Looking to get into YouTube Shorts, but only have long-form content?
YouTube’s keen to help, because Shorts are now driving a lot more engagement in the app, and as such, feeding in more short-form content is likely to be a win, both for YouTube and for creators.
Over on the YouTube blog, it’s shared a new overview of key tips on how to repurpose your long-form content into Shorts.
YouTube’s key tips include:
- Revisit your content and pinpoint the key “hook” of each, which should then be the focus of your Short. YouTube suggests starting with “a question, a surprising fact, or a visually captivating moment.”
- Consider Shorts as a preview of your longer clips, by highlighting the best bits (though YouTube also notes that your Shorts should also stand on their own too).
- Focus on single, actionable pointers from your longer videos.
- High-energy visuals, demonstrations, and stunning scenery can convert better to short clips.
- YouTube also suggests that brands should maintain consistent branding elements and colors to solidify that association.
- Add captions and text overlays to improve accessibility, and highlight key points.
- Experiment with speed adjustments to create dynamic effects
- Incorporate trending music or sound effects.
- Get to the point quickly to maintain viewer attention, and retention.
- End with a Call to Action that encourages further engagement with your content or channel
YouTube also recommends that creators try out different formats for their Shorts to see what resonates with their audience, while also using analytics to measure response to your clips.
You can check out trending Shorts to get ideas on what to try, while it may also be worth watching competitors to see what they’re doing to connect with similar audiences. You might also consider checking out what’s trending on TikTok at any given time, because of the similarity between the two offerings.
Finally, YouTube says that creators should respond to comments and interact with viewers to maximize engagement.
Most of these are tips that you were already aware of to some degree, but they could also trigger some new ideas for your Shorts content, and new ways that you can connect with Shorts viewers.
And again, with Shorts now driving over 70 billion daily views, it is worth considering as a means to grow your brand and/or channel.
You can check out YouTube’s full overview of Shorts tips here.