Social media isn’t all Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are also a plethora of video platforms, and more and more, short videos or “shorts” are the ones commanding the most attention. The longest-standing video-centric social media platform is YouTube, and it’s no wonder that it’s changed so much with the times. Within the last couple of years, YouTube introduced a new type of YouTube video: YouTube Shorts.
YouTube shorts last no more than 60 seconds, so creators have a limited time to get the point across. They may serve as a teaser for a longer video, as a bit of comedy, or as a quick way to share some key information. How can shorts help boost your social media marketing? Let’s discuss a few ways.
Show Off a Product Demo
If you have a new product about to launch and you want to build some buzz, a YouTube short could be a great way to do that. In a brief, peppy video you can show a demo of how your product works. This will help your audience to better understand it before they have a chance to get their hands on it. It will also show them the benefits your product can offer them and make them excited about what’s to come.
Promote Your Upcoming Content
Do you have a big video coming out and you want to build up excitement? Professional YouTubers sometimes create shorts that can preview the larger videos they have coming up. These shorts can give their audiences a taste in order to pique their interest. It can also draw in new subscribers before the new video comes out. It can serve as a trailer for your video and help raise awareness of your brand through social media marketing.
Memorialize Your Most Popular Clips
On the other hand, maybe you have an actual play gaming channel and you want to save some of your best gags or funny moments. Maybe your YouTube channel promotes some of your TV shows that play off YouTube, and you want a short to show that epic scene everyone had been waiting for. A YouTube short can capture some of those best moments so that your audiences can find them and laugh at them all over again.
This is a great way to boost some word-of-mouth marketing, too. When you post these shorts, your audience might show them to their friends and gain you a larger audience before your next episode or video.
Crossover With Your TikTok
If you have a video that’s doing good numbers on TikTok, don’t let someone else upload it to YouTube and get those views before you get a chance to. Instead, crosspost that TikTok video onto your YouTube channel. You can include a link to your TikTok or share your username in the video. That way, followers on YouTube who don’t yet know of your YouTube will know where to follow.
Sponsor an Influencer’s Short
If you don’t have a big YouTube platform yourself, you might be able to take advantage of YouTube shorts by working with an influencer. Sponsor them so that they film a short advertising your brand. Or consider sending them a product for review. They can show the product off in their short and give their thoughts. If they like it, and sometimes even if they don’t, it draws their audience over to your brand. Make sure the influencer is someone who is popular within your target audience for the best results.
Make Your YouTube Short Trendy
If you want your YouTube short to really pop, keep an eye on the trends. There are filters, popular background music, memes that lend themselves best to shorts, and more. Watch some shorts from other YouTubers within your niche or industry. Look at the trends that they tend to follow. Watch videos from popular influencers with your target audience. This can help you to draw inspiration when it comes time to create your own short.
Music makes your short catchier. If the song fits well with the video, it can make the funny punchline that much funnier. It can make the soothing, positive atmosphere that much more atmospheric. The song can get stuck in the viewer’s head, making them think of your video. There are also popular trends of sound bytes and music tracks to play in TikTok videos that might have crossover with YouTube shorts. Filters can change the coloring and mood of your short, as well.
