Move over Reels, the OG of social media video is changing the dynamic, as YouTube Shorts are the newest snackable video content your business could be benefiting from.
Created from the palm of your hand, these pieces of content, similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels, can quickly get in front of a large audience and connect your business with the right customers. Discover more benefits of YouTube shorts and how your business can try them in your strategy.
The Basics
YouTube Shorts are videos no more than 60 seconds long. These videos can contain custom audio or utilize free music from YouTube’s library. Those videos using stock music are limited to 15-second intervals. However, channels can combine these shorter clips into a storyboard-style 60-second video for their final short.
Benefits
Shorts are a simpler way to pack your business channel with great content without spending hours creating long-form videos. One of the biggest benefits of Shorts is that video views still count toward the overall watch time on your channel. These clips can help you quickly boost the health and popularity of your business channel overall and even put your old videos in front of new eyes. Similar to typical videos, YouTube Shorts can still be shared, commented on, liked, and used to bring in new channel subscriptions.
Shorts vs Reels vs TikTok
YouTube launched Shorts as a direct competition to Meta’s Reels and TikTok’s videos. All three of these types of videos maintain a similar format at a length of 60 seconds or less. Although each platform has benefits for your business, finding the right channel depends on your personal audience. If you are looking to connect with a Gen Z audience, TikTok may be the better choice. Reels on the other hand have a slightly older demographic and have the benefit of being a part of the Metasuite where there are 3.7 billion monthly active users. If you are going after a wider demographic, YouTube Shorts may be a better direction. YouTube alone processes three billion searches each month and is the world’s second-largest search engine. Your Shorts are a great way to get your content into these daily searches.
YouTube Shorts Best Practices
Now that you know the benefits of adding Shorts to your video library and your marketing strategy, here are some things to keep in mind during the creation process.
Keep it Quick. Get your audience’s attention immediately. Shorts don’t give you the luxury of taking your time building the story as you may do in longer-form videos.
Add Value. Consider the goal and purpose of your short. Don’t just make a video to be trendy. Focus on giving your audience value and achieving a goal that matters to your business.
Be Unique. Shorts are not meant to be teasers or recaps of longer videos. They should be snappy, digestible, and original content that connects with your audience.
Ready to try out YouTube shorts? Start with simple things like introducing your team, showing a day in the life, or answering FAQs. Then, see how your audience responds and create a strategy that will help you get the maximum results from your videos.
YouTube Shorts receives 15 billion views daily.
CLICK HERE to learn more about how the KWSM team can craft a custom content strategy for your business to generate the metrics you are looking for.
