YouTube Shorts
YouTube has been developing and implementing tests for new features within YouTube Shorts, the first of which is the ‘Add Yours’ Sticker.
The Add Yours Sticker can be placed on content you create and upload onto the platforms, allowing users to interact with your content. This sticker encourages users to reply with a comment or video.
This feature is similar to the duet option on TikTok and the Instagram stories question sticker.
Another update we are experiencing with YouTube Shorts is the ability to edit auto-captions, customising them to change the colour, font, and style.
This new element can mean brands can change their captions to incorporate their brand guidelines. This can improve the brand’s cohesiveness and make it more recognisable to YouTube Shorts users.
The final update to YouTube Shorts is the addition of text-to-speech video narration, which allows you to add an artificial voiceover to your video.
After you have created some text on your video, you can click on the ‘add voice’ icon in the top left corner. This icon allows you to choose one of four voice options to add to your video.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are an important visual feature of any video uploaded to YouTube. They entice a user to click on your video by giving a brief and engaging preview of its content.
However, thumbnails cannot be used on Shorts videos despite being a feature on regular videos. YouTube wants to keep Shorts natural to your clicking, not because of the thumbnail enticement but because of the content concept, so in this particular placement, you can’t set a thumbnail, per se.
A study has concluded that most views and watch time on YouTube come from the shorts feed. Many content creators and marketers who know you need to hook someone quickly to get attention have been waiting for an option to set thumbnails on shorts. To get around this, we include a ‘thumbnail image’ on the first or last millisecond of the video, as this previews the featured image of the Short, what you see before you click on it.
Conclusion: No changes are coming yet, so continue adding manual thumbnails to your shorts if you prefer!
Channels Pages
As of August 2024, YouTube is introducing a simplified version of channel pages. This update involves removing the home tab for creators who haven’t modified it in any way, and you have less than 10 public videos.
This update facilitates the navigation of smaller channels by merging branding and info pages to create a more simplified version and removing distractions from your channel pages.
This update can also mean that your channel page may become more of a landing page for creators who want a presence but are not actively publishing.
AI Integration
One of the main updates developed for testing within YouTube is the integration of AI across the platform.
While other social media platforms are developing AI tools to allow users to create an AI version of themselves, YouTube is approaching AI differently to build a competitive advantage.
YouTube is introducing AI by integrating Google Gemini into YouTube Studio. Content creators can now leverage Google Gemini, as the system is being used to generate content ideas and thumbnail suggestions.
This update is beneficial to all creators using YouTube and gives the platform an edge over other competitors, as this feature is not available elsewhere.
However, ChatGPT is available for everyone to use, which can provide content ideas and suggestions. With the integration of Google Gemini on the YouTube platform, this means that all the tools and resources that you need are on one platform.
This will lead to a seamless experience for content creators, increasing their likeliness of using the system.
Community Spaces
YouTube is testing ways to develop its platform to become more engaging and feel more like a social media platform.
Therefore, this update includes the involvement of Community Spaces. Community Spaces allows creators to make a thread, similar to a channel, which people can engage with and post text comments, so that you can have all related information in one place.
Community Spaces can be found on selected creator’s profiles where you can find content related to the creator or topics they are interested in. The audience can engage within this community by posting their content or reading about the updates from the creator.
Previously, YouTube has moved away from emphasising video comments due to the toxicity in some comment sections. So, the involvement of Community Spaces has been developed to encourage positive engagement from all users.
YouTube Ads
Picture-in-picture, the newest update for YouTube ads.
YouTube is now testing a new format for displaying ads during live streams, designed to be less disruptive.
This new format will mean that ads will be shown above the video while the live stream continues in the background.
YouTube has created this new design to support its movement towards improving user experiences while helping creators continue generating revenue, as audience engagement will not be lost.
However, this update could cause issues for creators. Many content creators use a third-party streaming platform, which does not warn them that an ad is about to be shown as it is through the native streaming service.
This can cause issues for the creators, as their audience may miss out on important information while viewing the ad.
eCommerce
YouTube has also created two updates for eCommerce across the platform.
Firstly, there is a new Chrome extension on the desktop website for the YouTube shopping affiliate program. If you are in the US, this update allows you to easily save and tag products and check commission rates while browsing various stores in Chrome.
This is the second update for the YouTube shopping card on Studio Desktop. The update involves adding a new card for stores enrolled in the new affiliate programs. This card lets you see other shopping information about your channel performance, providing quick access to YouTube shopping features.
In Summary
YouTube has created a multitude of updates that are being tested on its platform to achieve its movement towards enhancing the user experience and making the development process for creators easier.
Businesses are beginning to leverage the use of these updates to maximise their exposure and generate the most revenue possible!
How can the YouTube updates help you and your business succeed?
Get started with your social media marketing journey today with ExtraDigital!
