YouTube Shorts: How to Use the New Feature to Grow Your Channel

The key to staying ahead of the curve on social media is looking out for trends and new features from your favorite networks. One unique introduction that has been making waves is YouTube Shorts. Instagram has reels – something they copied from TikTok and Twitter once had fleets. YouTube’s equivalent to these is Shorts. Established marketer and SEO expert, Mike Dean, says YouTube has over 2.6 billion monthly active users (MAU). Hence it makes sense to make the best of its new short-form video add-on.

If you want to use the feature to grow your channel, this is the place to be!

This article will define what YouTube Shorts are, their benefits, and proven tips to consider when looking to grow your channel with them. So without further ado, let’s get started!

What are YouTube Shorts?

Before we delve into growing your channel with YouTube Shorts, it’s best to understand what they are. It all started following India’s ban on TikTok in 2020. YouTube introduced Shorts in this country in late September of that year. 

A launch in the United States followed in March 2021. It wasn’t going to stop there, of course. Shorts became available to the rest of the world four months later. 

YouTube Shorts are short-form vertical videos that are less than 60 seconds long, aimed at providing quick and engaging content to viewers.

Shorts is designed to cater to more straightforward attention spans and the growing trend for short-form videos. As mentioned, it’s the direct response to the popular ‘shorts’ content trend sweeping across social media platforms. 

Benefits of Creating Your YouTube Shorts

Now you know what YouTube Shorts are. Let’s look at some of the benefits.

Short-Form Video Content: YouTube Shorts allow for the creation of short-form video content that can engage a wider audience, catering to those with shorter attention spans. Given that creating regular content can be expensive and time-consuming, Shorts offers a way to go if you must always have content on your channel. 

Increase in Daily Views: This is a no-brainer, especially for those looking for smart ways to grow their online presence. Because of their shorter length, YouTube Shorts often have higher daily views than regular, long-form videos. Furthermore, Shorts have shown significant promise when it comes to growing your audience. Some channels have reported a surge in daily views and millions of subscribers after starting to post Shorts alongside their full-length video content. According to SocialPilot, some 15 billion Shorts are viewed on a daily basis. This presents an excellent opportunity for businesses and brands to grow their audience on the platform.

Broaden Your Audience: With their bite-sized and digestible format, YouTube Shorts can introduce your type of content to viewers who might not typically engage with full-length videos. This can expand your target audience significantly.

Flexibility: YouTube Shorts can be used as additional content to supplement your regular videos. What’s more, it comes with no age restriction but must be appealing to a diverse audience. This gives creators the flexibility to cover a range of topics or to offer quick insights, tips, or updates.

Tips on How to Use YouTube Shorts to Grow Your Channel

Need help getting started with Shorts? We’ve got you covered in this section. 

Post Fresh Content Consistently

Consistent content creation is crucial to any successful YouTube channel, and YouTube Shorts are no exception. Regularly posting fresh and original short-form video content keeps your channel active and signals to both the YouTube algorithm and your audience that you’re a reliable source of entertainment or information. 

The short format of YouTube Shorts makes creating content daily or multiple times a day easier, significantly increasing your channel’s visibility and engagement. An increase in daily views can lead to a broader audience and, in turn, a surge in subscribers. 

If your channel’s subscriber count is in the millions, regular content can help maintain this figure and attract even more. The key here is to balance consistency and quality, ensuring you do not compromise the latter in pursuing the former.

Follow Trends

Next up is catching up with everyone else. In the dynamic landscape of social media platforms, keeping up with trending topics is a strategy you don’t want to let pass you by. This is particularly true for short-form content like YouTube Shorts. 

Trends provide insight into what the audience is currently interested in and engaging with. This allows you to create relevant content that aligns with audience demand, considerably boosting engagement and views. 

Whether it’s a viral dance, a popular song, or a trending challenge, integrating these trends into your YouTube Shorts can help you tap into the zeitgeist and attract new viewers who may become subscribers. 

However, while following trends is beneficial, it’s also vital to ensure your content retains its unique voice and personality.

Deliver Your Message Quickly

You must make the best of the 60-second limit of YouTube Shorts. As we all know, short-form videos, by nature, demand brevity. This implies quick and concise message delivery. However, it doesn’t mean sacrificing depth or value but encourages effective communication. 

Clarity and focus are crucial whether you’re sharing a tip, answering common questions, or discussing a topic. 

Your audience should walk away feeling they’ve gained something from your video, whether it’s a piece of knowledge, a laugh, or a new perspective. Mastering this aspect of content creation can significantly enhance your audience engagement and channel subscriber count.

Use Custom Thumbnails

Thumbnails act as the first impression of your video content. An attractive thumbnail entices potential viewers to click on your video, so having a good thumbnail will help you increase your video views. For YouTube Shorts, where the competition is fierce, having a compelling thumbnail can make all the difference. 

Make sure your thumbnails are clear, visually appealing, and accurately represent the content of your video. They should tell a story or create intrigue, encouraging users to watch your short-form video content if possible. 

This default feature can be a powerful tool to drive channel engagement and more people hitting the subscribe button.

Keep Them Valuable and Sweet

Despite their short length, YouTube Shorts need to deliver value. Just like a full-length video, each Short should provide something meaningful to your viewers. This can be a quick tutorial, a fun fact, an engaging story, or answering a frequently asked question. 

The key is to ensure that even in 60 seconds or less, your video leaves a positive impact, encouraging viewers to engage with your content and subscribe to your channel. Remember, short and sweet doesn’t mean shallow. 

Each Short is an opportunity to showcase your creativity, knowledge, or humor in a bite-sized format that social media users love.

Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a powerful tool for discoverability on many social media platforms, and YouTube is no different. For your YouTube Shorts, including relevant hashtags in the description or title can help users find your content when they search for those specific tags. This increases the visibility of your short-form video content and can attract viewers who are specifically interested in those topics. Using hashtags increases the chances of your YouTube Shorts being discovered by a wider audience, potentially leading to more views, higher audience engagement, and an increase in your channel subscribers.

Conclusion

There you have it – everything you need to know about the YouTube Shorts feature and what you can do with it. You’ve also learned some proven ways to get the most from this fantastic innovation. Remember, you’d want to consider your overall goals before you get started. This is especially important if you are a product manager or business owner. You just don’t have to hit the record button to create Shorts because everyone is doing it. The content and message must resonate with your audience as well. Don’t forget to use a quality video format. Done correctly, you have an incredible opportunity to grow the channel with YouTube Shorts. As the landscape of social media evolves, adaptability is critical. So, embrace this short-form video content trend and let it open new avenues for your channel’s growth and success.