YouTube Shorts: How can businesses use them to their advantage?
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Isn’t it amazing how our lives are getting busier day by day? Juggling between your personal life and work, we are seldom left with time to relax. Social media has taken a leaf out of our busy lives, and it is not surprising that short videos are a rage all over social media. After all, who has the time or rather the attention span to watch long videos.
YouTube has recently announced the launch of YouTube Shorts, a new short-form video service. YouTube creators who want to shoot brief but captivating videos using nothing but your mobile phones should definitely check out YouTube Shorts.
If you are a business owner, you must think of new and innovative ways to make people take notice of your products and services. Can the new YouTube Shorts benefit your business?
Let’s find out.
First and foremost, what are YouTube Shorts?
When marketing your business online, you, unfortunately, do not have all the time in the world to give a long drawn introduction to your brand. Can you tell your story in just 15 seconds?
YouTube Shorts allows you to create and upload 15-second videos on YouTube using just your mobile phone. One of its features is a multi-segment camera that allows you to piece several video clips together. Want to add music to your video? You can do so from a large library of songs.
You also have the flexibility to control the speed of your video. Want to shoot hands-free? Don’t worry. It comes with a timer and countdown features to notify you.
With YouTube Shorts, you can take multiple shots of your products, or create interesting animations. You can be as innovative and novel as you please.
How do you create a YouTube Shorts video?
YouTube has decided to roll out Shorts features in a graded manner. So, some features may or may not be available to you at the moment.
To create a YouTube Shorts video, first, find out if you have access to the Shorts camera.
How do you know if you have access?
Go to the YouTube app on your Android phone. Look for the + icon on the app and then select ‘Video’. Do you see the option ‘Create a short video’? If you do, then you have access to the Shorts camera.
You can use the Shorts camera to shoot your video. You can also access editing tools to join many video clips together or record music for your video. You can also use the timers and speed controls to get the desired effect that you envisioned for your video.
What can you do if you do not have access to the Shorts camera?
If you do not have access to the Shorts camera, does it mean that you cannot upload your videos? Of course, not. Probably the Shorts camera feature has not yet been rolled out in your country.
If you don’t have access yet, use your normal camera to shoot vertical videos. You need to ensure that the video length is 60 seconds or less. More importantly, don’t forget to include the hashtag, #Shorts in the title or the description of the video.
YouTube has announced that it would be testing out a section on its homepage highlighting videos created by the Shorts camera. It will also include other vertical videos that are 60 seconds or less.
You don’t need to wait for access to the Shorts camera to start uploading your videos. You can start right away.
Shorter videos take lesser time to upload on YouTube. You would not like to waste precious business hours waiting just for your video to upload.
Where can you find your video on YouTube?
If you go on to the YouTube homepage on your mobile app, you can see a new row for short videos. Your uploaded Shorts videos will appear here.
YouTube also allows you to swipe from one video to the next. You also get the option to discover other similar Shorts videos.
What if you don’t have an Android phone?
According to YouTube, the Shorts version on Android is in the beta phase and it will soon roll out Youtube Shorts for iOS. The feature is only available on mobile phones at the moment. It is not yet clear if the feature would be made available on computers and notebooks.
Why are shorter videos better from a business perspective?
You may like to think that commercials are the best form of advertisements. You see these minute-long commercials on television and social media every day. However, think hard, do you actually watch these long ads? No, your interest usually vanishes in the first 10 seconds itself.
As such, shorter videos make much more sense. Here’s why:
People have short attention spans
Your Youtube Shorts content would appeal even to those YouTube subscribers who have short attention spans.
Many viewers consider YouTube ads to be incredibly annoying. To be honest, you must have ignored them too. How many times have you reached straight for the ‘Skip Ad’ button the moment an ad appears? Countless times, right?
Even YouTube seems to have got the message loud and clear. You can now avail of YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. Do you still think commercials make sense if you are promoting your business on YouTube? Would you like to spend that kind of cash creating something that a majority is only going to skip?
People do not hesitate to see a short video
Has any of your friends ever shared a YouTube video with you? We are sure you must have received such videos innumerable times. What is the first thing you notice? The length of the video.
Say, if your friend had sent you a 20-minute or 30-minute long video. If you are in the middle of work, would you be inclined to watch the video straight away? No, right?
Now, what if the video your friend shared was just 15 seconds long? Would you now hesitate to watch it? You may have a ton of paperwork pending for your business, but you will still take out 15 seconds, won’t you? The same thing applies when you share your YouTube Shorts with your friends and they further share it with other people. No one would hesitate to watch such a short video, which means you can see an increase in your YouTube views.
Shorter videos have higher retention
People tend to remember shorter videos much more than longer ones, even though both of them may be equally enjoyable. It is true that when you watch a long video, you seldom remember it in its entirety. You only remember bits and parts.
Making creative YouTube Shorts for your products or services will have much higher retention than your longer videos. That does not mean that you should stop making long-form videos. In fact, you must keep making these videos. However, a clever idea would be to create your Shorts video in such a way that your viewers are intrigued for more. You could create a longer version of the Shorts video for your YouTube channel. As the views for the longer video increases, you can understand that your real YouTube subscribers are thronging to your channel for more information.
Shorter videos offer more flexibility
You have much more flexibility both in content and style when creating shorter videos. You do not always need to create a video about a product or a service. There are several other ways that you can draw attention to your business.
As a business owner, you must attend a lot of events and conferences. How about a quick behind the scenes video for one of these events? You can also share a piece of news that is relevant to your target audience. If you must talk about a product, how about a couple of tips to use the product? There are endless options that you can explore.
When shooting a longer video you need to have a formal structure and a whole lot of content. For 15-second videos, you just need one topic. You can experiment with different styles and formats so that you reach out to more people consequently bringing growth to your business.
Saves times
Shorter videos like YouTube shorts save time because you do not need to spend hours researching content or writing a script. This can be extremely helpful if you are pressed for time.
Sometimes you may be so caught up in business matters that you may not have adequate time to create a whole video. How do you keep your viewers engaged? Make YouTube Shorts. All you need is your mobile phone and 15 seconds of your time. A quick hello, a brief announcement, or even a gag can help you maintain the connection with your viewers. Also, YouTube shorts can be uploaded in a jiffy.
Conclusion:
As our lives get busier, more and more people are gravitating towards short-form videos. They also tend to go viral much quicker. If you are a business owner, making YouTube shorts a part of your marketing strategy can be a superb move. Your viewers want bite-sized content, and it is time you give it to them.
