How to Make a Short
In this article we will be talking about how to make a short! Reels and shorts have become a very popular form of content and they're still growing in popularity! Many people these days find themselves spending an hour or hours scrolling through them. Creating these are a great way to attract viewers to your social media and YouTube channels! This form of content is also ideal for introducing new possible subscribers and followers to your content!
In this article we will go over things like:
- How to plan your short
- How to film it.
- How to edit it.
- How to attract viewers.
- The benefits of making shorts
Let's get started!
1. How to Plan Your Short
When planning out your reel or short, whether or not you already have an idea for it in your head, start with figuring out how long it will be. Shorts are ideally 15 to 30 seconds long, though for every content creator it can be different. Depending on the subject of your content, your shorts could be up to 60 seconds. Keep in mind that as you create, your length may change, but it helps the planning and creation phase to set a length goal!
Ideally, you'll want your short to fall within the main topic of your usual content, though it isn't always necessary. With this in mind it's time to pick your style of content. Will it be informational? Or will it be funny? Before you start thinking of ideas, you'll want to decide on this sort of thing. Remember, it doesn't have to be as complicated or complex as a full video. You can keep it simple and still create a great short.
Coming up With Ideas
For starters, you are going to want to create a short that people are interested in seeing rather than scrolling past. Take some time an do a little research. This will often help give you content ideas for not just one short, but many! You can do this in multiple ways.
Keyword research is a great way to find popular topics within your subject matter that can be used to create popular shorts! There are many free and paid keyword tools to find popular, high traffic volume ideas. Following this link will take you to one of the free ones: https://ahrefs.com/keyword-generator/?country=us&input=
Or, simply research shorts that are already made. While you don't want to copy anyone, you can still use this method to see what kind of content your viewers, or future viewers will enjoy!
If there is a popular event that's related to your main topic going on, you can use that to come up with ideas for shorts while it's happening. For example, if your content is about comics, planning to make a few shorts at a comic con is a good way to create content around a popular event! Using the event method is a particularly effective way to attract new viewers! Make sure to use hashtags to connect your short to that event!
Create a Plan Around Your Ideas
Once you've decided on the main idea of your short, it's time to put the story together around your idea. A fairly simple way to do this is to use normal life situations. For example, waking up on time for work in the morning, or cooking dinner. Regular life activities like these can be matched with many different content ideas.
For example, if your content is about fishing, create a funny short around waking up early, and trying to beat everyone to your favorite fishing spot. Then create another situational layer. Perhaps you forget something while your rushing to your spot and you have to go back for it. Make this happen several times and by the time you get to your spot it's packed! Because you've used a common everyday situation, your content will be more engaging! Add a comical feel to it and you've got a potentially effective short for introducing your content to new viewers and subscribers or followers!
When creating the story for your short, remember that you have a limited time length. You've got to plan out how something in your short will occur and change up your plan as you go to make it fit. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, simple is often better for shorts and reels! As you research how to make a short, it's a good idea to also research story creation. Going online you'll often find valuable tips on creating a good story, even for shorter content like this.
How to Film Your Shorts and Reels
Now that you've got it all planned out, it's time to film! Filming this style of content is often done easily by using your phone. Many phone cameras today are high quality and will make things much simpler! Using your phone will also make it easier to upload the short or reel to YouTube and your various social media accounts by using the apps. Because this form of content is very short, filming is often done very quickly! This has the benefit of making it so that you can film multiple shorts in one go!
Editing Your Shorts and Reels
Editing this form of content is often much easier than full length videos! It's quick content so it shouldnt generally take that long. Adding effects would likely take the longest if needed. A few cuts here and there will help it fit the planned duration if needed.
Shorts and reels aren't very often going to have an intro or an outro, though some do. If you're planning on having these, remember it has to fit in a limited amount of time.
How to Get Views for Your Shorts and Reels
Once You're ready to post your content, it's important to remember a few basic steps to maximize your views at the beginning, especially for social media. We will start with the easiest way, hashtags.
When posting your short or reel, it's important to remember to add hashtags to it. This lets the platform you're using know who to show it to. For example, if you're posting a golfing reel, look up "best golfing hashtags" online. You'll generally be able to find lists of the most effective hashtags to use at that time. Remember that certain platforms only allow a certain amount of hashtags, and often times you'll only need to use a few to get in front of the right audience! Take a look at this video about using hashtags on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZbuBMgkCm4&t=79s&pp=2AFPkAIB
Another way to get your shorts and reels viewed is by posting them at high traffic times during the day and night. Early morning, lunch time, and evening are often good times to post. On many platforms posting at low traffic times can significantly eat into your views!
When learning how to make a short, it's important to remember that learning how to maximize views is as important as every other step!
The Benefits of Making Shorts and Reels
This form on content is highly beneficial for a YouTube channel. For starters, it makes it a bit easier to stay active with putting out new content! This is very important for YouTube and all the social media platforms as it will help your maintain your subscribers and followers. Your followers follow you to see your content, if you're not putting anything new out, they'll often move on.
Various platforms also like to put active accounts in a more front and center position! Because of these two reasons, you can over come competing accounts who aren't very active!
Shorts often also make good ads! Think about it, it's a free way to get put out a quick ad for a product or service! You just have to make sure it's entertaining content so that it reaches it's maximum potential. Make it funny or add an epic style theme to it.
Shorts are also a great way to introduce new viewers to your YouTube channel. If they enjoy your entertaining shorts, they'll often have a look at your other videos! Next thing you know you've got another subscriber!
It works the same way with reels and social media. Your quick content pieces will interest viewers into becoming new followers if they enjoy your content!
If you'd like to find royalty free music for your shorts and reels, we offer it right here! Simply follow this link: https://stockmusiccentral.com/collections/music-for-reels