Finished your long-form content but stuck fitting it into a 60-second YouTube Short? Deciding what stays and what goes might just need one more coffee—and a long walk to think it through!
YouTube has eased this brainstorming task for you with the new average length of YouTube Short update. Yes, YouTube Shorts just got three times longer!
Now, you can create up to three minutes of content, which will still be regarded as Shorts. So, that pending lengthy content or live stream can now drive viewers by posting it as Shorts without compromising the content. Yearning for more details about such a problem solving update? Scroll to learn all about the new YouTube short length.
What Are YouTube Shorts?
Released in 2020, YouTube Shorts are the platform’s own version of Instagram reels and TikTok. A short vertical video can be uploaded as unique content or complementary to the long-form content. Capable of hooking the audience and giving a glimpse of the channel, it is an effective tool for creators to enhance their reach.
Format
The YouTube Shorts are available in full-screen formation. The video must be in a vertical orientation with a 9:16 aspect ratio and 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels. It used to be a maximum of 60 seconds in length. The users could also use audio from YouTube’s library or other videos for up to 60 seconds. However, the new update has changed the average length of YouTube short, extending it up to 3 minutes.
Significance
As per studies, the attention span of millennials lasts no longer than 12 seconds, while that of Gen Z taps out at 8 seconds. This trend has fueled the rise of YouTube Shorts. With the audience wanting instant gratification, quick and concise content loaded with information is mostly preferred. With Shorts, the easy shareability further contributes to gaining watch time and increasing the reach. The small average length of YouTube Short plays a crucial role in earning a high engagement rate.
Benefits of the Longer Format for Creators and Marketers
For creators who struggled to fill in all the information in a short span of 60 seconds, the YouTube update offers relief. The new length for YouTube Shorts adds flexibility to include more content. Thus, the new update is an effective option to eliminate the time limit while keeping the engagement rate high for creators and marketers.
What’s New With the 3-Minute Shorts Feature?
The 3 min YouTube Short feature is not to be understood as a new addition or replacement. Rather, it simply extends the existing feature to increase the max length for YouTube Shorts. Remember that the time limit has increased while other factors remain the same. The feature is applicable for the videos uploaded on or after October 15, 2024, with a square or vertical aspect ratio and the mentioned duration. The video monetisation will also be according to the Shorts revenue-sharing model.
Benefits of the 3-Minute Shorts Expansion
The three-minute max length YouTube Shorts will offer the following promising benefits:
Increased Audience Engagement
The increased duration of YouTube Short videos allows creators to incorporate creativity to gain engagement along with more information to enhance quality. The feature allows the inclusion of compelling beginnings rather than the fast-paced direct skipping to a topic without context. For certain topics and videos, stepwise procedures are also possible to incorporate, eliminating the need to rush by cutting the frames or important details.
Enhanced Monetization Potential
The longer length of a YouTube Short offers better and increased opportunities to incorporate sponsorships or shoutouts. It comes along without compromising on content quality.
Maintaining Viewer Interest Throughout the Longer Format
With the short human attention span, the 3 min YouTube Short format allows to enhance the engagement. Further, there is the freedom to incorporate a compelling narrative by eliminating unnecessary fillers while still offering substantial content.
More Creative Freedom for Storytelling and Content Creation
The enough time duration for YouTube Shorts while keeping the content small also allows creators to experiment with different storytelling formats, themes and transitions. The content developers can also explore the inclusion of multiple aspects of a topic in one Short.
Tips for Creating Effective 3-Minute Shorts
Developing a 3 min YouTube Short will encompass challenges and opportunities. Here is how to navigate through it while sticking to the stated length of YouTube Short:
Content Strategy
Developing longer content compared to the short form requires strategy and a more structured approach to delivering engaging content. A properly planned narrative, the sequence of content, and other key factors will contribute to keeping the viewers hooked without overwhelming them. Divide the YouTube Short length into clear beginning, middle and end. Further, do conclude the video with open-ended questions, messages or key takeaways.
Optimising Viewer Retention
While this is a short form of content, keeping the viewers engaged is necessary. It can be made possible with dynamic editing techniques such as transitions, animation, quick cuts and other aspects to maintain visual interest. Avoiding filler content while keeping the environment light with humour or entertainment (depending on the content and context) can contribute to effective viewer retention. Planning about the flow of content can help here.
SEO Best Practices
While the discoverability is expected to increase with the 3 min YouTube Short length, the strategic workflow can further enhance the scenario. The addition of relevant keywords and descriptions, as well as the incorporation of subtitles and captions, can contribute in this sense. Do focus on researching the keywords and be updated with hashtags.
Cross-Promotion
Shorts can also be leveraged to preview the long form of content or drive traffic towards the channel. A cliffhanger or exciting and interesting moments can be converted into a YouTube Short to develop curiosity among viewers, making them look for long forms of content.
Future of YouTube Shorts
The future holds a lot for creators. The ‘Dream Screen’ is an AI-based YouTube feature that is currently in the experimental phase. The feature will allow you to incorporate any imaginary scenario into the Shorts. All the creators need to do is state their image or video-based requirements as prompts to the AI. The output will be used as a green screen background for the Short.
Another existing YouTube Short update that the viewers can benefit from includes YouTube Vertical live streaming. This live streaming appears to the viewers while scrolling past the YouTube Shorts. It enhances the accessibility to the audience due to the high engagement rate of the short form of content.
Tips for Success With 3-Minute Shorts
With an inherited better engagement rate in 3 min YouTube Short length, the creators need to focus on keeping the viewers hooked for the duration. Developing a plan for the same is highly recommended by incorporating interesting features or developing a unique style. The value-driven content will lead the videos to people’s feeds as per the changes in the YouTube algorithm. Hence, focussing on the same is another necessity.
Incorporation of engaging photos, music and videos can effectively contribute to the same. Gaining access to high-quality content while complying with copyright rules can be challenging. Leverage the Promo.com’s library of over 110M pictures and videos. They also offer pre-licensed music for creators for sustainable content development and monetisation.
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Conclusion
Earning engagement while maintaining quality is the essence of content creation on YouTube. YouTube Shorts, being highly engagement-driven, are a powerful content format that boosts reach. Understanding their significance, YouTube has launched the update, allowing up to three minutes of content to be regarded as Shorts. It holds promising opportunities for creators who can strategise the content according to the new average length of YouTube Short.
To aid in gaining followers, creators can make use of the Youtube Video Promotion Platform. Offering real viewers through the promotion of the content, the users can opt to promote YouTube music videos or also promote YouTube gaming videos. The organic growth is just a click away.