Track and Report on YouTube Shorts

YouTube’s short-form video-sharing platform, YouTube Shorts, is booming, so we made some important updates to Blinkfire!

Users can are now differentiate YouTube Shorts data from YouTube’s original long-form videos. Blinkfire also provides analytics on Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels. With this detailed data, marketers and sponsorship teams can track, value, and report on YouTube Shorts, helping them with social and content strategies.

YouTube Shorts

Founded in 2005, YouTube’s initial headquarters were above a pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company has come a long way since then, currently valued at $23.89 billion (valuation via Statista). A large part of their most recent success is YouTube Shorts.

YouTube was originally meant for long-form video sharing, but they have adapted to compete for short-form video market share. In September 2020, YouTube introduced YouTube Shorts to compete with Instagram and TikTok’s short-form video success. These videos have a maximum length of 60 seconds and have become increasingly popular with consumers. On top of that, these entertainment-focused videos can be quickly created, which lends itself to content staying relevant.

YouTube Shorts recently crossed 50 billion daily views, an impressive achievement in the two years since its launch. More influencers are flocking to YouTube to create their content because of YouTube’s unique offerings. Not only does YouTube offer slightly increased influencer revenue for Shorts compared to TikTok, but they also support live streaming and long-form video sharing, which can bring in 100x revenue compared to short-form video. It is a competitive market to reach young consumers drawn to this short-form content. 

YouTube Shorts Launches in Blinkfire

At Blinkfire, we work with the world’s top sports leagues and teams, and YouTube Shorts are a focus area for growth. Teams can benefit from creating on YouTube for many reasons, including reaching multiple demographic segments. Younger audiences, aged 16-24, watch YouTube Shorts just like TikTok; however, YouTube also pulls in older demographics such as ages 25-34 and 35-44 at a large percentage (Statista). Gen Z and Millennials grew up watching YouTube content and now have more reason to engage on the platform. With long-form videos, YouTube Shorts, and live streaming, creators, teams, and leagues can tailor content to multiple markets on one platform.

For brands, sports teams, athletes, influencers, and other organizations, it is imperative to have a presence on YouTube. While fan engagement and brand authenticity are important, rights holders and individuals, especially, are looking to make a profit. More viewer growth on these platforms equals more social inventory. More inventory creates an increase in opportunities for advertising and increased revenue streams.

Blinkfire customers now easily identify YouTube shorts versus other forms of social media content like Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, or Instagram Stories. This additional feature when reporting on YouTube long-form video versus YouTube shorts will help our customers continue to build out their video and content strategies.

YouTube Shorts Best Practices

Check out this Blinkfire playlist of posts along with some tips and ideas for teams and athletes looking to grow on YouTube Shorts: 

• Trends
  • Viral moments, songs, filters, and trends happen daily across social media. Leagues, teams, brands, and individuals can capitalize on these trends by engaging with their fans and attracting new fans. Such trends include dance challenges, video overlays (picture-in-picture), and using sounds from popular movies/shows in content that applies to everyday life.
• Fun locker room interviews
  • Locker room interviews give a behind-the-scenes look into practices and game-days. Teams have interviewed players on their favorite foods, who on the team they wouldn’t let babysit their kids, and other funny topics.
• Player personality clips
  • Much like locker room interviews, providing content around your star players gives fans content that makes them feel personally connected to the team. Videos of teammates playing pranks on each other, joking around on the sidelines, and living their everyday lives resonates with fans.
• Game recaps
  • While YouTube has been a great hub for game recaps with long-form videos, YouTube Shorts provide another opportunity for game recaps. For fans who want the quick highlights, you can create a short video of the best goals, slam dunks, amazing defensive plays, home runs and/or whatever made each game exciting to watch for the casual fan.
• Theme night recaps
  • Theme nights are a great way to show your team’s personality and sell tickets. Fans want to see that they are getting more than a game when they come to the stadium. Showing the excitement of extra entertainment around the game can highlight ticket sales and engage fans on social media.
• Hype videos and highlight reels
  • Who doesn’t love a good highlight reel?! Something to get you extra excited for the start of the season, the playoffs, or a big match. YouTube Shorts are a perfect place to get your fans excited with quick, heavy hitting content that show fans the best of your team and players. 

YouTube Shorts are already performing great for teams, leagues, and advertisers with no signs of slowing down. If you are not integrating YouTube Shorts into your social media strategy, you are missing out on engagement and potential sponsorships. 

Are you interested in learning more about how Blinkfire can help you sell, manage, track, and report on your social media and sponsorship data more accurately and efficiently? Get in touch with our team today!