The Power Of YouTube Shorts For Business
Since 2020, YouTube shorts have been helping brands and creators grow their reach and brand visibility. While all eyes have widely been on TikTok and Instagram Reels, more and more brands are recognizing the importance of exploring short-form video on other platforms.
Speaking of TikTok, as you have likely noticed, in the last couple of years, TikTok took the world by storm with its fast growth, and many platforms quickly pivoted to offer their own versions of short-form vertical videos. This is why YouTube Shorts were also born.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the power of leveraging YouTube shorts for business, and we’ll share some insightful tips so that you can get started and ensure that your videos create a lasting impact.
Advantages of YouTube Shorts for Business
You may wonder what are some of the advantages of using YouTube Shorts. Let’s start with the obvious, more reach for your brand; there is also the benefit of being more accessible. The more we diversify our content styles and formats, the more we cater to various learning styles in our audience. This can then help with brand authority.
Short-form videos aren’t going anywhere, and different types of businesses and creators are using them. From small business owners to public companies, YouTube Shorts are creating a lot of buzz.
Let’s review a few more detailed advantages:
- YouTube’s algorithm favors videos with higher watch time, and this content format and length encourage viewers to watch until the end.
- Additionally, YouTube Shorts have their own dedicated section within the YouTube app, increasing visibility and exposure for businesses. This means that even smaller businesses can gain the attention they deserve and compete with larger competitors.
- They serve as intro content and have helped brands grow their subscribers on the platform.
Let’s review a few content ideas:
- Behind-the-scenes and on-the-field content type is a great way to build authority and trust. Have a look at one of our client’s videos that received high reach and great engagement.
- You can showcase your flagship projects/products.
- You can create a recap of an investor panel.
- You can use YouTube shorts to promote an upcoming networking event.
- Thought leadership content. A lot can be said in a minute, and these types of videos can be a great asset for investors, CEOs and other stakeholders.
Businesses may significantly improve brand awareness by making informative and innovative videos that leave a lasting impression on viewers, enhancing their impact and the likelihood of future growth for the company.
What to Consider When Creating YouTube Shorts
Creating attention-grabbing and visually stunning videos is critical to catching and holding the attention of viewers. To do this, it is important to concentrate on the elements of storytelling and branding. You want to ensure that you establish guidelines for your team so that when they create the outlines and concepts for YouTube Shorts, they are on-brand and follow your company values, etc.
Improving the discoverability of YouTube Shorts requires optimizing titles, descriptions, and using hashtags. Use video hooks that are brief and compelling, and that appropriately convey the content or topic of the video. Create clear descriptions that provide useful background and encourage visitors to interact with the content further.
Using relevant and popular niched hashtags can enhance the exposure of your videos in search results and increase the shelf life of your YouTube Shorts dramatically. Remember that YouTube is a search engine, and just like regular YouTube videos can take time to gain momentum, the same can be said about shorts.
Here are some guidelines to follow:
- YouTube shorts can be between 15 seconds and 1 minute. This could change in the future as other platforms have increased the time limit on their short-form videos.
- Test out different video hooks. Video hooks are the first sentence of your video or the text-overly that you will add while editing.
- Trending music is great, but for entrepreneurs and investors, thought-leadership content is best.
- Most of the content should be shared in the video since the caption only allows for up to 100 characters. Be sure to use a mix of descriptive text and hashtags.
Get into the habit of reviewing your videos on an ongoing basis. Review all of the data and try to identify what resonates best with your audience on this platform. When we lead our creative efforts based on data, we increase our chances of creating content that can significantly impact our business.
You’ll want to look at:
- Engagement
- Video views
- Subscribers gained from your YouTube Shorts
- Identifying your top traffic sources
- Audience insights (returning vs. unique viewers)
- Audience retention (video view duration)
All of this data gives critical insights that can help you create better and better content. Remember, when you know what works best for your audience, you set yourself up for success.
It is critical to share your YouTube Shorts on other social media platforms in order to optimize their impact. Cross-promote on platforms like Instagram, and Facebook, or ensure to link to them in your various newsletters, etc. You should also encourage your followers to like, comment, and share your videos to maximize their impact and engagement.
Tools and Resources for Creating YouTube Shorts
So many tools and resources are available to help businesses create captivating YouTube Shorts. The YouTube app itself features a built-in camera, enabling users to record and edit their videos directly within the app.
Aside from the features within the app, there are many ways to edit your content using third-party tools. Apps like CapCut, InShot, Adobe Express and FilmoraGo are simple enough to learn and use and have powerful editing capabilities. Exploring these apps allows businesses to add transitions, overlays, and sound effects, creating dynamic and eye-catching videos.
The Future of YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts provide an exciting chance for businesses to increase their online presence and engage with their target audience. Using the tips and best practices provided in this article, businesses will be able to develop effective YouTube Shorts that correspond with their brand and marketing objectives.
It is time for businesses to start experimenting with YouTube shorts and experience their power first hand. We would love to hear about your experiences with YouTube Shorts. Please reach out if you need help implementing a strategy for your brand.
