YouTube Shorts: An Introductory Guide
Dariel Vila
Have you heard about the new YouTube feature: Youtube Shorts? YouTube’s Shorts is a creation tool that enables content creators to record videos that are up to 60 seconds long. Wojcicki said Shorts had 3.5 billion “daily views” in India last January, where the company began beta-testing it in September.
Marketers, what do you think? Have you already tried them?
What is Youtube Shorts?
Shorts is a way for any creator to connect with a new audience with the help of just a smartphone and the Shorts camera feature in the YouTube app. YouTube’s Shorts creation tool allows creating videos between 15 and 60 seconds long.
User-generated “short” videos were born on the first days of YouTube, starting with the first upload, an 18-second video called “Me at the zoo.” As technology advances, people can be entertained and informed by bite-sized content in the spare minutes of the day. This just shows how advanced and creative video marketing is nowadays!
What you have to do to make sure your video is considered short?
Content created using the** Shorts camera is limited to 15 seconds**. So while anything up to 60 seconds is considered a Short, we recommend focusing on 15-second videos that viewers can quickly and easily enjoy.
The Beta version is currently being tested in India and other regions. Still, creators outside of India and the U.S. can get started creating Shorts. You just need to upload a vertical video up to 60 seconds and include #Shorts in your video’s title or description to help our system recommend your Shorts across YouTube.
How to create Youtube Shorts?
As soon as YouTube Shorts were first announced, the platform** introduced a special Shorts camera to creators in certain regions**. There, creators have access to a multi-segment Shorts camera in the YouTube app. It’s similar to TikTok and Reels, which includes a tool for recording 15-second videos using music clips, speed controls, and more.
Most creators are waiting for a widespread rollout of this feature. Until then, remember that YouTube makes Shorts accessible to everyone by letting creators upload vertical videos of less than 60 seconds with the #Shorts.
Those two characteristics are all YouTube cares to classify your video as Short. There are still some doubts among creators, though, so here is a step by step guideline to create a Short:
- Sign in to YouTube on mobile.
- Tap the plus icon to Create.
- From there, Click Create a Short beta.
- In order to record a clip, make sure to hold the capture button or press it to start recording and then again to stop.
- Press Undo to remove the previous video clip you recorded, or Redo to add it back.
- Tap Next to preview your video > tap Next once again to add some details to your video.
- Add a title (of maximum 100 characters) to your #short video.
- Later, click on Select audience to choose whether or not your Short is made for kids.
- Tap UPLOAD to finish.
Customization
You can as well take advantage of various creative features included, a few of those being:
- Music & sound: Add soundtrack or use other audio to create your own Short.
- Text & Timeline: Add text and use the option Timeline to control when it appears and disappears according to the video’s length.
- Speed: Choose to slow down or accelerate the recording.
- Timer: Set a countdown to record hands-free and choose when to automatically stop recording.
Best Practices for Youtube Shorts
Time Duration
Were you aware that YouTube can sometimes add a couple of seconds to the videos? That may not seem like a big issue for regular and longer videos. Still, these two extra seconds can mark the difference between YouTube classifying your video as a Short or a traditional video – so be careful!
In order to play it safe, make sure your Short is no longer than 58 seconds. That’ll keep you in the safe zone and ensure you don’t exceed the 60-second limit. YouTube hasn’t yet announced a minimum video length for Shorts, but we’d recommend making yours at least 5 seconds.
Dimensions
The dimensions of a Short are also critical. We’ve discovered that Shorts must be preferably vertical or a perfect square. If your video doesn’t match the dimensions or is even one pixel wider or shorter than it is tall, YouTube won’t classify it as a Short. Make sure to recognize properly the video resolution and the aspect ratio.
Watch
You may have recently seen a new row on the YouTube homepage, dedicated mainly to short videos. They’re also introducing a **new watch experience that lets you quickly swipe from one video to the next, plus the option to discover other similar short videos. **
What you need to get Started
You are able to create, edit, and upload a Short Video using almost any device. YouTube will recognize Shorts made with a smartphone, tablet, or any other video-recording device. When is time to upload, a smartphone or desktop computer will do the work.
Subscribers
There’s no need to have any previous views or subscribers to create a YouTube Short. As for now, there are no minimum requirements for creating short, vertical videos.
Get Discovered
Youtube has also recently rolled out a prominent new spot for the create icon on Android, starting in India. Later they informed, Youtube will continue to expand to iOS phones and devices and expand to more countries soon. You can expect more creation features in the coming months. Creators have built entire businesses on YouTube. The future aims at the next generation of mobile creators to also grow a community on YouTube with Shorts. Plus, according to Wojcicki, Shorts had 3.5 billion “daily views” in India last January, where the company began beta-testing it in September.
Analyzing the Performance of Youtube Shorts
There’s a new display area called Short Videos on the YouTube mobile app – it frequently appears below the videos people watch. When clicked, it sends users to a carousel of never-ending, less-than-a-minute videos.
When you’ve seen a significant increase in views on your channel, it could maybe be from a popular Short! Here’s a step-by-step guide to determine whether that has happened and to check the general analytics:
- Log in to the YouTube Studio and go to Analytics (in the left navigation menu)
- You should see the Overview tab. You will see displayed a large graph of your views, subscribers, Watch Time, and estimated revenue. Navigate directly below this graph and click “See More.”
- Next, you’ll see some advanced analytics. At the top of the page, click Traffic Source.
This will let you analyze how many views you’re getting from YouTube Shorts.
Let us know in the comments what you think about the new feature and we if this article has helped you in your first steps as a Youtube Shorts creator! Remember that you don’t have to have an expert to create a great video: check out **WOXO’s Video Maker **to get started for free!
Any information we’ve missed? Tell us on Instagram @woxotech