Future First Insight April 13 2022
How to grow with YouTube Shorts
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At 9 months old, YouTube Shorts is still very new in the social media space. We’ve managed to gain a lot of insight into how the algorithm works in that time, and we have come up with six tips that will help you get featured in the YouTube Shorts feed and grow your channel faster.
Post consistently
If you can only create 1 video per day that’s fine, as long as you’re sticking to a regular schedule. YouTube’s algorithm will find it difficult to recommend your content if you post infrequently, so consistency over quantity is definitely the way to go. It should be noted that if you can post more per day and stick to a schedule, you should as your growth will be much more rapid this way.
Create fresh content for a higher chance of success
It may be tempting to re-upload your old TikToks and instagram reels, however, creating fresh content specifically for YouTube shorts allows you to tailor it specifically for the platform and get the most out of the algorithm. YouTube does not promote videos with watermarks so whilst you may get some traction with a re-upload, you’ll see much more growth without. Many TikToks also use copyrighted music which will get you a copyright claim on YouTube. Creating fresh content allows you to use YouTube’s audio library and avoid these issues.
Utilise trends
Trends can help you get additional eyes on content as well as keeping your channel current, however, it’s important to give your content its own unique twist that keeps viewers coming back for more. Trends are great for new channels or people just starting out in YouTube Shorts looking to improve their discoverability. If you’re looking to do this long-term, however, you’ll find more value in creating stand alone content that stays relevant over time.
Make valuable YouTube Shorts
To feature in YouTube Shorts feed and grow your channel faster, you don’t want to just put out random content in your Shorts, make sure it’s relevant to your channel and your brand, but most importantly think about what the value of your content is to the viewer. If a viewer finds value in your content, chances are they’ll engage with it and seek out more.
Use #shorts in titles
Whilst using #shorts in the title or description of your video is no longer essential to have it recognised as a Short, it can help with discoverability. If you are just starting out with Shorts it is worth doing as every little bit of exposure you can get helps.
Go super long or super short
There are two key metrics you should be considering when making Shorts content: Average view duration and average percentage viewed. If either of these metrics are high on your video, YouTube will be more likely to recommend it to users in their feed. Long Shorts will outperform other videos which can’t possibly meet your high average view duration. Alternatively, extremely short Shorts will loop before your audience has time to react, this will give you an average percentage viewed of over 100%.
These six tips should give you a good headstart with YouTube Shorts, however, it’s important to remember that YouTubes algorithm is constantly updating and you’ll need to change and adapt regularly to stay on top of the game. If you need help with your YouTube strategy and want to know more about how Green Rock can help you maximise your channel then drop us a line and get in touch today