For many, it’s impossible to imagine the Internet without YouTube and buying out the video site in its early days was one of the best moves for Google. Over the years, the platform gave us creators by the million and made digital video consumption a habit. Like all tech platforms, a shot of freshness is always welcome and YouTube got just that when it launched YouTube Shorts from India last year. YouTube has always been a place to be entertained and it remains that way with Shorts, which has given the platform the power to compete with Instagram Reels, Triller and the likes.

A couple of months ago, the company introduced the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100M fund distributed over the course of 2021-2022. Each month, the company will reach out to thousands of creators whose Shorts receive the most engagement and views to reward them for their contributions. Here’s what Satya Raghavan, director, YouTube content partnerships, India, has to say about Shorts and monetisation.

Satya Raghavan, director, YouTube content partnerships, India

YouTube Shorts was first launched in India and then rolled out globally. What have been some of the learnings from India and how have these pointers helped in the global launch?

Since introducing our initial Shorts beta in India, we’ve already started to see creators using our tools creatively, and the number of Indian channels using Shorts creation tools has more than tripled since the beginning of December alone.

We’ve heard how important it is to have intuitive creation tools that make it easy to make a Short and get creative with it. That’s why we made sure to have foundational tools like a multi-segment camera, speed controls, and more on day one. We also recently introduced more tools, like text timing and the ability to remix other people’s short videos to give your own creative spin on it, and will continue to launch more creation tools as we go, based on creator feedback.

YouTube continues to be the king of web videos and is obviously an established brand. But how far are youngsters taking the short format and that too on YouTube because these days short videos automatically mean TikTok and Instagram Reels. How does Shorts break away from YouTube’s established ad model?

YouTube has always been a place to be entertained, and over the years we’ve enabled an entire generation of creators and artistes who have shared their voice and found an audience on the platform.

As of July 2021, videos in our new Shorts player, which helps people around the world watch short videos on YouTube, are receiving over 15 billion daily views, driving greater discovery, fan engagement and monetisation opportunities for creators.

For over 14 years (with the launch of YouTube Partner Programme), we’ve focused on providing a multitude of ways that creators can make money beyond ads. Shorts offers a new way to watch and create on YouTube, and we’re taking a fresh look at what it means to monetise Shorts and reward creators for their content. The Shorts Fund is the first step in our journey to build a long-term programme specifically designed for YouTube Shorts.

What have been some of the early trends and viewing patterns for YouTube Shorts? Are the popular creators on Shorts the same as the popular creators for long videos on YouTube or are we seeing the rise of a new generation of creators?

The types of content we see are largely driven by the imagination of our creators and the taste of our viewers. Music is a large driver of Shorts consumption. Take for instance, the recently concluded BTS Permission to Dance Challenge, where Indian fans gave the challenge their own unique spin. Tanvi Karekar, an Indian YouTuber who creates dance, fashion and lifestyle videos on YouTube, features in the special compilation music video. In her 21-second video, Tanvi showcased various Indian dance forms to the beats of BTS, while transitioning into multiple regional outfits.

Today, YouTube empowers one of the largest learner communities and many creators have taken to Shorts to distill techniques, information and reviews into easy, quick and actionable tips that not only inspire but are transforming the way we learn.

Who are some of the popular creators for YouTube Shorts from India?

From academic subjects like science (Don’t Memorise), English language skills (Learn English with Let’s Talk, English Connection) to film editing (AniThing), arts and crafts (Magic Folds, artist Shikha Sharma), DIY (Mad Stuff with Rob) to Microsoft tools (Gyan On Tube) and even, Farming (Indian Farmer).

We’re also seeing cooking content do well on Shorts. Creators such as Food Hunter Sabu, So Saute and Chahat Anand take audiences along on gastronomic adventures, with quick recipes, cooking techniques, ingredients, flavours and even food reviews. We’re also seeing Shorts content on make-up tutorials, skin-care tips and hairstyles from beauty and fashion creators including Priyanka Jazmin, Suyash Fashion, and Shef.

Comedy has taken off in a big way on Shorts in India. For instance: Hannah Samuel is an American married to a Telugu man, living in Visakhapatnam. Her very recent venture into YouTube Shorts documents her humorous observations on what it is like to be married into a new culture, and the idiosyncrasies that come with it. From relatable content on daily life, family and friendships (Dushyant Kukreja, Suyash Vlogs, Harsh Malhotra, Sathish Deepa) to sketch comedy and lip-sync battles (Chetan Monga vlogs, Chattambees, run by cousins creating content in Malayalam), we’re seeing vibrant comedy content emerge across languages.

YouTube is what it is because of the incredible creators and what they do. YouTube creators are leveraging new formats of personalised video content, such as YouTube Shorts, to unlock imaginative ways to tell their stories.

What do you expect Shorts to offer YouTube in the long run?

Since YouTube launched in 2005 with a short 18-second video, we’ve enabled an entire generation of creators and artistes and helped them find a global audience with our community of two billion users. As technology advances, creators and users now have more options to quickly create and consume content. YouTube Shorts is a natural progression for YouTube. That’s why we’re excited to build Shorts as we look to enable the next generation of mobile creators and artistes on YouTube.

We’ll continue to build Shorts alongside our global community as we introduce more features in three key areas in the coming months — creation tools, playback experience, and making sure we’re helping people find Shorts that they’ll love and discover new creators.

We see a few opportunities with Shorts that will introduce new ways to create short-form video connect more deeply with your favourite content, creators or artistes: The ability to sample audio from videos across all of YouTube, seamlessly integrating with the YouTube you already know and love, and supporting the next generation of mobile creators as we explore monetisation options in the future.

Steps for making engaging content

1. Learn the tricks your phone or tablet has to offer

2. Master a leading video-editing app

3. Have an account with a platform like Canva

4. 30/60-second videos work better than those that are 15 seconds

5. Get your timing right to match the music

6. Add a popular track as background music

7. Learn to slow down or speed up videos for effect

8. Use effects and AR filters to make engaging content

9. Invest in equipment like ring lights and tripod