The Growth and Potential of Youtube Shorts

Tired of scrolling through Instagram Reels and TikTok? Well, now it’s time to add Youtube Shorts to your list of social accounts! Since the Launch of TikTok, everyone’s been playing catchup to the Chinese-based app. YouTube Shorts is Google’s answer to TikTok, which disrupted the video-sharing industry during the pandemic. Today, more than 1.5 billion monthly users engage on the platform through Shorts content. When you think about it, nearly 75% of the entire user base.

While you may be thinking, ‘great, another video app’, YouTube Shorts is actually making big waves for brands. For example, PokerStars, the largest poker channel worldwide, uploads several videos a week. When YouTube Shorts were integrated, the brand immediately capitalized on this. The YouTube Shorts showcase well-known “hands” of the world’s greatest poker players. After several weeks of testing, the YouTube Shorts proved to work better in many cases than the regular short videos on the channel. The Shorts generated some 600% more subscribers, compared to similar short clips on the YouTube channel. In the process, the Shorts generated so many views that they automatically made it into the top 3 best performing videos on the channel. Therefore, Shorts are now included in the poker brand’s YouTube strategy. 

Glossier sold products through Shorts in June 2022 by creating a challenge for users to try. Glossier gave a hundred influencers a new pencil eyeliner and encouraged them to create Shorts videos with the hashtag #WrittenInGlossier in the caption. People who tapped the hashtag were brought to the Glossier website. There, they could buy the eyeliner and were asked to recreate a look as part of the challenge. Any Shorts video that included the hashtag was shoppable.

Difference Between ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Lo-Fi’ Video Content

With the rise of video content, social media has drastically changed in the past couple of years. The pressure to make video content has never been higher, and some content creators feel the heat. But, a little spark can lead to a great fire, and the gasoline is ‘hi-fi’ and ‘lo-fi’ content. Let us explain:

At Recreation, we think of video content as either ‘hi-fi’ or ‘lo-fi.’ When you think of ‘hi-fi,’ you believe high-quality, best of the best; that’s what ‘hi-fi’ videos are. While hi-fi content is visually beautiful and tells excellent in-depth stories, there is something special about the shareability of the everyday phone video.

With the boom of video content in the past several years (thanks to TikTok & Instagram Reels) and enhancements of phone cameras, video content is never easier to create. One of the most significant parts of ‘lo-fi’ content is the simplicity and relatability. ‘Lo-fi’ videos intend to connect with those casually browsing social and their preference to consume content; no one likes a blatant ad.

When creating content, it’s essential to consider a couple of different varieties; platform (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), format (hi-fi vs. lo-fi), and how you plan to tell your story. Consider what you’re trying to communicate, your potential audience, your already loyal following, and what type of content is already performing well on your channels. Knowing the difference between ‘hi-fi’ and ‘lo-fi’ content and your audience will be the key to your success when crafting actual Reels.