All the social media giants are currently competing for supremacy in the short-form video space, and Google has made impressive progress against industry heavyweights like TikTok and Instagram. In its most recent earnings presentation, the search giant reported that YouTube Shorts had surpassed 50 billion views per day. During its Q1 2022 financial results, the company reported 30 billion daily views.
See also: YouTube Shorts are now available to watch on TV
YouTube Shorts are short videos created specifically for the platform . They are designed to be short and flexible, making them ideal for viewers who want quick information about a product or service. This format is especially popular with younger viewers who may have shorter attention spans than older generations or those who don’t have the time to watch longer videos. Additionally, the shorter video format allows content creators more flexibility when creating content, as they can quickly create multiple videos without requiring a lot of time or resources to produce them.
Despite its notable success, the number of views for Shorts still lags behind Instagram and Facebook. In October of last year, Meta reported that Reels had achieved 140 billion daily views between the two platforms.
YouTube has been encouraging users to try out its new Shorts feature, and in November last year, it took it a step further by launching Shorts on TV . This year, TikTok has sought to expand its reach and make the app available on large-screen devices, including Amazon Fire TV , Android TV , and select LG and Samsung smart TVs .
See also: YouTube Shorts gets voice narration
Last year, YouTube announced that 1.5 billion registered users were watching Shorts every month! This impressive number demonstrates the enormous reach and engagement of this online video platform. In comparison, by 2021, the world-famous short-form video platform TikTok proudly announced that it had surpassed one billion monthly active users. Compared to other social media platforms, Instagram has an impressive 2 billion users. Although the exact number of people watching Reels is unknown, it is almost impossible not to see Shorts when you log into account .
For Google, the growing number of views of short videos is undoubtedly very good news. However, for it to be a sustainable success in the long term, their monetization must also be achieved. Despite a difficult 4th quarter of 2022, YouTube managed to generate revenue of $ 7.96 billion - an 8% decrease from the previous year's record earnings of $ 8.63 billion. In November 2022, the organization proudly announced that YouTube Music and YouTube Premium had amassed 80 million subscribers from around the world. However, YouTube has not disclosed the extent to which subscriptions contribute to its revenue.
See also: YouTube Shorts integrates with YouTube Music
On February 1, YouTube launched an innovative initiative to reward Shorts creators with a share of advertising revenue. This could be a strong incentive for creators to produce unique content designed specifically for the platform. Last fall, the video platform experimented with features for its Shorts.
During the earnings call, Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler expressed satisfaction with the continued progress of monetization. Ruth Porat, the company's chief financial officer, said they are prioritizing driving engagement and profitability through YouTube Shorts.
