Grow Your YouTube Channel with These 8 Exciting Shorts Ideas
Not sure what content to create for YouTube? Try out these 8 YouTube Shorts Ideas, along with our favorite tips to get started!
Posted 9 months ago
Written by
Mackenzie TaylorPosted 9 months ago
Dipping your toe into the world of YouTube Shorts but not sure how to start? Youāve come to the right place! Similar to Instagram Reels and TikToks, YouTube Shorts are a great way for brands, businesses, and content creators to reach new (and old!) audiences in a more snappy way. With over 6.5 billion daily views, you would be seriously missing out by not adding Shorts into your social media strategy. Ready to get started? Hereās everything you need to know about YouTube Shorts, plus ideas, tips on more engagement, and so much more!
Jump to a section āØ
What are YouTube Shorts? š„
Firstly, what the heck is YouTube Shorts, you might be asking yourself. YouTube Shorts are short-form vertical videos posted to YouTube. Very similar to Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts tend to be created on your phone and then published straight to the platform (after some crafty editing, of courseāif thatās your thing!).
YouTube Shorts are designed to be a quick and easy way to produce content and for viewers to easily consume.
Why should I use YouTube Shorts to grow my channel? š
Ready to grab the digital worldās attention and shout, āHey! Weāre here!ā? Itās time to start playing around with YouTube Shorts. This fairly new feature from YouTube can catapult your brand into the spotlight and supercharge your channelās growth.
Higher reach
This means that if you create engaging and high-quality Shorts, there is a higher chance of your content being shown to a wider audience, including users who may not have discovered your channel otherwise. This increased visibility can lead to more subscribers, views, and overall growth for your YouTube channelāwhich is exactly what you want!
Increased user engagement
Another way YouTube Shorts can help in growing a YouTube channel is by increasing user engagement. Shorts are designed to be short and attention-grabbing, which tends to encourage users to watch and interact with your content.
When users engage with your Shorts, by liking, commenting, or sharing with friends, it lets YouTube know that your content is interesting and worth promoting. And once this happens, your Shorts will be recommended to more users which increases your channelās growth!
Drive traffic
Additionally, YouTube Shorts can help in growing a YouTube channel by driving traffic to your other videos and playlists. If your content interests your viewers enough, it might make them want to go to your profile and watch more of your content (whoop!).
By strategically linking and promoting your other videos and playlists within your Shorts or in the video description, you can point your viewers to other videos of yours. This can increase watch time, session duration, and overall engagement on your channel, which are important factors that YouTube considers when recommending content to users.
Brand loyalty
Lastly, just think of YouTube Shorts as a chance to show off your wacky, fun sideālike those embarrassing dance-offs you have at home (just me?). Itās a way to let your hair down and create a bond with your viewers. Since Shorts are usually more laid-back and off-the-cuff, they offer a golden opportunity to strut your stuff and engage with your audience in a whole new way.
Imagine yourself chatting with your subscribers, responding to their quirky comments, or asking for their opinion on your latest āShort.ā By opening up a conversation with your audience, youāre not just a content creator they watch, but a close friend they canāt wait to see more content from. Which will lead to increased engagement, rave reviews, and that sweet, sweet channel growth youāve been dreaming of.
How do I create YouTube Shorts? šØ
This is the easy (or hard!) part. YouTube Shorts are very easy and quick to make if you know the right steps to take! Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make a YouTube Short from your phone or desktop!
How to create YouTube Shorts from your phone:
Open the YouTube App
- Make sure you have the YouTube app installed on your mobile device, and sign in to your YouTube account if youāre not already logged in.
Access the Shorts Camera:
- At the bottom of the YouTube app, tap on the ā+ā sign to access the Shorts camera.
Record Your Short:
- If you want to create a video longer than 15 seconds, click the ā15ā in the top-right corner to ā60.ā
- You can choose to record by holding the capture button or tapping to start and stop recording.
- You can also switch between the front and rear cameras.
- Tap the ātickā button to preview and edit your video.
Edit Your Short:
- After recording, you can use various editing tools to trim your video, add music from the YouTube library, and include text or captions.
Add Details:
- Once youāre satisfied with your Short, you can add a title, description, and relevant hashtags to make it discoverable.
Set Visibility:
- Choose whether you want your Short to be public or unlisted. You canāt make Shorts private.
Publish Your Short:
- Tap the āNextā button to review your Short and make any final adjustments.
- Then, tap āUploadā to publish your Short to your channel.
Voila! Your Short is officially on your channel.
How to upload YouTube Shorts to desktop:
Go to YouTube:
- Open your web browser and navigate to YouTube. Make sure youāre signed in to your YouTube account.
Click on the ā+ā Icon:
- In the top right corner of the YouTube homepage, youāll find a ā+ Createā button. Click on it.
Upload Your Short
- Select the video you want to upload that is either square or vertical format. Be sure it is only 60 seconds MAX.
Add Details:
- Provide a title, description, and relevant hashtags. IMPORTANT: Donāt forget to include the #Shorts hashtag in your description so YouTube can share it quicker!
Set Visibility:
- Choose whether you want your Short to be public or unlisted. Shorts cannot be set as private.
Publish Your Short:
- Click the āNextā button to review your Short and make any final adjustments.
- Then, click the āUploadā button to publish your Short to your channel.
How long can YouTube Shorts be? ā°
YouTube Shorts can be up to 60 seconds! If youāve ever made short-form videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels, youāll know that Shorts are snappy, to the point, and a great way to share one-off video content with your viewers.
What are some tips for creating YouTube Shorts? āļø
When it comes to creating YouTube Shorts for your account, there are a few things you need to think about before picking up your phone and selecting āCreate.ā
Know Your Target Audience
First and foremost, itās important to know who the heck youāre talking to and making the short-form videos for! Knowing your audience will help you tailor your content to their specific interests and preferences. Because, honestly, why would you make your content if your audience doesnāt care about it? Not only will this help increase the chances of your Shorts hitting with your audience, but could help increase your reach across YouTube as a whole and get new followers through your door!
Engaging Storytelling
Think of one of your favorite stories youāve heard online. How did they hook you in? Why was it so compelling to listen to? Was it more visual or was one person talking to a screen? The best types of short-form videos are ones that have a super catchy hook to make someone stop their scroll, with an intriguing middle and end to keep viewers watching. Be sure to really think through how you want to present your Short and how best to stop your target audience from scrolling past your video.
Be Authentic
A big reason why people follow a creator, brand, or small business online is because they feel reliability in the content that is being published. Being authentic online can be challenging, but itās a great way for your audience to connect with you and your brand. Show off your personality. Give behind-the-scenes on what itās like to run a small business. Let the viewers connect with you!
Clear Call-To-Action (CTA)
If youāre a business, always, always, always end your videos with a clear CTA! Direct people to your website, purchase an item or service from you, check out the link in your bio, share with a friend, etc. Whatever it is, a really good CTA will increase engagement and (hopefully!) sales to your biz.
What are some popular YouTube Shorts ideas? ā¤ļø
Now, youāre finally ready to start creating your YouTube Shorts! But, what should you make?
Share a day in your life
Bring your audience along on a day in your life as a business owner, content creator, or whatever your job is! Showcase the fun things. Show off the slightly boring things. This helps humanize you and brings authenticity (yes, that magical word!) to your Short.
Meet the Team
Your followers will love being introduced to the people who work for the company they are so loyal to! If you own a business, share your team in short, snappy videos that show off their roles, personalities, and what they love most about working for the biz.
Quick Tips and Tricks
Do a series of different tips on a topic that you have a lot of authority on. Whether that is how to do the perfect winged eyeliner look (honestly, please teach me!) or how to save money on booking flightsāShorts are a great way to give bite-sized pieces of information quickly to your audience in a consumable way (did you like that pun?).
Fun Facts
Everyone loves a fun fact! Dig around and find some facts that you think your audience might love and consume. Perhaps you have some interesting facts about a holiday coming up. Maybe you want to share a fact about your business and why you started it. Whatever it is that youāre deeply interested in and think is a fascinating piece of information, your audience is likely to be interested in it too!
Unboxing Videos
Thereās a reason why these videos are so popularāitās because secretly weāre all super nosy and want to know what people order! If you just ordered something youāre super excited about and think others would be interested in it as well, film yourself unboxing the item. It can be a short and snappy video of you quickly taking the item out of the box and showing it to the camera.
Before and After
Want to draw people in quickly and make them stay? Film a before and after video. There are many ways you can film a before and after. Show off a home renovation, whether itās a luxury house renovation or DIY tips. Explain how a new tool helps you clean your bathroom better. Before and after videos tend to get a lot of views and engagementāand are quick videos to make (well ā¦ after the hard labor of renovating your house, that is).
Industry Updates
Do you work in a specific industry or niche that has an audience many would want to be updated on? At Flick, we give industry updates and news on anything happening in social media for the week. Figure out what updates or news your audience might want from you and create weekly (or monthly!) content around that.
Repurpose Long-Form Content
Search your YouTube page and see what long-form videos have done well for you in the past. Or, if you have a blog, go to a blog post on which you get a lot of traffic. From there, figure out different ways to create short-form videos off on this content. This can even be made into a series based on the best bits of the long-form content.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to save YouTube Shorts
If you want to save a YouTube Short, here are the steps:
- Open YouTube App: Launch the YouTube app on your mobile device. Make sure youāre signed in to your Google account to access all features.
- Find the YouTube Short: Navigate to the YouTube Short that you want to save. You can do this by scrolling through the Shorts section on the YouTube homepage or by searching for specific Shorts using the search bar.
- Access the Short Options: Once youāve found the Short you want to save, tap on the Short to open it in full screen. Look for the options icon (usually represented by three vertical dots) located at the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Tap on the Options Icon: Tap on the options icon to bring up a menu of available actions for the Short.
- Save the Short: In the menu that appears, look for an option labeled āSave.ā The wording may vary slightly depending on your device and the YouTube app version, but it typically includes the word āSaveā or an icon resembling a bookmark.
- Confirm the Action: Tap on the āSaveā option to confirm your action. You may receive a confirmation message indicating that the Short has been saved successfully.
- Access Saved Shorts: To access your saved YouTube Shorts later, navigate to your profile or account section within the YouTube app. Look for a tab or section labeled āSaved,ā āBookmarks,ā or āFavorites.ā Your saved Shorts should be listed here for easy access.
- View Saved Shorts: Tap on the saved Short you want to watch to view it again. You can enjoy your saved Shorts at any time, even when youāre offline, as long as they remain available on YouTube.
How much does YouTube Shorts pay?
Earning money through YouTube Shorts is currently not as lucrative as regular YouTube videos. Creators typically earn around $0.01 to $0.07 per 1,000 views, which translates to $50 to $70 per million views. This is significantly lower compared to long-form videos, where creators can earn $1.61 to $29.30 per 1,000 views.
Itās important to remember that this is just an estimate, and the actual amount you can earn from YouTube Shorts can vary depending on several factors, including:
- Location: Advertisers tend to pay more for views in certain countries.
- The number of views your Shorts get: The more views you have, the more money you can potentially earn.
- Engagement: Videos with higher engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares tend to be more valuable to advertisers.
Itās worth noting that while Shorts itself might not be a major source of income yet, it can still be a valuable tool for growing your audience and promoting your channel, which can lead to more views and revenue from your longer videos.
Flickās tip: Want help repurposing long-form content? Try out Flickās AI Assistant where it will take long-form blog posts and create them into short bite-size snippets of social media posts for you! This will help you create quick and easy content without spending hours trying to cut your long-form content down. Start a FREE 7-day trial of Flick right now.
Now that you know how to create quick and easy content, click here to find out even more tips and tricks (and our favorite tool!) for creating short-form content.
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