YouTube wants you to put down TikTok and start watching short videos on its platform instead.
The Google-owned service is launching a range of features that could give you even more bite-size clips to binge on from your fave creators.
YouTube calls these videos Shorts. Viewers can scroll through the vertical clips, which last up to 60 seconds, as they would on TikTok.
Since launching the format in 2020, YouTube has heavily promoted Shorts to get it in front of more people. Today, the clips are watched by 2 billion users per month, helping YouTube to compete against TikTok and Instagram Reels.
To maintain that momentum, YouTube will start testing new tools in the coming weeks that allow creators to easily convert any video into a Short.
In a blog post, the platform explains that it is improving its Remix editing feature to add perks including the ability to adjust the layout, zoom and crop of a video segment. Creators will also be able to add split screen effects in order to produce more “engaging, original Shorts”.
The video conversion tools are part of a bunch of Shorts-focused updates aimed at boosting social interactions between creators and audiences. Other features include a new tool that lets you remix other content while both play in a split-screen format. Instagram Reels has offered a similar feature for a while now.
YouTube is also making it easier to create your own spin on a Short you like, with the ability to automatically transfer the existing clip’s background music and visual filter to your new video. In addition, YouTube is also bringing vertical livestreams to the Shorts feed, introducing a new Q&A sticker and allowing you to save Shorts in playlists to revisit later.
The updates come after YouTube took steps to incentivise users to create more shorts, including creators with smaller followings.
Earlier this year, YouTube added Shorts to its partner programme to give qualifying creators a share of the ad sales generated by their clips. It previously offered smaller incentives through funds and tips, much like Instagram and TikTok before it.
In June, YouTube lowered the eligibility requirements for the monetisation programme to creators who had 500 subscribers, half the previous amount.
