by Google
YouTube Shorts are growing! This short video format has become one of the fastest growing formats on the platform. That's why YouTube has introduced several changes and improvements in recent weeks to make it easier for Shorts creators to work, increase their reach, and offer new ways to engage and monetize their content. If you're one of these creators, here are the key news you shouldn't miss.
Views are counted from the first second
YouTube is changing the way it counts views on Shorts. This change should have a significant impact on how creators perceive the success of their videos. Now, a view will be counted from the first moment a video is started or replayed. This eliminates any minimum watch time that was previously required to count a view.
At the same time, the previous metric is also retained, which is now given a new name, “engaged views”. It indicates cases when a viewer not only starts the video, but also continues to watch it. Engaged views will continue to be used, for example, when assessing eligibility for entry into the YouTube Partner Program.
What does this mean for you? Thanks to this change, you will get a more accurate and comprehensive overview of how your Shorts are reaching the audience. Especially if you share your videos on other platforms, you will have a clearer picture of how many people actually saw them, whether they watched the entire video or just quickly clicked through it.
,,This is a step that creators will appreciate, especially in terms of psychology. Finally, that first burst of attention will not be lost when someone just quickly clicks through the video. Short formats are fast and impulsive, so metrics should also be set fairly. Of course, engaged views will still be important, but this will help you better gauge overall interest."
A new and more powerful editor for Shorts
Cutting and editing Shorts will now be much easier. YouTube is improving the editor so that creators can quickly and easily create videos that are not only fun but also professionally processed. New options include:
Import multiple media at once - you no longer have to add photos or videos one by one. Just select all the necessary files from the gallery at once and work with them right away.
Automatic timing to music - thanks to YouTube's rich music library, you can choose a song and the editor will automatically adjust timing your clips to the beat of the music.
Advanced editing – the editor will allow you to zoom in and precisely time individual parts of the video so you can choose the best moments and fine-tune them according to your own imagination.
,,The editor is often the place where creators give up after five minutes. Anyone who has edited something there knows what I'm talking about. YouTube is finally taking a step towards making the whole process less technical and more intuitive."
Templates and stickers for faster content creation
With this step too, YouTube is thinking about simplicity and speed of creation. The latest improvement is working with templates and creating stickers. With templates, you will no longer have to upload individual segments one by one, but instead you will be able to select all the desired clips or photos at once, which will make the whole process faster and more efficient. The result? Less tedious clicking, more time for creative creation.
Also new is the ability to create your own stickers directly from your gallery. Just take a photo of a new outfit, a favorite object or any other visual element and create a sticker from this photo, which you can insert into your Short.
In addition, there is also support for AI generation of stickers. With a simple prompt, you can have a sticker created based on your own ideas, for example “pink jacket” or “sunglasses”. Creating visually colorful and fun Shorts will be faster, easier, and more original.
Shorts can be up to 3 minutes
YouTube, like other platforms, is extending the maximum length of short form videos. Shorts have been extended to 3 minutes, opening up completely new possibilities for creators. What does this mean in practice?
More space to tell stories – you are no longer limited to just a few seconds. You can tell the whole story, or share something more in-depth.
Longer how-tos and tutorials – ideal for beauty tips, recipes, DIYs, or sharing expert advice.
Experiment with format – you don't have to stick to a fast pace. You can also afford to start slower, develop an idea, or combine different styles.
Longer Shorts can give you more creative freedom and you don't have to stress about not being able to convey what you want to your viewers in the video. And thanks to the fact that YouTube is constantly improving its recommendation algorithm, both 15-second jokes and 3-minute mini-stories have a chance to catch on.
,,I see the extension to three minutes as a response to TikTok's popularity, but also as a great opportunity. Many creatives have felt they had to shorten their ideas, now they have the space to develop a point or add value."
Monetization is growing
Since YouTube added Shorts to the Partner Program, short videos have become not only a great format for reaching an audience, but also a real opportunity to earn money. Interestingly, many creators enter the world of monetization precisely thanks to Shorts.
Short formats are fast, easy to produce and, thanks to the vertical format, adapted to viewers who watch videos on mobile. YouTube Shorts can become a stable and varied source of income for you.
The Future of Shorts? Even More AI and Creative Possibilities
YouTube is aiming to make video creation as fast, intuitive and accessible even to those who don't have technical skills. Generative AI becomes an assistant, for example, in automatically creating a video based on a text description.
Imagine that you just write a few sentences and YouTube helps you create a scene, music, and visuals. Added to this is the voice over function, which creates an entire video, including commentary, from a simple idea. What do you think?
Source: Creator Inside
