YouTube News Good CNBC Article on YouTube vs. TikTok vs. Reels

[MattCommand1]

According to the article, long-form is still where the money is at UNLESS you bring in sponsorships which can change the equation.

Shorts supposedly helps you get discovered quicker is part of the selling point even if monetization is very low.

In the three-way battle between YouTube, Reels and TikTok, creators aren't counting on a big payday

Successful social media creators are skeptics on pay models for short videos from TikTok, YouTube or Reels, but they still plan to leverage the audience.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Shaners]

Nice article thanks for sharing.

 

[Xavier De Buck]

According to the article, long-form is still where the money is at UNLESS you bring in sponsorships which can change the equation.

Shorts supposedly helps you get discovered quicker is part of the selling point even if monetization is very low.

In the three-way battle between YouTube, Reels and TikTok, creators aren't counting on a big payday

Successful social media creators are skeptics on pay models for short videos from TikTok, YouTube or Reels, but they still plan to leverage the audience.

www.cnbc.com

VERY VERY interesting article - thx for sharing, Matt!! Making my grey matter work overtime now...

"Shorts becomes a huge discovery engine,ΓÇ¥ said Rene Ritchie, YouTubeΓÇÖs creator liaison. ΓÇ£The revenue from Shorts is probably not huge, but the amount of attention they get that drives back to his main content, makes them an incredible awareness vehicle. Shorts is just so powerful for discovery,ΓÇ¥ Ritchie said.

In other words... do shorts videos...see huge numbers in views...lotsa new subscribers AND hoping they'll start watching the long-form videos produced by the channel then?! Is that what I can read in between the lines here?

 

[MattCommand1]

VERY VERY interesting article - thx for sharing, Matt!! Making my grey matter work overtime now...

"Shorts becomes a huge discovery engine,ΓÇ¥ said Rene Ritchie, YouTubeΓÇÖs creator liaison. ΓÇ£The revenue from Shorts is probably not huge, but the amount of attention they get that drives back to his main content, makes them an incredible awareness vehicle. Shorts is just so powerful for discovery,ΓÇ¥ Ritchie said.

In other words... do shorts videos...see huge numbers in views...lotsa new subscribers AND hoping they'll start watching the long-form videos produced by the channel then?! Is that what I can read in between the lines here?

So, it has been written a few times and acknowledged that TikTok is becoming the new search engine and go-to place for suggestions/recommendations for Gen Z. YT is not going to let TT have that new standing without a fight.

So, I would say that your inference matches my interpretation of the aforementioned quote.

 

[Damon]

Okay, so, let me see if I can summarize:

Shorts = Discovery
Long Form = Revenue

 

[Tito Tim]

I think they are very different audiences. My shorts get good views, and I get subs... but it does not seem to translate into real views on my real content. I think shorts are a distraction and I hope YT quits being a follower and goes back to being the industry leader.

 

[MattCommand1]

Okay, so, let me see if I can summarize:

Shorts = Discovery
Long Form = Revenue

Hah! That is a good summary! LOL!

 

[MattCommand1]

I think they are very different audiences. My shorts get good views, and I get subs... but it does not seem to translate into real views on my real content. I think shorts are a distraction and I hope YT quits being a follower and goes back to being the industry leader.

I am probably one of the few people who have reversed discovery. I don't scroll through the Shorts video nor do I do it on TT. However, if I see someone (or channel) I like, I will then go over and check out their shorts. In the future, I go straight to their channels to watch their short videos but no scrolling for me. But I realize I am probably in the very small minority that does this.

But even with a lot of channels I subscribe to, I often don't watch their shorts because I feel it will be somewhat insignificant and only a snippet of their full content. It depends on my mood if I want to ingest shorts videos.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

Personally, I disagree with the premise of the article in terms of everything outside of GenZers. My demographic is mature adult males and I can guarantee you that Shorts do not translate into views on long-form content with them. This is what I hate about all network media reporting. They always do their reporting from the perspective of, "How does it affect the tweenies?" (young immature easily influenced and led around by the nose crowd). All network media about social media is generally skewed in that direction because their goal (ABC, NBC, CBS) is to try to appear hip with that crowd (generally because they believe that crowd is dumb enough to believe their agenda-driven editorialized commentary).

I do agree with the article on the point that Shorts is a waste of time from an earnings perspective. The bigger issue is that Shorts are not separate from LF on YT. The push towards Shorts has affected the revenue potential of LF, so neither one is really that good at earning anymore.

 

[Xavier De Buck]

Personally, I disagree with the premise of the article in terms of everything outside of GenZers. My demographic is mature adult males and I can guarantee you that Shorts do not translate into views on long-form content with them. This is what I hate about all network media reporting. They always do their reporting from the perspective of, "How does it affect the tweenies?" (young immature easily influenced and led around by the nose crowd). All network media about social media is generally skewed in that direction because their goal (ABC, NBC, CBS) is to try to appear hip with that crowd (generally because they believe that crowd is dumb enough to believe their agenda-driven editorialized commentary).

I do agree with the article on the point that Shorts is a waste of time from an earnings perspective. The bigger issue is that Shorts are not separate from LF on YT. The push towards Shorts has affected the revenue potential of LF, so neither one is really that good at earning anymore.

Here's a thought which may or may not be applicable to this case....

Haven't we seen pretty much most social media platforms MATURE over time? Not from an experience on their end, but from an audience on our end...

Some examples I can think of: college kids started with Facebook, parents & grandparents slowly but surely came on board over the years, kids moved away from FB and went to INSTAGRAM, which was followed by parents as well.

Musicly became TikTok which was flooded with 10-15 year olds at first, but then we saw 40-45 moms being the fastest growing segment these past few years

AND all the while, YOUTUBE remained 'stable' with its audience it seems and just chugged along until quite recently with its YT shorts move? Afraid it's missing out on all the action? Some internal stats pointing to a loss of its 'stable audience' and they need to do something?

 

[MattCommand1]

Here's a thought which may or may not be applicable to this case....

Haven't we seen pretty much most social media platforms MATURE over time? Not from an experience on their end, but from an audience on our end...

Some examples I can think of: college kids started with Facebook, parents & grandparents slowly but surely came on board over the years, kids moved away from FB and went to INSTAGRAM, which was followed by parents as well.

Musicly became TikTok which was flooded with 10-15 year olds at first, but then we saw 40-45 moms being the fastest growing segment these past few years

AND all the while, YOUTUBE remained 'stable' with its audience it seems and just chugged along until quite recently with its YT shorts move? Afraid it's missing out on all the action? Some internal stats pointing to a loss of its 'stable audience' and they need to do something?

The one thing JE is not wrong about: Even young people recognize YT and "YT University". YT has a reputation of having a lot of "how to", informational, and educational videos. Not only that, there are LONG ones. TT and IG are not equipped for 15-60 minute videos. JE is also right that YT should lean in to their strengths which the recent Podcast tab seems to be a step in the right direction.

Gen Z will eventually grow older and they may want meat with their desserts meaning what interests young people today may not hold water as they get older. Let's not forget that movies are LONG than ever before. Marvel movies are clocking in at 3 hours? And many streaming shows go long, not short.

Having said all that, I do like the idea of having a platter full of options to play with that YT has. I like that they try to evolve and stay relevant. None of us individually could ever do that on our own.

And the whole government blockade of TT because of the Chinese connection is really something to watch. Will private citizens ignore or follow that over time?

 

[Xavier De Buck]

Gen Z will eventually grow older and they may want meat with their desserts meaning what interests young people today may not hold water as they get older. Let's not forget that movies are LONG than ever before. Marvel movies are clocking in at 3 hours? And many streaming shows go long, not short.

Oh very true - I haven't thought of that! So much for youngsters having a much shorter attention time span!

Having said all that, I do like the idea of having a platter full of options to play with that YT has. I like that they try to evolve and stay relevant. None of us individually could ever do that on our own.

As we've mentioned before on other threads, YT/IG have plenty of tools available - and will keep coming out with new ones over time - but I'm aware that all that might be too late as creators are giving up on YT given its $$$ model is hurting them with all this focus on shorts...?

And the whole government blockade of TT because of the Chinese connection is really something to watch. Will private citizens ignore or follow that over time?

And the WHEN - not IF - of the USA blocking TT will only feed into the above as YT will make sure it's seen as the other alternative now TT is gone and push YT shorts program even more...

 

[Xavier De Buck]

YouTube, TikTok, and Reels are all video-sharing platforms that allow users to create and share short-form videos. While YouTube has been around for over a decade, TikTok and Reels are relatively new platforms that have gained popularity in recent years.

YouTube is known for its long-form content and has a wide variety of videos, including tutorials, music videos, and vlogs. TikTok and Reels, on the other hand, focus on short-form videos that are typically less than a minute long. These platforms have become popular for their viral dance challenges, lip-syncing, and comedy skits.

In terms of user demographics, YouTube has a more diverse audience, including older users and professionals, while TikTok and Reels have a younger audience, with the majority of users being teenagers and young adults.

As for the competition between these platforms, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. YouTube is known for its monetization opportunities and content creators can earn money through advertising revenue and sponsorships. TikTok and Reels have less monetization opportunities, but their algorithms are known to be more favorable for organic growth and viral content.

Overall, each platform has its own unique features and attracts different types of users. Whether you prefer long-form content or short-form videos, there is likely a platform that will cater to your preferences.

Is the above what CHATGPT told you?

 

[MattCommand1]

Is the above what CHATGPT told you?

I didn't want to be the first one to say that out loud. I don't always want to be the bad guy around here. The guy's first post and response is a cut and paste article or ChatGPT with an embedded unrelated product link no doubt to give SEO backlink boost. Who is going to pay attention to the message at all?

And this is why AUTHENTICITY is more important than ever. I predict with a tsunami robotic content, viewers are going to be savvy enough to run away from that kind of crap. They will seek out real people with real knowledge, real experience, real wisdom, real style, real face, with a real voice.

 

[MediaMan]

And this is why AUTHENTICITY is more important than ever. I predict with a tsunami robotic content, viewers are going to be savvy enough to run away from that kind of crap. They will seek out real people with real knowledge, real experience, real wisdom, real style, real face, with a real voice.

I don't know, the younger crowd is groomed to get their information as quick as possible and by the most visually entertaining method. So I think it's more along the lines of real people with the knowledge, will use AI to produce realistic avatars presenting their content to the masses in visually creative ways to maximize their reach.

 

[MattCommand1]

I don't know, the younger crowd is groomed to get their information as quick as possible and by the most visually entertaining method. So I think it's more along the lines of real people with the knowledge, will use AI to produce realistic avatars presenting their content to the masses in visually creative ways to maximize their reach.

You might be correct. I forget that the age group I am targeting is going to be different. It might also vary with different genres. However, I am skeptical that everyone wants to watch or interact with an avatar. I think with all these tech advances, there will be a hunger for true human interactions. Seth Godin talks about finding your tribe. It's perfectly okay if people prefer to interact with avatars. I am not chasing those folks.

All young people grow older. I find it hard to believe that Gen Z will never evolve or mature their tastes. The danger of catering to the the teens generation is that the tastes are very different from one generation to the next. As people mature they get more serious and their sensibilities change. I heard a talk from a big youtuber how she found it hard to evolve her once-young audience as they grew older. Teens and early 20's became twenties and early 30's becoming married and having kids. She was an adult, wanted a relationship, wanted a career besides doing the old style bubble-gum, hair-coloring videos from 10 years ago. She has voiced her struggles of growing "older" (she is in her mid-30's now) and her audience has grown older also.

The teen creators doing gaming now? How many will do them 5-10 years from now? If and when they become adults, have relationships, get married, have kids, what will their interests and tastes be?

I don't think authenticity will go out of style. I occasionally send out mailed cards using my own handwriting. That is such an unusual thing to receive something handwritten in the mail. I guarantee you that most adults receiving a handwritten message (however inefficient and imperfect) will appreciate it more than any email or AI avatar.

I said this before. If this forum gets overrun with AI-generated messages, I am out of here. I have no interest in interacting and engaging with "participants" who have no voice or communication skill of their own. If Xavier had not mentioned it, I would have not responded at all.

Or maybe this forum will eventually become one AI-account talking to another AI-account because no one knows how to write in their voice anymore.

 

[The Jungle Explorer]

The one thing JE is not wrong about: Even young people recognize YT and "YT University". YT has a reputation of having a lot of "how to", informational, and educational videos. Not only that, there are LONG ones. TT and IG are not equipped for 15-60 minute videos. JE is also right that YT should lean in to their strengths which the recent Podcast tab seems to be a step in the right direction.

Gen Z will eventually grow older and they may want meat with their desserts meaning what interests young people today may not hold water as they get older. Let's not forget that movies are LONG than ever before. Marvel movies are clocking in at 3 hours? And many streaming shows go long, not short.

Having said all that, I do like the idea of having a platter full of options to play with that YT has. I like that they try to evolve and stay relevant. None of us individually could ever do that on our own.

And the whole government blockade of TT because of the Chinese connection is really something to watch. Will private citizens ignore or follow that over time?

I completely agree. I think a lot of people misunderstand me. I am not and never have said that YT should not do shorts. What I have been saying all along is that YT is making a huge mistake killing off the LF creators in their desperate attempt to catch up to TT, by tweaking the algo to favor shorts over LF. And I will say it again, the YT leadership said this is exactly what they are doing. And for those who might argue that YT is not killing off LF creators, well, I am proof that they are. I was a YT exclusive creator since 2005. Now, I create for other platforms, and it is 100% YT's fault that I am. I am not the only one either. Many OG Tubers are jumping ship. No that does not mean that we are shutting down our channels or that we are still not creating some content for YT. It just means that our focus s somewhere else and will remain their as long as YT continues artificially pushing Shorts and not letting the algo develop organically.

 

[MediaMan]

by tweaking the algo to favor shorts over LF

Fwiw... when I scroll through the YouTube home page on desktop I see the following:
2 rows of LF recommendations
1 row of shorts
1 row of LF
1 row of latest youtube posts
1 row of LF
1 row of movie recommendations
Nothing but rows of LF recommendations after that.

On my phone as I scroll vertically on the home page, I only see 1 row of shorts after 2 LF recommendations and after that it's all LF videos.

 

[Xavier De Buck]

I completely agree. I think a lot of people misunderstand me. I am not and never have said that YT should not do shorts. What I have been saying all along is that YT is making a huge mistake killing off the LF creators in their desperate attempt to catch up to TT, by tweaking the algo to favor shorts over LF. And I will say it again, the YT leadership said this is exactly what they are doing. And for those who might argue that YT is not killing off LF creators, well, I am proof that they are. I was a YT exclusive creator since 2005. Now, I create for other platforms, and it is 100% YT's fault that I am. I am not the only one either. Many OG Tubers are jumping ship. No that does not mean that we are shutting down our channels or that we are still not creating some content for YT. It just means that our focus s somewhere else and will remain their as long as YT continues artificially pushing Shorts and not letting the algo develop organically.

If there's anything one should away from your post(s), it only confirms that one HAS to be diversified across different social media platforms.

Personally, I LOVED being on ICQ and sending a BBM, as much as I enjoyed posting on MySpace & GooglePlus, I am glad I dipped my toes in other SM platforms as I'd be left behind IF/WHEN the move happens when suddenly those aforementioned tech aren't there anymore.

Same now with FB, IG, YT, TT and whatever next big tech app will appear. And disappear.

 

[MattCommand1]

Fwiw... when I scroll through the YouTube home page on desktop I see the following:
2 rows of LF recommendations
1 row of shorts
1 row of LF
1 row of latest youtube posts
1 row of LF
1 row of movie recommendations
Nothing but rows of LF recommendations after that.

On my phone as I scroll vertically on the home page, I only see 1 row of shorts after 2 LF recommendations and after that it's all LF videos.

Dude, you are too much. You are actually analyzing the sections and sequence? Gotta love you, man! Good on you to bring this to light.