With TikTok, Instagram and Facebook Reels and now YouTube shorts, social media platforms are focusing on short-form video content. Creating short-form video content for your law firm and personal brand is a great way to grow your visibility and generate more cases.
YouTube shorts initially came out in 2021 and back then the algorithm was very different than it is right now. Back then it used a separate algorithm to deliver shorts content. In August 2022, YouTube modified the algorithm to recommend long-form content to subscribers and viewers (even if they only viewed your YouTube shorts content in the past). This is great news!
YouTube Shorts Clips
You can use your existing YouTube videos to create a YouTube Shorts clip. Open the YouTube app or your account on a desktop browser. Tap the clip button below the video to open a pop-up that will show the clips interface. YouTube will automatically create a 15-second clip that starts at your video’s current timestamp or you can use the slider to adjust the start and end times of the clip that you wish to utilize.
Once you have picked the clip you want to use, give it a title that meets their 140-character limit requirement. Titling your YouTube shorts is important for discoverability; you want to make sure that you’re coming up with a descriptive SEO-optimized title that is captivating.
Creating Shorts From Scratch
The other way to create content for YouTube shorts is to use the CapCut app. This app can be found on the Apple App store or the Google Play store. This is a great app to use to create short form video content whether you’re creating content for TikTok, Instagram reels or for YouTube shorts. It even has built-in templates and themes which allow you to create professional looking short form video content at the push of a button.
Repurpose Long-Form Videos into YouTube Shorts
I would suggest downloading the YouTube app to repurpose your long-form content. It makes it simple to edit your long-form content in the app and you can tap the remix button and you can edit it into shorts. Your YouTube shorts can be up to 60 seconds, or you can make them shorter if you want.
It is important to put a call to action in your YouTube shorts if you want to drive traffic back to your main channel. One of the advantages of YouTube shorts is that can help you gain more subscribers and reach more viewers directly on YouTube.
You can add a link to the description as a call to action. You can also use the in-video elements to direct your viewer’s attention by telling them where to tap to see the full video.
Activate or Deactivate ‘Clip Your Content’ Feature
There is a feature in YouTube that allows your viewers to clip your content. Make sure you make a conscious decision to activate it or deactivate it for clips. If you don’t want other users to be able to clip your content and talk about it, then make sure that you disable that feature.
Share Your Clips on Social Media to Expand Reach
You can expand your reach by sharing your YouTube clips to other social media platforms. Copy and paste the link to share it to your Facebook or Instagram stories.
Monitor Your YouTube Clips Performance
To monitor the performance of your content, open your YouTube library and check out the number of views for each clip to see which ones are generating more interest and traffic. Another data point you should look at is how viewers are finding your shorts. Are they finding them via channel pages, browse features, via other YouTube features, externally, or a direct link. By knowing where your traffic is coming from, you can make informed decisions on your YouTube Shorts strategy.
YouTube Shorts is Hot Right Now
YouTube is really pushing YouTube Shorts right now! You want to jump on this opportunity because a lot of traffic is coming via YouTube shorts. YouTube is even showcasing YouTube Shorts online. When I was watching YouTube on my TV, it even showed me shorts on there. That indicates they are making a big push and you can take advantage of that and get more visibility for your law firm and personal brand.
