Is your brand active on YouTube Shorts yet? This post digs into best practices and tips to help you nail your YouTube Shorts marketing strategy.
If marketing on YouTube Shorts isn't on your radar, it totally should be.
Especially if you're already used to partnering with influencers on TikTok and Instagram.
Given everything going on with TikTok recently, it's no surprise that collaborations with YouTube Shorts creators are growing.
Although many brands are still learning the platform, now's the time to learn the ropes of YouTube Shorts marketing and what it takes to get started.
This post breaks it all down!
Building your brand's presence on YouTube Shorts might seem daunting. That said, it might be much easier than you'd think if you have experience creating or sourcing short-form video content.
To kick things off, let's look at some YouTube Shorts strategies for brands to consider.
Shorts allow brands to connect with audiences authentically, providing bite-sized content that entertains, informs and inspires.
Here are some creative ways to keep your Shorts engaging, including UGC videos that incorporate real customers and creators posting on behalf of your brand:
Behind-the-scenes content. Give viewers an exclusive look at what goes on behind closed doors. This could be a sneak peek into product development, a day in the life of your team or the process behind creating your products.
Product demos & tutorials. Showcase your products in action by creating quick, informative demonstrations. Tutorials that highlight real-world use cases help potential customers see the value of your product while making the content genuinely useful.
Customer testimonials & UGC. Let your customers tell your brand’s story through authentic testimonials and UGC. Featuring real people who love your product builds credibility and encourages trust among new viewers.
Through testing and experimenting, your analytics can clue you in on the types of videos that should be the cornerstone of your YouTube Short marketing strategy. This is important when it comes to ranking with social SEO, especially considering that Google owns YouTube!
YouTube Shorts ads appear between organic videos, making them a great way for brands to reach highly engaged users. These ads are designed for quick impact, capturing attention while users scroll through Shorts content.
Here's a snapshot of the ad formats currently available for YouTube Shorts:
Video action campaigns. These ads help drive conversions by adding clear CTA buttons that encourage viewers to visit a website, sign up or make a purchase.
App install ads. These ads include direct download links, making it easy for users to install apps directly from the ad.
Awareness campaigns. If your goal is to boost brand visibility, non-skippable short-form ads can maximize reach and keep your brand top-of-mind for viewers.
We predict that YouTube will soon introduce more advanced and streamlined influencer ads like TikTok and Instagram as the platform continues to boom.
Partnering with YouTube Shorts creators is already paying off for many brands. You'll likely find that many of your brand's TikTok and Instagram influencers are active YouTube creators, too.
Brands can use platforms such as Statusphere to find and activate YouTube Shorts creators for their campaigns. Here are some tips and opportunities to consider beyond that:
Find relevant influencers using YouTube’s Creator Marketplace. This tool helps brands discover and connect with creators who align with their niche and target audience.
Partner with micro-influencers for cost-effective brand integrations. Micro-influencers can be a budget-friendly way to integrate your brand into authentic, engaging content.
Use BrandConnect to streamline paid creator partnerships. YouTube’s BrandConnect platform helps brands set up and manage paid influencer collaborations, making the process smoother and more scalable.
To maximize your existing short-form video strategy, consider how you can build your YouTube Shorts marketing presence with posts from TikTok and Instagram Reels. However, each platform has its own preferences and algorithmic rules, so a few tweaks can help optimize performance:
By implementing these strategies, brands can leverage YouTube Shorts to grow their audience, increase engagement and drive meaningful results across multiple platforms.
Again, many brands have already migrated to YouTube Shorts and are crushing to on the platform. The following brands can serve as inspiration for your own strategy.
GAP knows that influencer marketing and storytelling go hand in hand. The brand regularly partners with creators to share try-on hauls, styling tips and behind-the-scenes content.
These short-form videos help bring GAP’s clothing to life in an authentic, engaging way that resonates with fashion-focused audiences.
Oreo regularly shares UGC featuring creators in recipe videos, taste tests and playful challenges.
By tapping into food trends and creative ways to enjoy their cookies, Oreo keeps its audience entertained while making its product the star of the show.
This beauty brand uses YouTube Shorts to extend the reach of its product launches and beauty tutorials.
The brand also leans on creator testimonials to showcase real results, reinforcing its commitment to inclusivity and high-performance beauty products. By repurposing longer content into bite-sized clips, Fenty keeps its audience engaged while maximizing content efficiency.
Before executing your strategy, you need to get the basics squared away! Optimizing your brand's YouTube Shorts content starts with understanding the platform's key specs and best practices.
Here's a summary of YouTube Shorts video specs to know:
YouTube Shorts are designed for a mobile-first experience, so they should always be in a 9:16 aspect ratio. That’s the standard vertical format viewers expect.
The ideal resolution is 1920x1080 pixels for crisp and high-quality visuals.
Shorts can be up to 3 minutes long but keeping them shorter helps to retain viewers.
YouTube supports MP4 and MOV files, which are common and widely compatible.
Brands can use music, voiceovers, original sound and audio linked to existing YouTube videos.
Whether through your brand's original content or repurposed influencer content, here are five ways to make your YouTube Shorts more effective.
The Shorts algorithm prioritizes videos that hook viewers immediately. Whether it's an eye-catching visual, a bold statement or a question that sparks curiosity, make those opening moments count. This aligns with research on TikTok and Reels length notes that short-form videos under 30 seconds receive more engagement
Many viewers watch Shorts without sound, so adding captions ensures your message still gets across. Text overlays can also highlight key points and keep viewers engaged. This helps with thumbnails, too: consider that 90% of YouTube's top-performing videos use custom thumbnails.
Overly promotional content doesn’t perform as well as authentic and unfiltered reviews from real people. Instead of pushing a hard sell, focus on storytelling, entertainment or value-driven content that naturally incorporates your brand.
Whether it’s encouraging viewers to like, comment, subscribe or visit your website, make sure there’s a clear next step. A simple on-screen prompt or voiceover cue can go a long way.
Using relevant hashtags improves discoverability and helps YouTube categorize your content correctly, increasing the chances of it being shown to the right audience.
These tips highlight how brands need to be mindful of their strategies and make sure that the content they post to YouTube Shorts has an appropriate audience. Active hashtags can clue you in!
Much like short-form channels like TikTok and Instagram Reels have taken off, so is YouTube Shorts.
Granted your audience is there, establishing your presence on the platform is a smart move.
The best way to see what works for your brand is to start experimenting with Shorts sooner rather than later. Try different content styles, test various CTAs and track performance to see what clicks.
If you need to find YouTube Shorts creators to power your presence on the platform, Statusphere's influencer marketing platform can help.
Our software makes it easy to partner with vetted YouTube Shorts creators, with no manual searching or outreach required.
Want to see how our platform works? Get in touch with our team and learn how we can help you scale your influencer marketing efforts in a fraction of the time.
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