In 2020, Google leveled up its standing with platforms like Instagram and Tik-Tok that offer bite-sized video content by rolling out YouTube Shorts. As the vertical is gaining popularity, the company is set to give creators and advertisers a chance to monetize their efforts.
“YouTube Shorts is averaging over 30 billion daily views that’s 4x as much as a year ago,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, and Alphabet, during the Alphabet Q1 2022 Earning Conference Call, held on April 26, 2022.
Advertisers Have Been Leveraging YouTube Ads for A Long Time
According to Nielsen, from the entire ad-supported streaming watch time on connected TVs, YouTube makes up for over 50% of the watch time. That’s huge, isn’t it?
These statistics clearly portray the natural monopoly owned by this platform when it comes to ads.
Brands and investors are aware of these staggering percentages, which is why they increasingly partner with the industry giant to reach their target audiences.
For example, Warner Bros. leveraged YouTube to tap the right audience for The Batman promotion, contributing to its jaw-dropping $134 million revenue in the opening weekend.
Taking YouTube Shorts to the Next Level
So far, the video streaming platform has a dedicated YouTube Shorts Fund of $100 million to support creators. Through this fund, creators can bag bonuses of up to $10,000 for creating extraordinary content that grabs eyeballs if they qualify the eligibility criteria.
However, the recent update increases this amount, letting creators earn a bonus of over $10,000. Now that’s an attractive offer, isn’t it? But that is not all.
To further expand on this growth, the tech giant is exploring the ad domain in this short video vertical.
“We’re testing ads on Shorts with products like App Install and Video Action Campaigns. And while it’s still early days, we’re encouraged by initial advertiser feedback and results,” said Philipp Schindler, Chief Business Officer, Google, during the conference call.
What More Do YouTube Shorts Have in Store for Creators?
It’s clear how YouTube Shorts could be the next big monetization source for digital creators. An even better piece of news is that this segment does not limit your ways to make money from this vertical to ads.
Here’s what more you can expect from YouTube Shorts in the near future:
- Reply to comments by making a Short
- Exciting new editing features and video effects
- Super chat (funding by fans)
- Live shopping from a Short
- Selling unique videos, art, and photos in the form of NFTs
These are some of the many cool features that YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, introduced in their blog on Community, Collaboration, and Commerce.
During the conference call, Philipp Schindler further adds, “We’re deeply committed to supporting the next generation of mobile creators here on YouTube and are actively working on what monetization could look like in the future.”
We’re certainly excited about all the new features soon to roll in within 2022. Are you? Let us know what you think about it in the comments section below.
