What Is YouTube Shorts: An Introductory Guide

Did you know that one of the very first videos that YouTube posted was only an 18-second long snippet?

Since the social media platform’s launch in 2005, YouTube has become a video giant, wherein most of its founders believe real content won’t require long videos to get hold of its target audiences.

Now, let’s talk about what is YouTube Shorts, how YouTube Shorts works, and also how brands or marketers can leverage YouTube Shorts.

What Is YouTube Shorts?

Back in September 2020, a YouTube app feature called YouTube Shorts began one of its first testing rounds. A feature that rivals other social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Enabling all YouTube app users to watch as well as create videos of 15-seconds with musical overlays.

Is YouTube Shorts Available For Notebooks, Tablets, Or PCs?

The YouTube Shorts feature is currently available for Android devices as it is in early beta. The feature will soon be available for Apple’s iOS devices. Although it is available for Android tablets and smartphones, the feature is not available for PCs, iPhone, Mac, and iPad users. What is youtube shorts?

Where Will Content Created For YouTube Shorts Appear?

The content created using the YouTube Shorts feature will appear on a new row on the homepage of the YouTube app. The YouTube app has also come up with another new feature that helps its users to swipe from one video to the next vertically, and discover some other engaging short videos at the same time.

What Does YouTube Shorts Look Like?

The YouTube Shorts feature is currently in the beta phase in over 100 countries right now. While we cannot say what the feature would look like once it outgrows the beta phase, we can surely enlighten you a bit about the potential user experience you will witness while using this feature.

• Creating YouTube Shorts: If you have been using the YouTube app for a while now, then using YouTube Shorts won’t be a big deal for you. Just head to the home screen, tap the “+” icon, then you will see “Create A Short” option in the menu. Now, tap on this option to start.
  • Requirements For Making YouTube Shorts: YouTube Shorts can have a length of up to 60 seconds. This would appear as several 15-second videos combined in one continuous video.

• • • YouTube Shorts videos need to be shot in a vertical orientation
    • YouTube Shorts videos use audio for up to 15 seconds from other videos or YouTube libraries.
• Creating YouTube Shorts Without Shorts Camera Accessibility: If you don’t have access to a YouTube Shorts camera, you can upload any existing vertical videos which are less than 60 seconds.
• Watching YouTube Shorts: The YouTube app has a Shorts feature dedicated shelf to the homepage of its app. The users can view Shorts videos created by beta testers apart from all the already available short videos on YouTube. Once the viewer is done watching a short, they can simply swipe their finger just like they would do in the case of Instagram Reels. What is youtube shorts?

What Makes YouTube Shorts Unique From Its Competitors?

• Bigger Reach For Short-Form Creators: YouTube is recognized as the second largest website on the planet with over 2 billion active users monthly. And, this new feature, YouTube Shorts will only enable brands to target a bigger reach, especially in the case of short-form creators.
• Brands Get To Engage Wider Target Audience: While YouTube is popular amongst young adults, the fact that it is also prominent in cases of all age groups cannot be denied. Therefore marketers willing to engage a wider target audience can take leverage of the YouTube Shorts feature.
• Less Vulnerable Compared To Other Viral Platforms: YouTube is one of the most successful and oldest social media platforms out there. Therefore, the platform is considered to be more trustworthy as compared to other viral platforms. As these new platforms do not offer as much public data and security information as platforms such as TikTok.
• Offers Long-Term Benefits: Unlike Instagram Reels and Stories, YouTube Shorts will not disappear within 24 hours but will stay forever. Thus, helping brands grow long-term awareness on YouTube. So, the audience can view these short videos even if these videos were published a long time back.

Can One Monetize YouTube Shorts?

The answer to this question was first acknowledged on May 11, 2021. It was at this time that YouTube introduced the Shorts Fund of $100 million. It was decided that this fund would be distributed in 2021-2022. YouTube users can be eligible for participating in the Shorts Fund by creating Short Videos that would delight the community of YouTube videos. What is youtube shorts.

How To Get More Engagement On YouTube Shorts?

The ability to be able to earn money, even if it is a modest amount of money has inspired creators from all across the globe to focus on getting more views or engagement for YouTube Shorts. A few ways of getting more engagement are:

• Through Channel Optimisation
• Using The Right Content Strategy
• Focusing On Better & Unique Production Strategies.

What All Content Creators Have Been Using YouTube Shorts?

With over 625,000 accounts on YouTube within 50 countries, in the past 365 days, a total of 10.2 million YouTube Shorts have been created so far.