The way people consume content is changing, and it’s been changing for a while now. Users prefer short-form videos that immediately claim their attention and keep them entertained. Studies indicate that videos under 30 seconds have a 60% higher completion rate than longer videos.
Here’s where YouTube Shorts make their appearance. They not only respond to a new trend or change in consumer behavior but also as a brand new way to create and share content on the platform.
The first thing you need to do to create a viral Youtube Shorts is finding a trend or popular topic in your niche. Once you have the idea, combining it with good and fast storytelling, music and visual effects, descriptions, hashtags and text overlays in a vertical format is the recipe to success. Even if you don’t make it at your first try, keep posting Shorts!
Shorts represent a golden opportunity for YouTubers aiming to increase views and engagement producing viral content that can boost their discoverability. In this article we’ll explore everything you need to know about YouTube Shorts and how to go viral. Let’s dive in!
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos with short duration, typically between 60 seconds and 3 minutes.
Unlike a long form video, Shorts don’t take very long to record and have pretty high view potential.
Shorts are not only YouTube’s way to compete with Instagram Reels or TikTok. They truly offer an opportunity to expand your content reach on the platform.
YouTube Shorts can:
Also, Shorts content is actively boosted by YouTube’s algorithm that pushes short content to users making it easier for Shorts to go viral compared to long-form videos.
YouTube has a different algorithm for Shorts than the one used for long-form videos. Before pushing Shorths to a larger audience, YouTube’s algorithm first tested them out on the Shorts Shelf with smaller audiences.
YouTube algorithm goes to a 3 steps process with Shorts.
YouTube will show your Shorts to a small group of viewers.
If viewers engage with your content by leaving comments, sharing, liking or rewatching, the algorithm will push it to even more users.
The algorithm decides whether to send it to a much larger audience, sometimes causing explosive growth overnight.
YouTube’s algorithm tests Shorts based on early engagement (likes, shares, and comments) and how often the video is rewatched. These factors are key in determining whether the video will be promoted to a larger audience or not.
Knowing and understanding how the algorithm works and the key factors affecting your shorts potential performance, as a YouTuber you can really increase your chances of creating viral content.
Once you understand how the algorithm works, it’s really important to keep up with any changes YouTube makes in order to consistently improve your Shorts in order to get more views, subscribers and potentially long for video loyal viewers.
Here are some useful tips to take into account when producing your new Shorts:
YouTube’s view retention minimum is slowly getting higher. If you get that minimum required the platform will push your Shorts. So in order to make sure you can still achieve a minimum baseline, you can make your new videos a few seconds longer than your old ones in order to keep up.
This does not mean you should be creating 2 minute long shorts, just add a couple extra seconds to ensure your viewers watch the minimum necessary for your Shorts to boost.
Take advantage of your channel’s analytics and use them as a guide for creating new relevant content. How? Go To YouTube Studio, then click on Analytics and go to the Trends tab.
Here you can type in the search bar the topic you are thinking about for a new video and see the interest rate YouTube provides for that particular idea. Pro tip: only pursue those with the legend “Very high interest” so you’ll have more chances of going viral.
Rather than in longer videos, users recently noticed that YouTube has some kind of penalty on Shorts where the creator uses the word “link”. This is mainly because YouTube does not want the user to leave the platform. So think of a new way to redirect viewers to wherever you want them to go. You can try sentences like “go to my web” or “check out the pin comment” or any other way that does not involve the word link.
Find the best way to include hashtags on your Shorts. Use 3 or 5 relevant hashtags focusing on trending topics. Understand why they matter and how to properly add them in order to take advantage of their potential. The best place to add them is right behind your title.
Choose hashtags relevant to what you are talking about but also with the bigger channels and videos. Before uploading your Short, you can see different hashtags recommendations and you can also type your own and check how many channels and views it got.
More people watching Shorts without the sound on so make sure your shorts have text on the screen.
Give your viewers a good reason to comment on your Shorts. The more comments you get, the more views you are gonna get. So, respond back, interact with your audience.
YouTube knows that most viewers are passive ones. So viewers who actively comment on videos are considered Ideal Viewers. Taking the time to comment really shows interest in your videos so the algorithm will show your video to similar users, boosting your discoverability.
There are 2 key metrics you should never let your eyes off: “Average percentage view” and “how many choose to view”.
To check the Average Percentage View you can go to YouTube Studio, click on “Analytics” and right in the “Overview” tab you’ll find the metric.
For videos under 30 seconds, aim for 100% audience retention. For videos longer than 30 seconds, aim for over 80% retention.
To check how many people watch your video, you can go to YouTube Studio, click on “Analytics” and then on the “Reach” tab.
The ideal scenario is to have over 80% under “how many choose to view, indicating that your title, thumbnail, and topic are compelling to the audience. You can achieve this by creating a relevant Short, using a good topic that stands out for your ideal viewers.
The best recipe to viral short involves these steps:
8 Steps to make a YouTube Shorts go viral:
There are also 3 key ingredients each one of your Shorts must have.
1. A Hook: On every Short you must grab viewers attention in the first seconds. Mastering the hook in the first 3 seconds is everything.
2. Ideal Length: Viral shorts typically last 15 to 30 seconds. Shorter videos tend to have higher retention rates, increasing the chances of looping and boosting engagement.
3. Good editing: Great editing skills and rhythm pacing of your videos is key to keeping viewers engaged. Fast cuts, smooth transitions, text overlays, and dynamic effects help maintain attention.
Even though viral Shorts are often between 15-30 seconds, it's the quality of the hook and content that ultimately drives engagement. Sometimes your shorts can get stuck after reaching a certain amount of views. Here are a free extra tips you can include into your shorts creative strategy to break the flat views line cycle.
From the idea, to writing the titles to editing, here is the viral recipe for high performing shorts:
The idea is the most important thing. If you have a bad video idea, your short will never go viral, no matter how good your script or editing skills are.
So look for trends in your niche, find out what people are searching for or relevant things that are happening around your niche.
If you are passionate about your niche you already know what's trending. It’s like you are a part of your own audience so you know what they want to watch.
The script is everything. Is the structure of your Short. Write concise yet no short scripts.
Take your time to dive deeper into details, while making sure to include a strong hook to get viewers attention. Make a story so people watch to learn what happens at the end.
The voice is really important as it is what is going to tell your story. You can either record yourself as a narrator of your own script or use AI text to speech tools to elaborate the voiceover.
Use your preferred editing software. Take your voice and drag it to the clips. Listen to see if it sounds natural.
Use captions, a simple element that increases retention. You can add sound effects or music, whatever it is you feel enhances the experience while watching your Short.
Once you have your masterpiece, it’s time to publish. Remember that having a posting schedule will always help you keep up with posting and this shows YouTube that you are really put in the effort.
Once you publish your Short, be patient! Very few videos go viral overnight, most of the time it takes a little bit longer.
Pro tip: Don't put all your hope on one video! Keep making Shorts that will improve your skills while also providing more content for your viewers. You can check out our article on Best Tools For Creators to discover new ways of creating high quality content for your audience!
Follow these 5 extra tips to make sure your short goes viral!
1. Make SEO your Ally: Write a SEO friendly title, description and tags. Find relevant keywords in your niche and use them in your favour to hit as many views as possible.
2. Use Top Music: Go to the “trend” tab and click on “music” to find what songs are more popular at the moment and find ways to add them to your shorts. Using the right song can really boost your short visibility.
3. Create a Shorts Collection: Having a series of Shorts will help keep our audience hooked. The series creates a natural flow they can follow from one piece to the next. Let people know that there's more to watch on the topic to encourage them to watch more.
4. Take Care Of Your Audience: Always interact with your viewers. Comment back to them, ask them what they want to see. Every comment pushes your short towards more views.
5. Keep Posting, Keep Learning: Success is always about consistency. Make different kinds of shorts and track their performance. Experiment with different titles and hooks, use different types of music and always check how your viewers react to your content to find out what they like the most.
Here are some content ideas you can explore to try and make viral Shorts.
If you want your Shorts to go viral, here are three important things you need to be cautious about.
1. Audio Quality: Always make sure the audio quality is good. Also, always include captions for those viewers who watch content on silent mode.
2. Importance Of Trends: Never ignore trends. Always be connected to your audience and the topics they are interested in. They will guide your content creation.
3. Use of AI: Be careful when using AI. YouTube does not monetize mass produce or repetitive content generated by AI tools. You can always check YouTube guidelines and policies to make sure you are not breaking any rules.
The best time to post shorts on YouTube is around 12 pm and 6 pm during the week and 9 am to 7 pm on weekends.
However, shorts work a little differently than regular videos as they are more likely to go viral. This is why while creating shorts you must explore different posting hours in order to find the one that works best for your content.
Posting consistently is also going to increase your chances of appearing on the viewers feed, boosting your visibility!
If you don’t know when to post, you can check out our article on Best Time To Post on YouTube!
As a YouTuber you can maximize your YouTube income strategy by adding Shorts to your catalogue.
YouTube Shorts can work as a trailer for your longer content. You can experience using shorts as a way to give people a taste of your style while you keep finding what works best for you, your content and your audience.
Your viewers can watch shorts related to longer videos of your own and then decide to go watch a longer video on that topic. Shorts can be a great way to promote long-form videos. Also, with time you can convert those massive shorts viewers into subscribers, increasing the loyal audience of your channel.
Shorts help you increase your monetization opportunities. Not only by getting more people to watch your videos and subscribe to your channel but also as they have their own monetization streams such as Fan Funding, YouTube Shop and the Shorts Fund.
If you want to learn more about how to make money with Shorts, go check our article on YouTube Shorts Monetization!
Shorts are a huge part of YouTube and they can be a huge part of your content strategy.
While creating content is always important to think of the people we are creating that content for. Looking out for trends, using the appropriate hashtags and crafting an intriguing yet easy to follow story, is the right recipe to success.
People want short, interesting, catching content. As a Youtuber if you manage to provide that, your chances of getting viral increase day by day. But don’t forget that, as always, consistency is the key. Don’t get discouraged if your first Short does not go viral. Massive outcomes take time, just trust your content!
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