What is YouTube Shorts and How to Create Short Videos?

Recently, the YouTube Shorts feature was launched, with the aim of meeting the need of young users who prefer short videos. 

The YouTube platform has millions of active users around the world, which means that it is able to collect large amounts of data about users, their interests, and the type of content they prefer. 

The initial launch of Youtube Shorts took place in India after the competing program TikTok was banned, thus YouTube managed to get a lot of views. The YouTube Shorts test trial was successful in India, prompting YouTube to roll out the new feature around the world. 

If you don't know what YouTube Shorts mean, it's simply a feature that allows digital creators to create short, engaging videos using mobile phones. Creating short videos for YouTube is the fastest way to create, edit and publish video content.

Features included in Youtube Shorts include video clips, music recording options, settings, speed control options, time and countdown settings, and more. 

YouTube is seeking to expand the scope of YouTube Shorts with the aim of outperforming TikTok, and taking advantage of the banning of the TikTok application in many regions. 

It is common knowledge for content creators that in order for a video to be accepted and be included in the YouTube Shorts list, its length must be less than 60 seconds. But some find it difficult to decide what type of new content it is. 

Anyone with a YouTube account can create short videos and there are no restrictions. In this article, we will show you how to create, download, and analyze the performance of YouTube Shorts. 

 An examples of short videos:

TikTok Vs. YouTube

The TikTok application achieved great success in last years of its launch, and was able to obtain millions of users, while YouTube took a long time to be able to obtain this large number of users.  

YouTube has noticed users' interest in short videos, as people are interested in quick ways to learn and display content quickly and simply, and TikTok provides this feature to users.

Some information about YouTube Shorts

• Short videos not exceeding 60 seconds. You can create, edit and upload short videos using any device.
• YouTube can recognize short clips created with a smartphone, iPad, DSLR, or other video recording device. When it is ready to download, upload it by opening your YouTube account.
•  It doesn't matter if you include the hashtag #shorts in your video's title or description, but YouTube encourages this, although it can recognize your video as Short without it.
• You do not need any conditions to be able to create short videos, and there is no limitation on the number of subscribers or the number of views.
• Did you know that YouTube sometimes adds a second or two to the videos you upload? This isn't important for long videos, but an extra two seconds can make a difference when YouTube classifies a video as a short (short) or normal video.

Therefore, try to keep the length of the short video clip not exceeding 58 seconds, and this will ensure that you do not exceed the maximum limit (60 seconds). 

 

To play it safe, keep your shorts no longer than 58s. This will ensure you don't exceed the 60-second limit. YouTube hasn't announced a minimum video length for Shorts, but we recommend making your video at least 5 seconds long.

The dimensions of the video are also important, and through experiments it was found that the short videos should be of ideal square dimensions (1080 * 1080 pixels). If your video is 1 pixel more, YouTube will not classify it as short.

How to add a short video to YouTube Shorts 

You can simply do this through the YouTube mobile application. Click on the + icon at the bottom of the screen and select “Create”, then a short video.

 If you can't find this feature, you can upload a short video that's less than 60 seconds long and has #shorts in the title or description.

Uploading the short video as a regular video gives you more flexibility to record the video as you can edit it as you like.

Some of the tools added to Youtube Shorts:

• Multi-segment camera for multiple video series
• Option to record with music that can be selected from a large library of songs.
• Speed controls that give you the flexibility to make your performance look like a pro
• Timer and countdown

How to see which video qualifies as YouTube Shorts

Once the video is uploaded, you will know directly by going to the shorts section of your channel's homepage.

This new section displays content that YouTube automatically recognizes as short. If you find the video you uploaded in this section, it is a short video according to YouTube standards, and if it does not exist, it is a regular YouTube video.

How to analyze the performance of short videos on the YouTube mobile app

 You may have noticed a new display area called Short Videos. It frequently appears below the videos people are watching and when clicked it sends users an endless stream of short videos, no longer than 60 seconds in length.

The appearance of videos in this section will help to get thousands of views, and it is possible that your short videos will be added here, but there is no guarantee of that.

How to get analytics for Youtube Shorts 

How to get analytics for Youtube Shorts

• Go to YouTube Studio and click on Analytics in the left menu
• You'll be taken to the Overview tab, where a graph of views, watch time, and number of subscribers will be displayed, scroll right below that graph and click View More.
• It will show you some advanced analytics, at the top of the page click on the traffic source.
• It will show you at channel level how many views you get from YouTube Shorts. 

 

Why was YouTube Shorts launched?

For YouTube users, they are used to horizontal videos and are not used to watching vertical videos, so why are such videos released on the YouTube platform?

YouTube wants to attract new young creators who are fond of the TikTok app and its features, so it tries to offer them the features offered by the Tik Tok app, and encourages them to add vertical videos by helping them get a large number of views in a short time.

The idea of Youtube Shorts is a new opportunity to get a large audience, especially for those who are taking advantage of the beginning of its launch. It is more successful than any other application such as Instagram or TikTok, due to the presence of a large audience of users and the YouTube algorithm that supports this new feature.

This feature would be great for creating marketing and promotional videos for brands, or for creating entertainment videos and targeting the new generation of young people who prefer short videos.

Pros of YouTube Marketing Youtube Shorts

• Large audience: YouTube has millions of active users per month. Which means you can use short videos for marketing, promoting your brand, and reaching a large audience.
• Improvements: Over time, the functionality of YouTube Shorts is being improved, so that users can use it easily and browse new clips conveniently.

How to optimize your videos for Youtube Shorts 

Short videos in the Youtube Shorts section can appear in Google search results. The number of YouTube users who can benefit from this feature is still limited, but everyone can benefit from this new feature.

Anyone with a YouTube account can create short videos, upload them and post them to your YouTube channel. In order to get more views, you must take into account some points to improve the appearance of short videos in search results.

 

Optimize for YouTube Shorts

How to improve your short clips in YouTube search results

1. Choose correct dimensions for the video

When you think about optimizing your YouTube Shorts videos, you should first focus on determining the aspect ratio of the video. To ensure that YouTube categorizes the video as short, the aspect ratio of the video must be 16:9 or 1:1.

2. Video duration

Like TikTok, YouTube Shorts have restrictions that limit the duration of the video. So when you edit and improve the video, make sure that its duration does not exceed 60 seconds, otherwise it will not be classified as a short video.

3. Add a hashtag

Add #shorts in the title and description of your video. This step is optional but YouTube's instructions recommend it. This method helps YouTube to discover your video.

By following these three simple steps, YouTube will likely add your video to the YouTube Shorts list, the shorts section of the YouTube mobile app.

Some reports proved that the short video sometimes took between 3-7 days before it was promoted in the YouTube Shorts section, meaning that this may take some time.

But once your short video is listed in the Youtube Shorts section, you will get a new additional source of traffic within Google Analytics, and it can generate large numbers of views in a short period.

To get more great results, follow these steps:

4. Customize the thumbnail

In regular YouTube videos, the thumbnail is the most attractive element for viewers, and plays an influential role in the user's decision to watch the video. When you upload a short video and once the upload is finished the thumbnail you added will not appear. Instead, YouTube picks an image from a random point in the video. This does not sound ideal!

The best way to circumvent the problem and optimize your video for YouTube Shorts is to add a title at the top of the video. That is why you can use Zubtitle which enables you to create custom titles, add captions, resize the video, include your brand logo and more.

 

Question and Answer

What does YouTube Shorts mean?

It is a section dedicated to adding short videos on YouTube that do not exceed 60 seconds in length. Short videos can be created through the “Create shorts” option, which provides additional features for quickly editing and publishing the video, or by uploading any short video with a length of less than 60 seconds and adding #Shorts hashtag.

When was Youtube Shorts launched?

The YouTube Shorts feature was launched in the last months of the year 2020, and it appeared for the first time in India after the TikTok application was banned.

Can anyone use Youtube Shorts?

Yes, YouTube did not impose any restrictions on the use of YouTube Shorts, and all users can add short videos or as they are called stories.

When is a video considered short?

When its length does not exceed 60 seconds, and its dimensions are vertical 9:16 or square 1:1. It is preferable that the hashtag #Shorts be added in the title or description of the video, but this is not a mandatory condition.

Which countries does Youtube Shorts support?

Youtube Shorts supports India, America, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and some other European countries

How to download YouTube Shorts?

You can download YouTube Shorts by using a VPN for one of the countries we mentioned above and entering the App Store and downloading the app.