A new report from EMARKETER highlights the growing opportunity for brands in YouTube’s short-form video space.
The research reveals that while many brands are already invested in creator partnerships, YouTube Shorts represents a relatively untapped channel with significant potential for audience engagement and conversion.
Merging Short-Form Video with YouTube’s Trusted Ecosystem
YouTube Shorts has successfully combined the popularity of short-form video content with YouTube’s established audience and creator trust.
According to the report, Shorts can effectively drive consumer discovery and conversion on the platform, with YouTube ranked as the #1 platform for influencer content related to product reviews and information in a 2024 Traackr survey, cited by EMARKETER.
The research indicates that online users are 98% more likely to trust creator recommendations on YouTube than other social platforms, creating a unique opportunity for brands to leverage this trust.
Additionally, YouTube Shorts crossed 2 billion monthly logged-in users globally in 2023, demonstrating its massive reach.
“Shorts can drive consumer discovery and conversion on YouTube,” notes the report, highlighting how viewers use Shorts to discover new interests before turning to long-form content to satisfy their curiosity and make purchase decisions.
Potential for Brand Expansion
Despite heavy investment in creator content, including long-form YouTube videos, many brands have yet to fully embrace YouTube Shorts.
The report suggests this creates an early mover advantage for companies willing to invest now, allowing them to connect with a large, engaged audience ahead of competitors.
“Despite its wide reach, YouTube has remained a white space for many marketers, especially when working with creators. Shorts presents a massive opportunity for brands, particularly those that are looking for more cost-effective creator-made ads,” says Jasmine Enberg, Vice President and Principal Analyst at EMARKETER.
The research shows that 96% of surveyed Gen Z users in the U.S. watch both short-form and long-form videos on YouTube, indicating the platform’s ability to serve multiple content needs for younger audiences.
The average daily number of logged-in viewers of YouTube Shorts grew by over 25% year-over-year in the United States, according to Google’s internal data from January 2024.
Leveraging Creator Community Connections
The third key finding emphasizes that creators have built engaged communities on YouTube, and brands can tap into these deep connections through Shorts partnerships.
The report suggests brands can either work with creators they already partner with who have YouTube channels or find new creators who can reach incremental audiences not available on other platforms.
According to a March 2024 EMARKETER survey, creator, influencer, and celebrity content has driven 49.5% of U.S. social shoppers to purchase items on social media platforms. This demonstrates the substantial influence creators have on consumer purchasing decisions.
Image credit: EMARKETER
“Creators have a unique ability to build a community through their content and turn their fans into customers,” says Enberg, adding that as more creators launch their own brands, marketers should consider partnerships before these creators become potential competitors.
Brand Success Stories
Brands already investing in YouTube Shorts are seeing positive results, according to the report.
For instance, Urban Decay’s collaboration with YouTube creators like Kelly Strack and Ashley LaMarca for its eyeshadow palette relaunch resulted in a 3% increase in purchase intent and a 278% increase in Search Lift.
Similarly, cooling mattress cover company Eight Sleep partnered with creator Mark Rober, whose quirky engineering content reaches over 58 million YouTube followers. Their Shorts collaboration, which featured Rober building a miniature ice rink to demonstrate the product, garnered over 19 million views.
The report suggests that YouTube Shorts will increasingly be used either instead of or alongside posts on other platforms like Instagram and TikTok, both for major campaigns and one-off social content.
“Creator-led content is delivering 12x impressions and 17x engagements compared to brand-owned content and YouTube Shorts is playing a big part in this growth,” says Tim Sovay, Chief Partnerships Officer at CreatorIQ.
The research concludes that brands should take advantage of YouTube Shorts to deepen relationships with trusted creators, reach engaged audiences, and drive business results, particularly as short-form video continues to influence consumer media consumption and shopping behaviors.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Economics Explained—YouTube’s largest economics channel—recently premiered a feature-length documentary on CuriosityStream featuring interviews with former White...
A new report from EMARKETER highlights the growing opportunity for brands in YouTube’s short-form video space.
The research reveals that while many brands are already invested in creator partnerships, YouTube Shorts represents a relatively untapped channel with significant potential for audience engagement and conversion.
Merging Short-Form Video with YouTube’s Trusted Ecosystem
YouTube Shorts has successfully combined the popularity of short-form video content with YouTube’s established audience and creator trust.
According to the report, Shorts can effectively drive consumer discovery and conversion on the platform, with YouTube ranked as the #1 platform for influencer content related to product reviews and information in a 2024 Traackr survey, cited by EMARKETER.
The research indicates that online users are 98% more likely to trust creator recommendations on YouTube than other social platforms, creating a unique opportunity for brands to leverage this trust.
Additionally, YouTube Shorts crossed 2 billion monthly logged-in users globally in 2023, demonstrating its massive reach.
“Shorts can drive consumer discovery and conversion on YouTube,” notes the report, highlighting how viewers use Shorts to discover new interests before turning to long-form content to satisfy their curiosity and make purchase decisions.
Potential for Brand Expansion
Despite heavy investment in creator content, including long-form YouTube videos, many brands have yet to fully embrace YouTube Shorts.
The report suggests this creates an early mover advantage for companies willing to invest now, allowing them to connect with a large, engaged audience ahead of competitors.
“Despite its wide reach, YouTube has remained a white space for many marketers, especially when working with creators. Shorts presents a massive opportunity for brands, particularly those that are looking for more cost-effective creator-made ads,” says Jasmine Enberg, Vice President and Principal Analyst at EMARKETER.
The research shows that 96% of surveyed Gen Z users in the U.S. watch both short-form and long-form videos on YouTube, indicating the platform’s ability to serve multiple content needs for younger audiences.
The average daily number of logged-in viewers of YouTube Shorts grew by over 25% year-over-year in the United States, according to Google’s internal data from January 2024.
Leveraging Creator Community Connections
The third key finding emphasizes that creators have built engaged communities on YouTube, and brands can tap into these deep connections through Shorts partnerships.
The report suggests brands can either work with creators they already partner with who have YouTube channels or find new creators who can reach incremental audiences not available on other platforms.
According to a March 2024 EMARKETER survey, creator, influencer, and celebrity content has driven 49.5% of U.S. social shoppers to purchase items on social media platforms. This demonstrates the substantial influence creators have on consumer purchasing decisions.
Image credit: EMARKETER
“Creators have a unique ability to build a community through their content and turn their fans into customers,” says Enberg, adding that as more creators launch their own brands, marketers should consider partnerships before these creators become potential competitors.
Brand Success Stories
Brands already investing in YouTube Shorts are seeing positive results, according to the report.
For instance, Urban Decay’s collaboration with YouTube creators like Kelly Strack and Ashley LaMarca for its eyeshadow palette relaunch resulted in a 3% increase in purchase intent and a 278% increase in Search Lift.
Similarly, cooling mattress cover company Eight Sleep partnered with creator Mark Rober, whose quirky engineering content reaches over 58 million YouTube followers. Their Shorts collaboration, which featured Rober building a miniature ice rink to demonstrate the product, garnered over 19 million views.
The report suggests that YouTube Shorts will increasingly be used either instead of or alongside posts on other platforms like Instagram and TikTok, both for major campaigns and one-off social content.
“Creator-led content is delivering 12x impressions and 17x engagements compared to brand-owned content and YouTube Shorts is playing a big part in this growth,” says Tim Sovay, Chief Partnerships Officer at CreatorIQ.
The research concludes that brands should take advantage of YouTube Shorts to deepen relationships with trusted creators, reach engaged audiences, and drive business results, particularly as short-form video continues to influence consumer media consumption and shopping behaviors.
Read the full report here.