Market Your Business With YouTube Shorts

While still a relatively new creation, YouTube Shorts has quickly become yet another popular way for businesses to reach consumers where they spend the vast majority of their time: online. Plus, given that the average attention span is just eight seconds, these short videos allow your content to be shared in a format and length that your audience prefers.

We know that short-form video has the highest ROI and is projected to see the most growth of any social media trend, according to HubSpot’s 2023 Social Media Marketing Report. In fact, one-third of social media marketers plan to invest more in short-form video than any other format. To add to this, a recent State of Video Marketing survey from Wyzowl revealed that 87% of marketers have found video to have a direct, positive impact on their sales.

Not only can Shorts create more engagement for your YouTube channel, but they also help grow your subscribers and connect with them on a more personal level.

So, What Are YouTube Shorts?

In March 2021, YouTube ventured into the world of short-form video when it launched YouTube Shorts in the U.S. Since then, it has earned 6.5 billion daily views globally. Known as “Shorts,” these videos enable businesses and other content creators to produce engaging, fun and informative video content that is 60 seconds or less—all with just a smartphone.

Of course, YouTube Shorts isn’t a new concept. In fact, the first-ever upload to YouTube was an 18-second clip shared back in 2005. What’s different, though, is its ability to drive people to subscribe to your channel. This is a great opportunity for businesses and content creators alike to build greater brand recognition and engagement.

To get started, you can simply add the Shorts widget to your existing YouTube channel. This will allow viewers to enjoy all of your video content in one place. Not only are Shorts more likely to be shared and engaged with, but they ultimately help drive more subscriptions to your channel.

People can find your Shorts in multiple locations, such as tapping the Shorts tab at the bottom of the YouTube app. Additionally, your viewers can find them on the YouTube homepage, directly on your channel page, or even through notifications for relevant content.

How YouTube Shorts Can Benefit Your Business

With all of this in mind, let’s talk about how YouTube Shorts can be used to benefit your business. From a marketing standpoint, the potential for short-form video content really has no limits—but there are four main ways we’ve seen YouTube Shorts be used in the B2B space:

1. Promote Your Brand’s Content

Utilizing YouTube Shorts effectively can help to build your existing channel. Every time you post a Short, it’s a chance for new viewers to stumble upon your content and potentially turn into subscribers and/or engage with your regular channel.

Creating short videos on YouTube can boost your channel’s overall engagement, which is a key factor that determines how YouTube ranks content. This will increase your brand’s visibility, meaning that more people will end up seeing your videos in their feeds.

2. Provide A “Behind the Scenes” Look

You don’t have to plan and perfect every YouTube Short you create. Adding behind-the-scenes (BTS) footage lets your viewers get an informal, insider’s look at your brand—from the launch of a new product or service, to recent projects you’re working on and showcasing your company culture. By making your content more engaging and relatable, this will help build authentic connections with your audience.

BTS footage is particularly popular among younger generations like Millennials and Gen-Z, as it reinforces the notion of brand authenticity. This builds trust with your target audience and helps them connect with your brand on a deeper level—which ultimately makes them more likely to become a loyal supporter and advocate of your business.

3. Capitalize on Popular Trends

By creating YouTube Shorts, brands can capitalize on the latest—and perhaps even viral—trends on social media as a way to give your video content a more timely and relatable edge. Examples include participating in a viral challenge as a way to promote company culture, subject matter experts sharing their perspective on hot issues, or company leaders sharing company announcements as another way to build transparency from the top.

However you choose to use YouTube Shorts for the marketing of your business, making sure to stay up to date with the latest video trends will give your brand a modern feel and may just be what you need to get your videos noticed.

4. Get More Bang for Your Buck

Cost efficiency is one of the biggest benefits of using YouTube Shorts as part of your overall video marketing strategy. All you need is your smartphone to create the videos—there’s no need for any fancy equipment or production team.

Shorts can be produced quickly, easily and at virtually no cost, aside from your time. Ultimately, this allows your team to reap the benefits of short-form video content while also saving your valuable marketing budget for other high-priority investments.