Short-form video is taking over the world! TikTok is the first social media platform that comes to mind, but it’s dominating attention everywhere – Stories, Reels and now YouTube Shorts.
What is short-form video exactly?
As we mentioned, TikTok started the craze which has now become the format of choice for most younger video consumers. It’s quick-hit, snackable video that gets the message across in 15-60 seconds and is vertical in orientation.
By short form we mean less than 60 seconds and by vertical we mean video that takes up the whole phone screen in vertical (portrait) mode. Nobody flips their phone to horizontal (landscape) orientation to watch videos! Well, maybe some Gen X-ers and Boomers do, but they are in the minority 😉
Why is short-form video so hot?
It’s killing it right now! Highly trending, white hot, all the rage. Gen Z and Millennials are hooked on watching short-form, vertical video content on their phones. They’ve grown up in the digital age where consumption of information AND entertainment, has to be quick. Yes, attention spans on social media are getting shorter (for the most part). It’s just the way it is.
Background music accompanying the video (trending audio) has also become the norm and gives the content a cool, current vibe.
What is YouTube Shorts?
It’s YouTube’s answer to TikTok. YouTube sees TikTok as a huge threat and has realized that it’s taking over people’s attention, particularly when it comes to the younger generations. They had to develop something to ‘keep up with the Joneses’.
When you see a Short in your feed, swipe up to see the next video, specially curated for you by the wonderful YouTube algorithm.
As a creator, you can upload video to YouTube that is short and vertical (9:16 ratio) and have it categorized as a Short. It’s currently in Beta so there are still many question marks around it but what we do know is that Shorts show up in the feed and on what is known as the ‘Shorts Shelf’ – a place dedicated to Shorts. Right now, your vertical video will take few days or views before showing up on the Shelf and may not always show up as on the Short Shelf.
YouTube Shorts allows you to pick from a small selection of audio tracks as well as to slow down or speed up the footage.
Who should test it, why should you test it and best practices?
- If you already have short-form, vertical video that you publish on TikTok, Reels or any other platform, it’s a no-brainer to repurpose it for YouTube Shorts and test it. Remove the TikTok or Reels watermarks if you’re doing this
- Brands, both B2B and B2C, who already have an established YouTube channel and whose content lends itself to short video – behind-the-scenes, how-tos, teasers of longer videos, inspiring or fascinating footage – should test it. (Side note: all brands and companies should consider starting a YouTube channel if you don’t already have one. YouTube has 2.3 billion users worldwide and is the #2 search engine in the world).
- At the time of this writing, it’s so new you can take advantage of the algorithm that is promoting it heavily and get a lot more incremental views that hits NEW audiences. Yes, that’s right, greater discoverability of your videos. You can then drive this incremental attention to your main YouTube channel
- Creating Shorts that are episodic – eg. Part 1 of a 5-part series – will allow you to to tell your full story in the short-form format and appeal to the new audience reach
- Putting the value proposition at the beginning (first 1-2 seconds) of the video and the call to action at the end will maximize watch time. YouTube still considers watch time a major signal with Shorts
- Loop the video so the beginning and end are seamless to encourage longer watch times
- Don’t make your Shorts about selling something or your audience will get turned off to watching them
