YouTube shorts as a tool for promoting your business. We talk about all the features and nuances | Articles

In 2023, YouTube shorts can accelerate channel statistics from zero to tens of thousands of views. In this article, marketer Pavel Doctor, a certified expert on YouTube, Google Ads, and Google Partner status for video advertising, shared the secrets of developing YouTube for business. In it you will learn how to use shorts so that they become a catalyst for success.

The era of short videos

One of the concerns of experts is how to attract attention to your product without huge advertising costs. In 2023, everyone has the opportunity to express themselves in front of an audience of billions. The shorts format opens the way to the hearts of more than 2.5 billion global network users.

Pavel Doctor makes strategies for the development of YouTube channels from scratch, thanks to which their views soar very quickly. One of the frequent questions from beginning information businessmen to him is: “How to start from scratch, especially if you have never done this before?”

Pavel’s main recommendation in such cases is: “There are many fears, but you need to start.” Here are just a few examples of the results information businessmen have achieved thanks to his strategies:

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• for 1 month of work for Ksenia Baranova’s school of sales in social networks: 45 thousand views. We tried to make the videos for Ksenia dynamic, with constant changes of pictures and at the same time useful content.

This video combines a short vlog and instructions from an expert on how to prepare for filming. And thanks to dynamic editing, the video not only carries useful information, but also hooks the viewer with the video sequence;

• For businessman Oscar Hartman, who works in a narrower niche, Dr. Pavel suggested creating a separate channel specifically for short videos. Viewers did not watch long interviews with the expert, but short videos with interesting points immediately became popular. In general, in 1 month, the number of views was 20 thousand. One of the shorts on this channel went viral with 5 thousand views.

In the video, Oscar shares valuable experience and motivates the viewer to think about what was said. Thus, he attracts people who have the same worldview, the same interests and goals in life. This is a live audience that will subsequently switch to the expert’s main channel, wanting to receive more information and valuable thoughts from him;

• For a channel with long video interviews, it is quite difficult to get large views on videos without shorts. On Sergei Kosenko’s channel, short videos with clips from interviews are published regularly, through them viewers learn about the interviews that have been released, watch interesting moments, and only then become eager to watch the video in full. For example, a video with a clipping from an interview received almost 2.5 million views and attracted viewers not only to the full interview with Marina Mogilko, but also to Sergei’s channel.

• on a channel dedicated to interior design, Dr. Pavel decided to use editing as effectively as possible and experiment with the title and description. The video received quite a lot of views thanks to its intriguing title, created in the style of familiar recipes with the headings “I stole the recipe from my mother-in-law”, “My husband will never know the secret ingredient”. Such names are intriguing, and dynamic editing holds the viewer, attracting him to watch the video to the end and become interested in the channel.

Pavel Doctor emphasizes that statistical expectations should be realistic: “Some videos will only get 200-500 views. Average views are 1000-1500.”

The daily number of online video views exceeds 6 billion. But the peculiarity of the online format is that the first impression only takes seconds. During this time, the user decides whether it is interesting to watch or switch to other videos.

American researchers in the field of psychology and linguistics have experimentally determined: it is better to make shorts up to 27 seconds long and fit a maximum of 120 words into them. On average, videos are watched 3 times more often than texts are read. The video format can quickly create a buzz around an expert, product or service, increase audience loyalty, and ensure sales.

Three main methods for creating shorts

Dr. Pavel uses three main methods for creating shorts:

1. We analyze all available content and select from it those moments that we can then use in the trailer/teaser of the channel. The main thing is that the total duration of these videos is no more than 35-40 seconds. Maximum — 59. Ideally, choose moments that evoke emotions, show dynamics, character and intrigue the viewer. Then we cut these videos into shorts vertically, edit them and publish them.

2. In YouTube videos, you can find out which parts of the video people watched most often. To do this, you need to point at the timing line, after which an expanded version of it will appear with the dynamics of interest — if the line grows uphill, then the audience reviewed this moment most often, rewinded to it, or watched it several times. We insert such passages into shorts, additionally prepare a description for them and make a small montage if necessary.

3. We publish content that is not included. Often, when editing videos, there are moments that do not go into the main video because they do not fit the theme or deviate slightly from the narrative. But, if there is something catchy in them, some kind of emotion, character, then such passages can be inserted into shorts.

Shorts may be the ideal solution if you are interested in:

• conversion;
• attracting subscribers;
• creating hype around an expert, product or service;
• increasing the channel audience;
• monetization of the channel.

Benefits of Regularly Posting YouTube Shorts

Regular posting creates more opportunities to get featured in recommended video trends. Ideally 1-3 videos per day. You don’t let regular viewers forget about you and increase the number of channel subscribers. Maintain a gap of several hours between publishing videos for successful video indexing. The main benefits of regularly posting short videos on YouTube:

1. increasing coverage;
2. YouTube identifies you as an active user and video views increase;
3. you study how algorithms work and which videos they promote best;
4. active interaction with the audience. If the content is interesting, subscribers set notifications and wait for new videos;
5. growth of channel subscribers;
6. more opportunities to test hypotheses and different ideas in content;
7. you develop an eye for popular trends;
8. opportunity to monetize the channel.

What topics are featured in shorts?

This partly depends on the niche in which the expert works. But, there are several universal formats that enjoy the greatest success:

1. funny video;
2. videos with useful tips that can be applied in daily life;
3. recipes and recommendations for preparing various dishes;
4. dance videos;
5. short advice from experts;
6. hype topic, for example, the differences between Russians and Americans. This topic was successfully used for viewing by Marina Mogilko;
7. challenges from the series: “Can you do this?”
8. videos with animals and children.

Secrets of selling shorts

To convert using shorts on your YouTube channel, it is important to consider the following points in the video:

1. analysis of the target audience — create several avatars of your ideal client (gender, age, demographics, interests) and test how responsive the content is to these people;
2. flashy headlines that attract attention and stir up interest in watching the video to the end, active links, calls to action;
3. if you are selling a product, show in a video what it looks like and its specific benefits for buyers;
4. use affiliate programs with influencers whose subscribers are your target audience;
5. initiate a discussion in the comments using questions in the video;
6. show the work process, as you know, you can watch how others work forever;
7. give an analysis of common mistakes and recommendations on how to avoid them;
   semantic intrigue to motivate you to watch to the end in search of an answer;
8. colorful before/after;
9. dynamics in the frame: picture changes every 2-3 seconds;
10. beautiful picture combined with pleasant music;
11. demonstrating client benefits in numbers;

Roadmap for YouTube Promotion

Millions of people are trying to climb to their Olympus. But you can wake up famous thanks to the opportunities that YouTube provides for business promotion if you follow a few rules that apply on this video platform:

1. Uniqueness. Every day, global network users spend more than half an hour searching for various information online. Find the highlight of your product and broadcast it in videos. One of the reasons for failure is the habit of mindlessly copying. Your brand and the idea behind it are unique. Analyze what customer requests your service or product solves? What pains does it affect? How are you different from your competitors? The answers will help you create varied and useful content. To make YouTube consider you a more professional expert, add a photo to your channel and fill out your profile information.
2. Think one step ahead. When a business publishes videos online, there is always a purpose behind it. An experienced chess player never rearranges pieces just like that. In your content, include a call to action, an announcement of the event, and talk about the next steps. This is necessary so that the audience remembers: “There will be a continuation. I’m interested, I’ll have to watch it!” Encourage comments, they can provide topics for future videos and strengthen engagement with your audience. Regularly analyze channel statistics to adjust your marketing strategy. The release of each video should be considered as testing a hypothesis.
3. Value. Highlight many small building blocks in your product that will become the basis of short videos on YouTube. In each video, put a grain of usefulness in order to be remembered as an expert solving a problem that is relevant to viewers. Insert reviews to increase confidence in the results of working with you.
4. Work with audience perception channels. For some this perception is auditory, for others visual is important. Work comprehensively: with color, music, fonts, image, then you get a complete picture. Support corporate colors in clothing and accessories.
   Use active links to quickly go to the company’s website, work with subtitles.
5. Use different platforms. Upload videos not only to the YouTube channel. Test the audience’s reaction to the same video on different networks. This way you not only save time, but also interact with different viewers.
6. Make your search easier. Use keywords, descriptions, tags, and attention-grabbing titles in the video description. When users search for information related to their query, the likelihood of finding your video will increase. Insert keys at the beginning of the title. Support keywords with synonyms. Create themed playlists. For those who are interested in the topic, it will be convenient to watch a selection of videos collected in one place.
7. Show interest. Follow the comments under the video and respond to them. This creates the impression that the expert is not behind a glass fence, but is interested in the opinions of subscribers.
8. Copyright. For personal peace of mind, edit and publish videos in which there is no risk of claims from the copyright holder.

Conclusion

YouTube shorts are an effective business promotion tool, especially for new channels. By spending a little time on editing, you can attract an unlimited number of new subscribers and turn them into loyal customers of your brand. Analyze your product’s benefits, strengths and differences from competitors. Convey a clear message and test different hypotheses, including video length. Happy promotion!