As a mental health provider creating content, it is essential to understand how to leverage YouTube Shorts for maximum reach. YouTube Shorts are bite-sized videos that last up to 15 seconds and have the potential to capture a large audience. It can be found on the lower part of the center of the YouTube homepage. Anyone with a YouTube channel can create YT shorts.
Here’s how you can create compelling short-form videos that will attract viewers and help promote your mental health initiatives:
How to Make a Youtube Short: Essential Things You Must Know First
1. Choose Your Topic
Before tapping the record button, pick topics that engage and educate your target audience. We know the importance of mental health awareness, but we try to pick interesting and entertaining topics. Choosing a specific topic for a video will make it easier to create content that is valuable to your viewers.
The topic you cover should be:
- Relatable – Make sure your content resonates with the audience
- Informative – Ensure that it provides useful information
- Engaging – Keep the audience entertained and interested
You may check these resources if you are unsure of the topic to cover.
2. Write a Script
Once you have chosen a topic, the next step is to write a script before you start recording. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure all necessary information is included in the short time frame. Ensure to include key points that will grab the audience’s attention and keep them engaged.
3. Keep It Short and Sweet
The YouTube app is saturated with videos, so before you upload YouTube shorts, it is important to keep your content brief and concise. Try to convey the message in 15 seconds or less. This might require a lot of editing, but it can help you produce more effective YouTube videos. Also, upload videos with the highest quality that you can produce.
4. Capture attention right away
The first few seconds of a short video matter the most when grabbing attention and enticing viewers to keep watching a short form video content. Add a hook or engaging visual to capture attention. Visuals that pop and captivating soundtracks can help you create catchy videos.
5. Be creative with editing and format
Don’t limit yourself to basic cuts and zooms. Get creative with how you edit your shorts by adding text, transitions, music, effects, and more. Just like regular Youtube videos, you can use third-party video editing software or the in-app video editor to create fun and engaging visual experiences.
6. Promote Your Videos
Once you have created your video, it’s important to promote it. Share it on social media and other relevant platforms for maximum reach. Additionally, use hashtags related to the video topic and mental health awareness campaigns to make your content discoverable by more people.
7. Experiment with audio-enhancing tools
To cut through all the competition on YouTube Shorts, you’ll want to make sure your audio is crystal clear and easy to understand by using an audio enhancer like EQ or compression filters in Premiere Pro or Audition (or any other video editing software). One important thing to remember is to add music to make it more attractive and memorable.
8. Incorporate SEO into descriptions
Just like any other YouTube video, optimizing every aspect of your shorts can help increase your views over time as viewers discover them in search results and related videos sections on YouTube itself or through referrals from social media platforms where they’re shared and linked back to YouTube for full viewing experiences; this includes making sure your title grabs attention and provides relevant keywords.
Having an optimal thumbnail that catches interest plus adding relevant descriptions that give just enough information about what viewers will experience without giving away too much at once so as not to spoil whatever surprise story arcs you may have established in your shorter format videos themselves!
9. Add subtitles/closed captions
Adding subtitles/closed captions to your YouTube Shorts is a great way to increase viewership and engagement. This is especially important for increasing viewership among viewers who are hard of hearing or do not speak English. Besides, it also helps with SEO as transcribed text can be picked up by search engines, thus improving the chances of your content appearing in search results.
In addition to this practical purpose though, however, adding subtitles also allows for a larger text that stands out against smaller text displayed within a single frame on Short videos, thus helping break up longer blocks of text across multiple frames instead and grab more attention from non-hearing impaired viewers as well when appropriately used within certain contexts while creating these types of projects.
10. Think vertically
Most mobile devices (where most of the viewership takes place!) run vertically held devices, so plan accordingly regarding camera angles, which Google has actively been promoting since its inception. Vertical videos are important when considering previsualization techniques before starting work on any given short film project!
11. Use existing assets
Did you already create content related to what you’re making? Consider reusing footage from previous projects rather than creating something entirely new–just whipping out a few snippets of intros or outros should be enough here depending on exactly how long each image needs to show up, for example, piecing together those individual shots into one cohesive whole narratively speaking.
12. Utilize call-to-actions strategically
CTAs provide viewer guidance; direct their attention toward other places where they may find interesting information, such as related social media accounts, blog posts, and external websites… including website links directly within the video itself via annotations works great, too.
13. Check analytics regularly
As with any marketing strategy, tracking performance data is key in understanding where to apply adjustments during crisis moments, such as ever-changing algorithmic updates made by Google now & again.
Keep close tabs on real-time analytics, including average watch time ratio (percentage watched), view drop-off points (where exactly did audiences start dropping off?), and audience demographics. Doing this will help improve your shorts’ overall performance over time and ensure that you’re getting the most out of them in terms of ROI.
14. Follow trends & adapt themes accordingly
Pay close attention to what other mental health marketers and influencers are doing with their YouTube Shorts, noting how they choose to present topics and the content that seems to resonate most with viewers. This way, you can adapt your messaging to better suit the needs/tastes of your target audience and capitalize on any existing trends!
Focus on what’s popular for the moment but also make sure you stay ahead of future trends–this way, you’ll always be in a position where viewers recognize you for being the first to present them with content related to what’s about to become the next big thing!
15. Create engaging thumbnails & titles
Thumbnails engage potential viewers before anything else–the primary deciding factor is whether someone will click on your video. Make sure you use an attractive, high-resolution image as the thumbnail and use catchy and attention-grabbing titles to make an impact truly. This way, viewers will be more interested in checking out what you offer!
16. Stay consistent
Putting out quality videos regularly & consistently creates a recognizable brand identity, which will help build a loyal fanbase over time. Don’t forget to also post relevant & interesting content on social media, such as Instagram and Twitter, to get the most out of your YouTube Shorts efforts!
Conclusion
These tips should help give mental health marketers a leg up in creating and distributing effective YouTube shorts that take full advantage of the platform’s features. With the right content, marketing strategies, and distribution methods, they can reach a wide audience to help spread awareness about mental health issues.
So get creative, experiment with various formats and techniques, and keep track of how well your videos perform—with a little dedication and elbow grease, you’ll create short-form videos that will surely help your practice grow!
Need help with YouTube shorts?
Mentally Balanced Media is here to help! We specialize in creating content and managing marketing campaigns for mental health providers and organizations.
Reach out to us today for more information!
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