube was only 19-seconds long?
YouTube Shorts are the ideal format, with them being 60-seconds or less. You can use them to start trends, try a dance challenge, or implement fun ideas, among other things. Whether you want to appeal to the community or just create a few funny videos for your friends, all you need is your smartphone, an idea, and you’re ready to go!
There are actually three target audiences for YouTube Shorts:
- Creators and artists
- Viewers and subscribers
- Advertisers and brands
What Are YouTube Shorts?
Shorts is a new short-form video experience for creators and artists who want to shoot short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones. Short-form content on YouTube isn’t new, but it does have a new name: Shorts. By introducing shorts, YouTube wanted to continue its goal of giving creators and artists a voice. The surprising, fast-moving short videos help creators grow their community. It’s engaging, entertaining, and educational. These short videos are YouTube’s answer to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other viral video platforms. It’s a great way to build your brand awareness, increase your reach, and find new fans that will be with you for life.
YouTube Shorts first launched in India in September 2020 in response to the Indian government’s ban on TikToks. The feature has been available in the U.S. since March 2021 and worldwide since July 2021.
Statistic facts about YouTube Shorts for 2022:
- 2 billion people use YouTube every month.
- YouTube Shorts receives 15 billion viewsdaily.
- YouTube has a $100 million YouTube Shorts creator’s fund.
- More than 70% of YouTube Shorts are longer than 15 seconds.
- More than 70% of YouTube watch time is through mobile.
- YouTube Shorts can be used to gain long-form subscribers.
How Are Brands Using YouTube Shorts
There are many different ways to create shorts for your own brand and reach your community. No matter if it’s about sports, cooking, dancing or beauty, you can implement your ideas individually and turn them into something big. For example:
- Beauty: Glossier created in June a challenge for users to try and sold products through Shorts. The idea behind it was, that Glossier gave about a hundred influencers a new pencil eyeliner and encouraged them to create Shorts videos with the hashtag #WrittenInGlossier in the caption. People who tapped the hashtag were brought to the Glossier website and there, they could buy the eyeliner and were asked to recreate a look as part of the challenge.
- Music: NBC’s The Voice relied on Shorts to feature hosts for its most recent season. The ad included a banner at the end with clear directions for viewers on when and where to watch the show.
- Cooking: Kitchen and home marketplace Food52 is releasing shorts, that give a sneak peek at its longer content on the traditional version of YouTube, and is reposting some recipe videos. By providing a brief glimpse of a new recipe idea, more users will be encouraged to try the recipe, since they don’t have to watch a long YouTube video. The idea is that users will continue to follow the channel in the future and that the channel will gain reach as a result.
- Beauty: Danessa Myricks Beauty used a short to promote its launch in Sephora. Through the video, anticipation for the new Sephora launch should be awakened and served as a reminder to all that it is only one day until Sephora releases something new.
- Cooking: Drupely’s olive oil brand Graza says it promotes user engagement by posting cooking instructions and recipes to encourage users to try the recipes.
What Brands Should Do
First of all it is very important for brands to know the audience they try to reach out. YouTube appeals to the 15-25-year-old demographic but is also very popular among 26-35-year-olds. In comparison TikTok is most attractive to 16-24 year-olds.
Secondly brands should experiment with Shorts. Therefore, brands can see how repurposing short-form content from other platforms works and try posting original content, too. Then you can compare if you are getting the same results with the same content on all platforms or not.
Thirdly you should be ready to capitalize on Shorts ad formats when they become available widely. For instance, brands will be able to connect their product feeds to their campaigns and make video ads on YouTube Shorts more shoppable.
Moreover it will help you if you understand how to integrate Shorts ad formats into a broader YouTube advertising strategy that includes skippable video ads, bumper ads, overlay ads, and others.
Lastly it would be highly recommended partnering with influencers, especially individual creators. YouTube is building a community of creators on Shorts. As they grow in prominence, they are more naturally appealing to brands.
What Makes YouTube Shorts Different From Its Competitors
1. Shorts provide a funnel to your long-form content
Compared to TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram, where you can only post short content, YouTube lets you decide whether you want to post short-or long-form content. In this way, Shorts could be a way for creators to reach a new audience who may become regular viewers of their longer content — giving you the best of both worlds.
2. Shorts do not expire
Shorts are permanent, which can help your grow awareness long-term on YouTube, whether Instagram Stories and Snapchats expire after 24 hours.
3. Short-form creators could see a bigger reach
In addition to the hype of Genertion Z around TikTok, it should not be forgotten that YouTube, the second largest website globally, launched Shorts to more than 2 billion monthly active users.
4. Brands in most industries could leverage Shorts
Because TikTok has a more niche user base filled with younger users, some types of brands, such as B2B companies, might have a harder time growing their awareness there.
In conclusion, YouTube shorts are for those who want to try something new, modernize their channel and become part of a new community. Getting involved with YouTube Shorts is a great way to expand your brand awareness individually and grow beyond your horizons.
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