Tag Archive for: YouTube Shorts

TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts Dominate Short-Form Videos In Their Own Ways

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The past few years have seen a meteoric rise in the popularity of short-form video content with TikTok and a wave of imitators driving interest in bite-size videos that can be easily consumed on smartphones. 

Now, a recent study by Social Insider shows that just three platforms have set themselves apart as popular social networks for short-form video: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

While it is unsurprising that TikTok is the overall leader for short-form video, each of the three platforms has its own strengths and weaknesses that may make it appealing for marketing your business. So, let’s get into some of the details of the study and what makes TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts so popular for this type of media. 

TikTok

As the current hot social network, TikTok easily outpaces the competition when it comes to engagement on posts. In particular, the study notes that TikTok content receives up to twice the number of comments compared to other platforms. 

In terms of pure engagement rates, the report says that TikTok maintains an engagement rate of 5.53%, significantly better than YouTube Shorts (3.80%) and Reels (4.36%).

This high engagement rate does have a downside, however. TikTok is currently the most crowded space for short-form video online with brands posting twice as much content to the platform compared to Reels and Shorts.

Reels

Instagram’s short-form videos may not be as popular as TikTok, but data indicates the medium is still widely-popular with Instagram users. 

According to the report, Instagram Reels has the three’s highest watch rate. It is unclear exactly what contributes to this high watch rate, but Social Insider suggests one contributor may be Instagram’s follower-centric approach. This means that the users most likely to see your videos in their feed are already highly likely to be interested in clicking play. 

Shorts

Compared to the other platforms, YouTube Shorts have shown itself to be a potent tool for connecting with new people and growing its audience. 

The platform noticed early on that users were more willing to click on short videos from creators they were unfamiliar with compared to 10+ minute full-length videos. With this in mind, YouTube started prominently including new or unknown-to-you creators in Shorts on their main page – driving attention to these channels. 

If a user enjoys a Short, they are then more likely to start watching the channel’s regular content. 

Why You Should Consider TikTok, Reels, and Shorts

With each platform’s unique pros and cons, Social Insider believes the best approach is to use each for distinct purposes. 

“Using TikTok, Reels, and Shorts complementarily and creating unique content for each, aligned with the individual’s platform audience and design, is the best approach marketers and brands alike could have,” they concluded.

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YouTube Shorts Are Coming To US Users In March

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YouTube’s latest video format, called YouTube Shorts, is finally coming to the USA next month, after several months of testing internationally.

The short (15 seconds or less) vertical video format was first rolled out as a beta test in India back in September 2020. Though it may have taken a little bit to catch on, YouTube says that the number of channels using the video format has more than tripled since December.

Currently, the platform says YouTube Shorts are getting more than 3.5 billion daily views in India alone. 

Come March, US users will be able to see what all the buzz about as the format and associated video creation tools arrive in America.

What Are YouTube Shorts?

Unsurprisingly, many have compared YouTube Shorts to TikTok clips or the popular Stories format found on several other platforms. This is because YouTube Shorts share a number of features with the increasingly trendy format:

  • Users can create and upload short videos of 15 seconds or less.
  • Edit your videos with a range of creative tools.
  • Stitch several short clips together with a multi-segment editor.
  • Add licensed music to your videos through YouTube’s music library.
  • Speed up or slow down your video footage for dramatic effect.
  • Use timers and countdowns to plan your video shoots.

Additionally, the company says it is introducing a carousel on the YouTube homepage dedicated completely to Shorts.

YouTube Shorts Aim To Make Content Creation Easier For All

One of YouTube’s biggest goals with the new video format is to make the barrier to content creation and exposure on the platform lower for new creators:

“Every year, increasing numbers of people come to YouTube to launch their own channel. But we know there’s still a huge amount of people who find the bar for creation too high.

That’s why we’re working on Shorts, our new short-form video tool that lets creators and artists shoot snappy videos with nothing but their mobile phones.”

With YouTube Shorts users can immediately start creating their own content without the need for high-quality equipment or editing skills.

Even more enticing, YouTube says it is going to count Shorts views the same way as regular video views – creating a fast pathway for big metrics for new users. This will also make it easier for new users to reach the milestones needed to monetize content through the YouTube Partner Program.

More is sure to come in the next few weeks as YouTube seems poised to prioritize Shorts in big ways. 

In the next few weeks, the company is launching a dedicated biweekly Shorts Report to highlight all the latest updates and provide useful tips to users. Keep your eyes peeled as new info as the biweekly reports start arriving and YouTube Shorts finally come to the US.

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Introducing Google’s Take On TikTok – YouTube Shorts

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Google is testing the waters of short-form videos with a new platform similar to the popular but controversial TikTok.

The company announced it is be launching a new service called YouTube Shorts which will focus on short, catchy videos like those found on TikTok or Instagram Reels. 

The announcement describes the new service as:

“Shorts is a new short-form video experience for creators and artists who want to shoot short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones.“

For now, YouTube Shorts is limited to India as Google tests its features and public reception. 

Though features will be limited at launch, Google says YouTube Shorts will eventually include a variety of features, including:

  • Create and upload videos of 15-seconds or less.
  • Edit videos with a number of creative tools.
  • Stitch shorter clips together with a multi-segment camera.
  • Add music to videos from YouTube’s library.
  • Speed up or slow down videos.
  • Timers and countdowns.

Early Version

The version launching to users in India this week is reportedly a very limited version of the tool including only a portion of the features that will be implemented in the final release. 

The purpose of the early test is to get feedback from early users so the company can better prioritize their efforts before releasing the service to a wider audience. 

Of course, this is likely not the only reason the company decided to test the service in India. 

India banned TikTok from operating within its country on June 29 of this year, similar to the actions taken by President Trump to eventually force the company out of the U.S. 

With this in mind, there is a clear opportunity to those who launch their own take on the tool in the country sooner rather than later. Still, YouTube has already confirmed it will be bringing YouTube Shorts to more countries in the near future.

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