YouTube Shorts are the easiest way to grow your channel, especially if you are a beginner. It also helps you repurpose the popular parts of your longer videos for them to go viral. Either way, this article covers my hand-picked 16 YouTube Short Ideas.
Based on my research on YouTube studying top creators, I have curated this list of these YouTube shorts.
Additionally, I will discuss some factors behind making your YouTube Short go viral and how you can leverage it for your channel. With that, let’s get into the details!
Top 11 YouTube Short Ideas (Overview)
Before elaborating on why the provided YouTube Shorts Ideas are interesting and popular, let’s skimp through the list of top 11!
| Sr. No. | YouTube Shorts Ideas | Content Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Before and After Video | Create before and after footage of, let’s say, a makeup look – and then show it to your viewers in a transitory way. | Here |
| 2 | Repurposing parts from existing video | Adding small footage of your long-uploaded video. Great for marketing! | Here |
| 3 | Tutorials/Hacks/ How-To Guides | Small guides to show the procedure of a topic of interest. | Here |
| 4 | Unboxing Videos | Purchasing a new product and review it while unboxing it. | Here |
| 5 | A Day in My Life / Mini Vlogs | Show glimpses of what you do in a day. | Here |
| 6 | What I eat in a day | Show what you eat for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. | Here |
| 7 | Behind-the-scenes/ bloopers | Instead of deleting the raw footage, show some funny or sassy moments. | Here |
| 8 | Paid Promotions | creatively promote a product. | Here |
| 9 | Recommendations | Talk about your favorite shows, books, music, etc. | Here |
| 10 | Reactions | Watch a piece of content for the first time and upload the reactions. | Here |
| 11 | Get ready with me + Storytime | You can share random stories while getting ready for school or a concert or grabbing quick groceries. | Here |
How Can Brands/Marketers Benefit From YouTube Shorts?
According to Pixability, around 75% of users are grateful to YouTube for discovering new content daily. Brands and Marketers can push their services through YouTube Shorts.
Shorts are ideal for people with less attention span. Therefore, when your brand does grab the consumer’s attention, they can head to your page for more insights.
In some cases, if the viewer likes your service, you will generate sales.
Key Factors Behind A Successful YouTube Short
Check out the factors that play a big role in making your YouTube Shorts successful:
1. Get Straight To The Point
Nothing is more frustrating than watching a Short where the creator keeps beating around the bush. So, if you are the type to elaborate on a topic that only requires a little explanation, stop immediately.
Let’s assume you are giving a quick tutorial on how to switch on the Airplane mode, then start with direct steps. Viewers do not care about what brand your phone is or how to follow you on your social media. You can insert those details in the description box.
Shorts are already 15 to 60 seconds long in that, too, and when you are taking half of your video to talk about irrelevant things, that would increase your channel’s bounce rate.
2. Understanding Your Target Audience
Before you start posting videos, it’s important to know who you are creating content for. Having a dedicated niche is important because if you create a makeup video one day, talk about your dog the next, and do a random life hack after that – this creates inconsistency.
YouTube functions on an algorithm that tracks your content type, how frequently you post, and how much engagement rate you are getting. For example, if you got five subscribers by posting about financial content. However, the next video is understanding your color palette.
Now, your subscribers are confused about the type of content you are posting, resulting in them unsubscribing. Therefore, catering to your niche audience is essential. Prioritize them but also attract new viewers slowly. That is the only way to grow.
3. YouTube SEO | Tags and Titles
Using highly searched keywords and tags in your Shorts title and description box is essential. It further helps the YouTube algorithm understand that you are up to date with their updates and simultaneously serving the user intent.
Therefore, it helps your YouTube Short rank in the top results for a particular topic (not guaranteeing).
4. Engaging Storytelling and High-Quality Visuals/Audio
The only way to hook a viewer is by capturing their attention in the first 5 seconds. Kelly Wakasa, a 24-year-old American YouTuber, is best known for his story-telling ability.
Ever since 2020, I have been watching his content, and irrespective of how long the video is, it gets over in the snap of a finger. Why? Because Kelly narrates incidents really well and backs them up with video clips.
Not just his story-telling, but Wakasa’s videos always have immaculate production. And unlike other YouTubers, he always uses a small microphone for better hearing quality. So, overall, Do What Excites’ owner’s engaging videos are all due to his story-telling and high production.
5. Create A Sense Of Urgency
Whenever you do a paid partnership with YouTube Shorts, it’s essential to evoke a sensation in viewers. You need to say or show things that would make users feel that if they do not purchase your product, they will regret it immensely.
Emotions are the driving force behind humans’ actions. Therefore, you need to take advantage of this specific instinct.
Top 16 YouTube Shorts Ideas In 2024 [Explained]
Check out my top 16 ideas on what to post on your YouTube Shorts!
1. Before & After Video
You need to shoot two separate videos showing a before and after procedure.
Let’s say you are starting a fitness challenge. In the previous video, you would show your body and what you ate. Likewise, the after video would contain the diet change and how your physical health has been impacted.
2. Repurpose Or Add Clips Of An Existing Long Video
Most YouTubers create longer videos for their channels. However, not all videos receive the desired traffic. In that case, YouTubers take the most catchy part of their video and post it as a short. This would help viewers with similar tastes to discover your content.
3. Tutorials/ How To Guides / Hacks
For years on end, viewers have been consuming these types of content. Knowing that wrapping a banana around a silver foil will make it last longer. Even understanding how to screen record on your phone is some random knowledge we all want to know.
You can also create tutorials on coding for beginners, light makeup, drawing, photography, etc.
4. Unboxing Products
Unboxing a Mac, music album, DSLR, iPhone 15 Pro, or any other packaging is the easiest way to start a YouTube Account. All you need to do is research the trending product – and according to that, you can create your unboxing video.
This also helps in additional revenue if you’re promoting a sponsored product.
5. Day In My Life / VLOG
Daily vlogs or a day in my life are some timeless videos. It’s always fun to glimpse into the people’s routines, even if you are lying in a bad. It helps the consumer lead an altered life just by watching these types of videos.
In a way, it also inspires the viewer to bring a positive change in their lives.
6. What I Eat In Day
Another type of video that I personally love to watch. Creators share food items they eat daily – that somehow gives you insight into why your favorite Influencer has the perfect body. That’s because they do not eat sugar and only consume food that is high in protein.
Again, even if the consumer is not changing their diet, watching what they eat in a day somehow gives them a serotonin rush.
7. Behind The Scenes / Bloopers
We all have favorite creators, be it music artists or YouTubers. One of the main reasons why we build connections with them is their raw personalities. Showing behind-the-scenes footage or bloopers is an excellent way to connect with your audience directly.
Ever wondered why viewers get attached to reality show contestants? That is because we see them for 3-4 months, day and night, and even unfiltered live feeds that make us connect with those people.
So, uploading bloopers gives viewers a glimpse into your personality — and that would make them like you even more.
8. Paid Promotions
I have seen many short videos where the creator gives a room tour, shows what’s in their bag, or even gets ready with me. In these videos, these creators smartly include products that they have received in sponsorships.
Since the videos mentioned above are so raw in nature, when you see a product/ service that the creator uses and loves dearly, you are intrigued to try it out, too! This is the best way to promote multiple services at the same time.
9. Recommendations – Be It For Books, Movies, Or Music
Starting with recommendation videos is the best if your channel is fairly new! Moreover, these movies, songs, or books you will discuss have already established fandoms. You can also talk about famous scenes and characters and how you feel about them.
I wanted to talk about Christopher from Gilmore Girls. That character is so hated, but I have a different perspective on him. So, talking about complicated characters would also attract positive or negative attention to your Shorts. Either way, you are gaining the engagement.
10. Reaction Videos
Reaction videos are another type of video that requires little effort. Just pick up a music video, movie, or random celebrity’s behind-the-scenes clips and react as you watch it for the first time. Personally, I enjoy watching the reaction videos for the album release.
Having someone who shares the same music taste as me and gets excited about tiny details in the lyrics or ad-libs makes me happy.
11. Get Ready With Me + Storytimes
Most of us like watching Vogue videos where celebrities show their skincare routines or what they wear weekly — For example, I was watching Gigi Hadid’s video, and how she styled her outfit was so random and yet looked immaculate. I was inspired to do the same.
Likewise, I would watch plenty of get ready with me videos where the creator is dressing up for school, prom, or even a date. And while getting ready, they would share a bizarre story. It’s always so quick and yet intriguing that it keeps you looking for more.
12. Fun Challenges
Recently, the Wop challenge broke the internet as every other K-pop idol is doing the dance routine. It’s always fun to jump on random trends through dance routines or ice baths.
These challenges also help in getting discovered. Recently, Jaehyun from Boy Next Door went viral due to his random clips. Similarly, despite not being a Seventeen stan, their Shorts are all over my feed. It’s just so fun to watch their challenges and the rawness of their personalities. This might be the next best idea for creating YouTube shorts for your channel.
13. What’s In My Bag
Showing different items from your bag and why those essentials are to you is another entertaining video. If you are starting out with college or office, this gives you more insights on what kind of items you must carry!
Besides, getting a sneak peek into what that high-profile celebrity carries in their peanut-sized bag is also fun.
14. What’s In My Phone
Most people are intrigued about what’s inside celebrities’ phones – What is their favorite app? Who did they text last? What are their top search results? So, creating a short answer to such queries would entice the viewers more and, thus, gain more traction on your channel.
(Especially if you are the new creator and trying to build your audience.)
15. Raw Game Stream
If you observe, most top YouTubers rose to popularity through their gaming background.
Mr Beast is one such beloved YouTuber who has streamed games like Among US, Minecraft, and Fortnite. So, if you are a gameplay streamer, you can garner a mass audience by uploading snippets of your raw streams.
This will help the audience become more curious about your channel and be redirected to the full videos.
16. Cooking
If you are uncomfortable showing your face but are comparatively a better cook, posting Shorts of random recipes is ideal! I enjoy watching channels that cook dishes from cultural backgrounds and those that are opposite to what I eat.
It helps me be educated on different cultural foods and items and further integrate them into my diet. So, posting cooking Shorts on what you eat daily is an excellent start to your YouTube journey!
Tips For Creating Viral YouTube Shorts Content In 2024
If implemented correctly, I have three important tips that would give you guaranteed success—that too in a shorter period of time.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at those tips:-
1. Focus On Producing Relatable Content
Having a niche audience is a must. When you first start creating content, you begin with either a fitness routine, painting channel, dance or singing covers, daily vlogs, and so on.
I have observed that most influencers target a niche audience, and once they garner popularity, they stop creating that type of content. Therefore, these YouTubers lose their relatability and the loyal supporters who pushed them to popularity.
Maintaining your relatability throughout your career is really important!
2. Evaluating Which Videos Are Working And Which Are Not
Instead of uploading videos blindly without understanding which content is working, it is not recommended. You should regularly check which uploaded videos are doing numbers and which are not working well.
It will help you create new videos that are similar to the ones that are actually working. Hence generating more revenue.
3. Making Your Video Optimized For YouTube SEO
My last tip is to keep your content search engine optimized! You can insert the trending keywords in your title and description. By doing so, you are showing Google that the content you are creating is indeed valuable.
This gives the platform an idea that it should rank your video in the top results.
YouTube Short Ideas For Beginners
Check out my top 5 YouTube Short Ideas for Beginners!
- Reaction videos
- Sharing your opinions on trending topics
- Recreating TikTok challenges
- Cooking recipes
- ASMR videos
YouTube Shorts Trending Topics
Check out my top 5 YouTube Short Ideas for trending topics!
- DIY (or Do It Yourself)
- 5-Minute Tutorials
- Quick Tips
- Meet My Team
- Music Challenges
Popular YouTube Shorts Ideas: Quora
If you are looking to grow your channels, then check out my most popular YouTube shorts ideas below! These ideas would help you garner a large audience quickly.
- Funny Shorts
- Product Reviews
- How-To Guides
- Unboxing Videos
- Motivational videos
Related Read:
Conclusion: Do you have any more Ideas? Do let us know!
Repurposing a part of the existing video is an excellent marketing move.
Not only are you luring the audience with the most addictive part of your long video, but they would likely redirect to your main channel.
However, in case you do not have an existing YouTube channel with long videos, the following are my top three recommendations for YouTube Short Ideas:-
- Life Hacks, Short Tutorials, or How-To Guides
- Before and After Video
- Day In My Life / Mini Vlogs
Also, try to keep your content relatable to your niche audience!
Likewise, when your content is relevant, viewers stay on your page for longer and do not swipe up within the first few seconds. That, again, helps Google understand that viewers are enjoying your content and pushing your videos more on their feed.
Faqs
It depends on your niche audience. However, if you are just starting the channel and unsure whom to target, creating Shorts featuring a day in your life, life hacks, unboxing videos, and Reaction videos are the most ideal.
As of now, fitness videos, cooking, and dance challenges are the most popular Shorts.
Pixel Videos and Free HD Videos are two websites that offer copyright-free clips that you can use. On the other hand, Upbeat, Free Music Archive, and Bensound are platforms that will offer you free music for inserting in your YouTube Shorts.
Cooking, game streams, DIY tutorials, and unboxing videos are popular ideas for creating YouTube Shorts without revealing your face.
Creating an innovative and high-value Short would instantly make it interesting. All you need is to focus on a new idea and present it engagingly.
