What is YouTube shorts?
YouTube Shorts is a way for anyone to connect with a new audience using just a smartphone and the Shorts camera in the YouTube app. YouTube’s Shorts creation tools make it easy to create short-form videos that are up to 60 seconds long with our multi-segment camera. It’s a new part of YouTube that you should explore as most social media platforms have the option of sharing a snippet of their lives and content in less than 60 seconds, it also saves the hustle of editing a video or being forced to post a full video.
Part 1: How to Upload Short Video on YouTube from PC?
The fact is, if you are using a computer to upload short videos to YouTube, the process is identical to publishing your other, regular footage. However, there are a few guidelines that your clips must comply with so that the streaming platform could specifically identify them as YouTube Shorts. These norms include:
- Your videos must not be more than 60 seconds long in duration
- They must be shot in portrait orientation, ideally in the 9:16 aspect ratio
- The title or the description must contain ‘#Shorts’ (without quotes) in it
Once you have a video recorded using the first two guidelines from the above list, you can use the instructions given below to upload the media on YouTube:
Step 1: Select a Short Video to Upload
Launch your favourite web browser on your PC, go to YouTube, make sure to sign in to your YouTube account, click the Create (Camera) icon from the top-right corner of the web page, click SELECT FILES on the Upload videos window, and locate, select, and upload a short video from your PC to the portal.
Step 2: Mark the Video as Short
On the Details window that appears, add #Shorts in the Title or Description field, optionally pick a thumbnail from the suggested images present under the Thumbnail section (or upload a custom picture from your PC), select your preferred radio button from under the Audience section, make the other necessary changes if need be, and click NEXT. When the Video elements window comes up, choose your preferred options and elements, and click NEXT.
Step 3: Publish the Short Video
On the Visibility window, choose your preferred radio button from under the Save or publish section, or select Schedule to set a different time when the short video should be published automatically. Finally, click SAVE to publish the clip as a short video on YouTube from your computer.
Part 2: How to Upload Short Video on YouTube Mobile App?
The process of how to upload YouTube Shorts from the mobile app is fairly simple as compared to the method used on a computer. In fact, while using the app, you can either upload an existing video, or shoot a new one from within the program itself then and there, add music and/or text, and upload it right away. Both these methods are explained below in detail:
Note: The guidelines for creating and uploading short videos to YouTube remain the same, regardless of the platform or device you use.
Method 1: Upload an Existing Short Video
Note: Make sure to have the target video on the smartphone, and that you have downloaded, installed, and signed in to the YouTube app before proceeding.
Step 1: Select a Video to Upload
On your Android or iOS smartphone, launch the YouTube app, tap the + (Create) icon from the bottom, tap Create a Short from the Create box that pops up from the bottom, tap Upload from the bottom-right corner of the next screen, and select and upload a short, 60 seconds video recorded in portrait orientation from your device’s storage to the app.
Step 2: Add Details
On the next screen, tap NEXT, use the Music and Text icons at the bottom-left corner to add background music and caption to the video respectively and tap NEXT from the top-right corner. On the next screen, enter a name for the video in the Title field along with the #Shorts tag, and tap Select audience to choose your preferred audience.
Step 3: Upload the Video
Finally, tap UPLOAD from the top-right corner to upload the short video on YouTube.
Method 2: Record a Short Video and Upload
Step 1: Record Shorts Video
Previously, I have introduced how to record and upload YouTube Shorts videos, so I will keep the content concise here.
In the YouTube app, tap the + (Add) button and then select Create a Short.
Next, use the Speed and Timer icons to set the speed of the video and the countdown timer duration before the app starts recording the video when you press the Record button respectively.
Now tap the Record button from the bottom to start recording a video, and tap Stop to stop the recording. Make sure to shoot the footage in portrait mode (ideally in the 9:16 aspect ratio). Tap NEXT from the bottom-right corner to proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Add Text and Music to the Short Video
On the next window, use the Music and Text buttons from the bottom-left corner to add background music and caption to the video, and tap NEXT from the top-right corner.
Step 3: Upload and Post the Short Video
On the Add details window, enter a name for the video along with the #Shorts tag in the Create a title field, tap Select audience to select the target audience, and tap UPLOAD from the top-right corner to upload the short video on YouTube.
Conclusion
Learning the process of how to post short videos on YouTube is fairly simple as long as you have the video recorded in the portrait orientation, it is up to 60 seconds long, and contains the ‘#Shorts’ tag (without quotes) in the title or description. The good thing is, if you don’t have access to the YouTube app on your smartphone, the method for how to upload a short video on YouTube explained in the first section can be followed while using your desktop computer.