4 Strategies to Grow Long-Form Views with Shorts

Want to use shorts to increase your long-form video views? Here are four strategies to turn research into growth. Here's the thing. Some people only watch shorts. They may never click on a 10-minute long video, no matter how good it is. Others might watch long-form videos about one topic, but only shorts about another. Think about it. They might watch a 10-minute tech review, but they only want 1 minute of a new dance trend. And some might watch

both, but shorts are where they're willing to explore. >> [music] >> So, if you don't make shorts, you're never going to reach those audiences. Shorts aren't just a promo tool for your other videos. They're an entry point for bringing entirely new people to your channel. To engage them, here's what you want to do. Create a clear path. Your first job is to make it as [music] easy as possible for a viewer to go from your short

to your longer content. You have to build a bridge, and the best tool for the job is the related videos button. This is a clickable link you can add to your shorts that points to any of your other videos, whether [music] that's a short, long-form video, or live stream. To add this link, sign in to YouTube Studio. From the left menu, select content. Click the short you'd like to edit, and then select a related video from

your channel. But, what you link to matters. You want to match the viewer's intent. Think about why they watch your content in the first place. Did you teach them something? Link to a longer tutorial with more detail. Did you show them a cool product? Link to an in-depth review of it. Did you give them the perfect vibe? Link to where they can get even more of that vibe to love. Give them a reason to click now.

A viewer won't click just because you want them to. They'll click because they want to. This is all about your call to action. When you use the related video feature, don't just hope they see it. Create a verbal call to action, like "Get the full in-depth tutorial by clicking the link right here." Point at the link so they know where to click, or throw up an image of the thumbnail so they know what they're getting. And

remember, if you're clipping content from a long-form video, make sure your short still stands on its own without needing any extra context. Reward the click immediately. This might be the most important tip. Just like a thumbnail makes a promise that the video intro has to deliver on, so is a short when you use the related video link. When they click on that link, you have to reward them for that click right away. Don't start with a

long unrelated preamble. Don't make them hunt for the information. The very first few seconds of your long video should confirm they made the right choice. Lastly, be the first to experiment. The Shorts player is always evolving, and the creators who grow the fastest are the ones who are willing to test new formats before everyone else. What worked last month might be old news today. Right now, one of the biggest opportunities for experimentation is with vertical live

streams. These streams can be discovered directly in the Shorts feed. Viewers scrolling through Shorts can see your broadcast and tap a watch live button to jump right into your stream. It's a powerful way to take that new Shorts-only audience we talked about and instantly connect with them in a real-time interactive environment. They can chat, send Super Chats, and even become members all from the Shorts feed. And it's not just live. Be the first to try new

AI tools, test new stickers, try new formats, tell new stories. The key is to treat new features as a playground. Not every experiment will work, but the ones that do will give you a massive advantage and help [music] you build a dynamic growing channel that's always one step ahead. So, here's the bottom line. Getting a 30-second view may be easy, but turning that 30-second viewer into a long-term subscriber, that's not a hack. That's a relationship. And

relationships don't happen by accident. They happen by design. You now have that design. You have the tools from the related video link to vertical live to make that first introduction, to create the curiosity that makes them want to know more, to give them a reason to click, and to reward them when they do. Now, go make that connection.