If you’re looking into pursuing YouTube Shorts as a means to build your online presence for your brand, you may want to know a few tips that will allow you to have an edge over your competition.

YouTube is one of the most used platforms online and has been one of the most lucrative platforms for content creators for many years. Over the years many things have changed with terms and conditions, algorithms, and of course innovation and updates to the way we view content. 

One of the new ways YouTube has updated the platform and made content easier to view at a fast rate is with the implementation of Shorts, which is a YouTube version of IG Reels. This feature is great for catching the attention of viewers and directing traffic back to your channel in order to grow your following and covert viewers into sales, to generate a positive ROI for your brand. It’s also able to give your brand more awareness and increase the perception of your target audience. This is obviously contingent on whether or not your content is both engaging and well-made.

One of the ways in which you can ensure that the content you create will be well perceived is by looking into a new interview that was published by Youtube, featuring Todd Sherman. In this interview, Sherman covers a broad range of some of the most frequently asked questions, which include topics such as hashtags, frequency of posts, Youtube Shorts algorithm, and upcoming updates/features.

YouTube Shorts Product Lead Shares Advice And Tips For Creators

The Algorithm Unveiled

As with the majority of platforms, the most important and complex aspect of Shorts is the algorithm on which it runs. With that in mind, Sherman can’t stress enough that it is more important to focus on “the audience” instead of the “algorithm” when tapping into your creative process. That’s due in part to that the Shorts algorithm is mostly based on engagement elements such as likes, replays, watch time, and comments.

This key variation in the algorithm means that YouTube doesn’t use the same style of indicators for charts as it would for the main video feed. This allows the algorithm to focus more on engagement elements, while the Shorts feed is utilized to help you broaden your reach and build your audience. In turn, it allows YouTube to push out and match more content for Shorts viewers.

This allows YouTube to help viewers find more content that they are more likely to enjoy on a more regular and consistent basis, based on what they like, comment on, and re-watch. It’s working so well that YouTube is actually working hard on perfecting this algorithm so that it will work better in the future.

By understanding this, you can better curate your content, so you can be more easily visible and increase your engagement rates, which ultimately gets you a larger audience.

Counting Views the Right Way

Content Creators on Youtube should take note that not all swipes in Shorts actually count as “views”. Unlike TikTok, which counts views instantly upon a video playing, Shorts functions slightly differently.

YouTube will only count Shorts views based on the user’s intent, that being said YouTube hasn’t publicly explained what exactly that means, due to the fact that they don’t want people to know their exact calculations, because it may bring forward platform exploits.

On the other hand, there are some indicators that have led people to speculate that the algorithm determines viewer intent by taking into consideration watch time, replays, likes, and comments.

Todd Sherman has gone on to say that content creators should spend less time thinking about which time stamps the algorithm may favor and be more focused on the quality of content that they are pushing out and making sure it’s engaging. With shorts in particular, they will remain the same in regards to their one-minute or less time frame.

The Thumbnail Dilemma

When asked about the importance of thumbnails, Sherman says, that while they are one of the most important aspects of your video content, shorts don’t actually require it as they automatically play upon being swiped through. This means that creating original and custom thumbnails isn’t as big of a priority for Shorts as it would be for normal video content.

To Hashtag or Not to Hashtag

When it comes to the topic of Hashtags, Sherman implies that though they can be helpful, they aren’t actually necessary. However, they are helpful in terms of associating your content with particular real-world events and specific topics.

So even though they aren’t necessary they can help your content to go viral. In short, Hashtags can help and they can do absolutely nothing, it’s how you use your knowledge of trending topics and niche places or things that will give it validity but there is no definitive answer as to whether or not they 100% make or break your content.

Quality Over Quantity

Sherman does imply that it’s important to have quality over quantity, when it comes to your content, and specifically Shorts.

This is sound advice because it is something all creators can take note of, especially the ones who are tempted to overproduce content and flood the platform in hopes of gaining following-through visibility. He states that there is nothing in the algorithm that directly impacts your reach based on the amount of shorts posted. On the other hand, he says that people who do this may actually find themselves negatively impacting their reach by bombarding views with too many low-quality clips.

In short, it’s important to be consistent and put quality first before anything else.

Deleting and re-uploading to maximize reach

In regards to the deletion of a short and re-uploading it to the platform, Sherman suggests that it may actually boost its reach.

There are a few creators who have claimed that the shorts they have deleted and uploaded have effectively re-triggered the algorithm and helped with the distribution of their content. When asked about this claim, Sherman said that though it may work, it’s not the best strategy.

The Future is Short

In the future, Sherman is optimistic about Shorts becoming more integrated with AI creation tools and possibly having generative elements to assist creators with the production process. For now, though we will have to just wait and see what that exactly entails.

One would assume that it will streamline a lot of creative processes and possibly even help to drive engagement from viewers on the platform. Until we have a more definitive answer, we can only speculate on how this will possibly work moving forward.

Key Takeaways

Being open to utilizing YouTube shorts is much more than just being on trend. The ability to drive new viewers from your target audience to your page with this tool is one of the most powerful aspects of this tool.  With the right direction and quality content content creators will be able to see high ROI and gain the ability to scale faster within B2B and B2C audiences.

At first, taking on Shorts may seem like a new and complicated idea that only adds to the already large job of content creation. The truth is, the rewards far outweigh the negative aspects of it because you will be able to attract more people with your creativity and unique content.

These tips will hopefully help give you the upper hand needed to properly benefit from YouTube Shorts and be successful. With just a bit of patience time and dedication, you will be able to better market yourself in the YouTube landscape.