6 Tips To Go Viral On YouTube Shorts

 According to SproutSocial, over 30 billion daily views are generated from YouTube Shorts alone, and businesses are using the platform to reach more people and grow their brand awareness. 

Similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts are algorithmically driven and push content to new audiences — which gives brands an exceptional opportunity to accelerate their channel's growth and enhance their engagement metrics.

Thus, it is not surprising that large corporations and big brand players are trying to leverage YouTube Shorts to boost their marketing efforts. 

However, because of the ever-increasing competition to get attention, promoting your business on the platform can be challenging, and standing out in your niche can be quite a task. 

In this article, we will be sharing six of the most effective tips and tactics for going viral on YouTube Shorts that will help you achieve maximum brand awareness and give you the extra edge to outperform your competitors.

Source: SocialChamp

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6 Tips for Creating Engaging YouTube Shorts for Your Business

A well-executed YouTube Shorts strategy consists of the following:

1. Hook Your Viewers at the Start
2. Create Titles That Stand Out and Capture Attention
3. Optimize With Engaging Thumbnails
4. Keep Videos Brief and Valuable
5. Hold Your Audience’s Retention
6. Create New Content From Existing Materials

1. Hook Your Viewers at the Start

It is crucial to grab your audience's attention immediately and keep them engaged throughout the video. In today's fast-paced digital environment, viewers' attention spans are short, and their tolerance for content that fails to captivate their interest is even shorter. 
Creating an impactful opening that immediately hooks your audience can significantly increase the chances of your content going viral.
Once you have captured your audience's attention, keep them engaged by providing value and memorable content that aligns with their interests. There are several ways to do this, such as creative storytelling, injecting humor, and bringing in relatable experiences that will connect with your audience.

2. Create Titles That Stand Out and Capture Attention

With so much content and competition on the platform, your titles must stand out and entice people to click and watch your Shorts.

Optimizing your titles with relevant keywords and engaging language is essential to make them count. Use descriptive titles that accurately reflect the content of your Shorts and highlight their value for viewers.

When crafting titles for your YouTube Shorts, think out-of-the-box and make them attention-grabbing. Use descriptive language, ask questions, or even add some humor to make your titles stand out from the rest.

3. Optimize With Engaging Thumbnails

Source: vidIQ

A thumbnail is a preview image that appears alongside your Shorts' title and description. It is the first thing viewers see before they decide to click and watch your content.

To ensure that your YouTube Shorts stand out from the crowd and capture your audience's attention, you must create custom thumbnails that are visually appealing, relevant, and accurately represent your content.

Custom thumbnails allow you to optimize the visuals of your Shorts and make them look more professional, polished, and engaging. When designing your thumbnail, you should use high-quality images, contrasting colors, and easy-to-read text that reflects the topic and tone of your Shorts.

Moreover, it's important to remember that YouTube Shorts have a vertical aspect ratio. In other words, your thumbnails should be designed to fit the aspect ratio. This will ensure your thumbnail isn't cropped or distorted, and your viewers can see your entire content.

Source: Easil

In addition, regularly updating your custom thumbnails can help keep your Shorts fresh and relevant, which can increase engagement and retention rates. Consider updating your thumbnails periodically to reflect changes in your content or to experiment with different designs and styles.

4. Keep Videos Brief and Valuable

Viewers seek shorter, bite-sized content that can be consumed quickly on the go. By keeping your Shorts brief and impactful, you can maximize your chances of success and appeal to a wider audience. Remember, sometimes less is more.

Going short and snappy doesn’t mean your content quality will take a hit. The duration should not affect the value your content brings. YouTube Shorts that provide value help build a loyal and engaged audience that trusts your brand or channel, as it shows them that you care about their needs and are invested in their success. This helps establish you as an authority in your niche and attract new followers who appreciate your content.

When creating YouTube Shorts, consider providing tips, tutorials, advice, or entertainment that resonates with your audience. Be creative, engaging, and original, and ensure your Shorts are well-produced, visually appealing, and easy to follow.

LYFE Marketing is a prime example of how businesses can create engaging and informative content in under 30 seconds. This is all done without breaking the bank and utilizing a ton of labor.

Source: LYFE Marketing YouTube

In their Shorts, LYFE broke down the psychology behind each color. They simply got a talent to point at texts appearing in different parts of the video, and voila! LYFE was able to convey valuable information to its audience in a 28-second video while enhancing its visibility and engagement on the platform simultaneously.

5. Hold Your Audience’s Attention 

One of the ingredients to succeed with YouTube Shorts is keeping your viewers engaged throughout the entire video. However, keeping your audience's attention is not always easy; as sometimes, viewers may lose interest partway through your video.

To keep your audience engaged, it's crucial to re-hook them if you notice a drop in engagement. Think of it as a continuous effort to woo your audience. You can do this by changing up the pacing of your video, adding new elements to keep things fresh, or even using a cliffhanger to build suspense and encourage viewers to stick around for the entire duration of your video.

Another effective way to re-hook your audience is to ask questions, encourage comments, or add interactive elements to your Shorts. 

Source: VidIQ

This encourages the viewers to be more involved with your content, thus, increasing their level of interest and investment in your Shorts, as well as the retention time.

6. Create New Content From Existing Materials

By repurposing your existing content, you can create new and engaging Shorts that resonate with your audience while saving time and resources. 

To get started with repurposing your content, begin by analyzing your existing materials to identify potential areas for adaptation. This can include identifying key topics or themes that can be expanded upon or repackaged in a new format. For example, consider creating a series of Shorts that focuses on a specific subject or idea, using existing content as a foundation for your new materials.

Once you have identified potential areas for adaptation, the next thing on the to-do list would be to tailor your content to cater to the unique characteristics of YouTube Shorts. This might involve cutting down longer videos into shorter segments or repurposing static images into dynamic content.

Ali Abdaal, a popular YouTuber and content creator, is known for his informative and engaging podcast content. Recently, he leveraged the power of YouTube Shorts by repurposing a snippet from his podcast conversation with guest Lana Blakely.

Source: Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal 

During their conversation, Blakely shared her experience crossing 1 million YouTube subscribers and what she learned from the process. Abdaal recognized the value of this insight and turned it into a YouTube Short, condensing the message into a more concise and impactful format.

By creating a YouTube Short from this snippet, Abdaal was able to reach a wider audience and deliver valuable insights in a format that was easy to consume and share. The video gained traction quickly and garnered high engagement levels, proving this new medium's power for creators and businesses alike.

Skyrocket your Business with YouTube Shorts

With the massive amount of users actively utilizing the YouTube platform, YouTube Shorts offer an excellent opportunity for businesses to reach a wider audience and gain more engagement on their channel. Plenty of creative ways exist to create YouTube Shorts that can stand out, attract attention, and go viral. By utilizing these marketing hacks for YouTube Shorts, you now have the know-how to connect with your target audience and promote your brand effectively and engagingly.

Additional Reading

• Influencer Marketing: 5 Tips to Improve Your Strategy
• 8 Instagram Marketing Tips for B2B Companies
• 5 Elements of a Clickable Social Media Post