In the competitive social media industry, video is king. YouTube Shorts are YouTube’s answer to the increasing popularity of TikTok, the controversial short-form video content platform.
Designed to be less than 60 seconds in length, the YouTube Shorts allows users to create and publish short, entertaining videos that can be an attractive way to reach a broader audience.
With that said, the question we pose at Raffiti Media is this: Are YouTube Shorts worth doing?
In short, the answer is yes.
This post will discuss why we think YouTube Shorts is a suitable format for content creators to explore.
In a nutshell, YouTube Shorts provides creators with a creative and unique opportunity to engage with their customers, gain traction, and expand their reach to a broader audience through the quick, easy-to-consume format of short videos.
By understanding the format more effectively, you can see the advantages YouTube Shorts provide creators, including expanding reach, experimenting with different content ideas, and even exploring new monetization avenues.
To succeed using YouTube Shorts, creators need to focus on creating snappy, hook-driven, engaging, visually appealing content.
You only have a maximum of 60 seconds to grab your audience’s attention, so being precise in your messaging and connection is crucial.
Another way to gain traction with YouTube Shorts is to have a consistent posting schedule designed around when your audience can most consume your content.
When you create highly focused content that is consistently engaging for your consumers, you’re better able to grow your following, which is a crucial metric to monetize your content in this format.
As the popularity of the format grows, being ahead of the competition will provide you with many opportunities to grow your channel as well as different monetization opportunities.
So, let’s dive into the answer, “Are YouTube Shorts Worth Doing?” and look at the wealth of benefits you can gain from utilizing the platform effectively.
Benefits Of YouTube Shorts For Creators
Expanding Your Reach: Posting on YouTube takes time to gain viewers and traction.
However, with YouTube Shorts, you can increase and expand your audience reach as a content creator.
As consumers focus on more easily digestible content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram stories, staying competitive will require creators to think in terms of shorter content.
By devoting time and resources to a shorter format, you can expand your reach to target audiences that may be looking for content similar to what you provide but in a different format than long-form video.
By taking a strategic approach to YouTube shorts, you can expand your reach to people who otherwise may have yet to come across to your offerings.
While the YouTube platform is an excellent arena for in-depth content analysis, having a quick, snappy way to hook potential consumers through YouTube shorts will help you grow your channel and increase your subscriptions.
Even more important, you’ll be more present with your audience, helping create momentum for your brand and channel that can attract a dedicated, loyal fan base.
So if you’re still wondering are YouTube Shorts worth doing, let’s dive into the benefits about the format and why you should consider them.
- Easily Consumable
- Getting Outside The Box Creatively
- Easy Editing
- Easy To Publish
- Boosting Visibility And Driving Traffic
- Monetization Opportunities
Easily Consumable: As a quick, snappy way to consume content, YouTube Shorts provide a captivating way for viewers to catch content that is important to them, which is crucial in today’s fast-paced, limited attention span landscape.
When creators deliver short, concise videos, it makes it easy for viewers to consume, helping connect better with their audience without placing a demand on the viewer’s time.
This format becomes strategic in exposing your brand to a wider audience pool than would otherwise be exposed to your channel and content.
One tactic that successful content creators understand by utilizing this format is that it is a powerful tool to attract new viewers and build brand awareness.
By creating short, “sneak peek” types of content that is centered around their brand, creators are seeing better engagement and increased interest in their channel as a result.
Getting Outside The Box WIth Creativity: For content creators, it can be challenging to get outside of the comfort zone, especially if there are things that are producing results.
However, you can only operate in a comfort zone for so long before the content becomes tired and boring. Finding new avenues and ways to get attention and grow brand exposure is on the top of the list of items that producers need to do in order to keep growing.
By incorporating the short-form style that is so popular, you can test drive different content ideas and ways to present your messaging so that you are presenting fresh content without the risk that you spend a ton of time and resources to make a long-form video only for it to fall flat.
Easy To Edit: With long-form videos, to make it appear polished and professional takes a lot of effort, from content organization to editing and production values.
With the short format of YouTube Shorts, it doesn’t take as much time to edit and publish the content, freeing up content creators to spend more time on other tasks, including producing more short-form videos.
One thing though–don’t think that because the videos are shorter means that as a creator you can take shortcuts and publish sub-par videos.
You’ll still need to invest some time in shaping the videos, thinking of camera angles, sound, and other production values associated with top-notch long-form videos.
And, even though the point of short-form videos is to be concise in the content, it’s a good idea to include subtitles that help viewers that aren’t listening to content, but instead watching without sound. Subtitles will help expand your content reach to viewers that may otherwise pass over your video.
Easy To Publish: With traditional videos, the process can be extremely time-consuming. However, with YouTube Shorts, creators are able to go from filming, editing, and rendering in a snap all from a smartphone through an app. This makes the entire process more streamlined and easier to create and publish.
The added bonus is that the ease of publishing provides you with an opportunity to get your content out quicker, making it more engaging and easier to consume for viewers.
With increased accessibility, creators save time while users get more content regularly, helping drive interest.
Boosting Visibility And Driving Traffic to Your Channel: As a format, YouTube Shorts makes creating and viewing content, and as a creator, getting your content in front of viewers that are looking for short, interesting content can boost your visibility.
As you build a reputation through your shorts, you’re going to also have more opportunity to drive those viewers to your long-form videos on your YouTube channel.
A trick to do so is by including links and CTAs–call-to-actions that encourage viewers to go check out your other content and channel.
Monetization: Is it possible to monetize YouTube Shorts? Yes, it is through a program known as the YouTube Partner Program (YPP).
To get started, creators are required to only have 1000 subscribers, which makes it extremely more accessible than a platform like TikTok which has a much higher requirement.
By having a lower subscription threshold, YPP allows creators the opportunity to start making money off the content sooner.
This opportunity is a huge advantage for creators looking to build and grow their brand on the platform.
As creators continue to produce content that drives subscriptions, they will have further opportunities to monetize their channel and their content such as:
- Watch Page Ads
- Short Feed Ads
- Memberships
- Subscriptions
- Supers
- Shopping
These options are great opportunities for creators to build revenue streams outside of advertising revenue.
And when videos gain traction and become a “hit” the monetization opportunities grow along with it, providing an added incentive.
YouTube Shorts provide content producers with a variety of benefits and opportunities to grow and monetize content easier than in traditional long-form video production.
From making it easy to upload and produce, to test driving new content, YouTube Shorts provide creators a unique opportunity to grow their brand in a format that viewers are looking for.
While the style and format may not be for everyone, YouTube Shorts provides a valuable platform that depends on the creators content and type of reach that may otherwise not be available.
Additionally, the unique format can help creators devise more concise content for their long-form videos, helping improve watch times and engagement, which are crucial metrics for the algorithm on YouTube when it comes to ranking.
If you’re looking for ways to grow and monetize your channel, check out our blog at Raffiti Media.
And if you want help with a proven partner in YouTube management, schedule your discovery call with Raffiit Media.
One FREE one-on-one consultation and you’ll see how our YouTube consulting, social video management, and complete brand and channel management can make a significant difference in the growth and success of your YouTube channel.
