How brands use YouTube Shorts: Expert tips from social media managers and 5 examples

1. What type of YouTube Shorts content works best for social media marketing agencies? 

When you spend all of your time posting for clients, it can be easy to run out of time (or creative steam!) to craft posts for your agency. YouTube Shorts can be a great platform for whipping up engaging agency content. 

We asked Emily what kind of posts perform best for DigiSphere Marketing. Here’s what she had to say: 

“For our brand, trends have been the best. We actually somewhat stopped posting them to other platforms and moved them to just Shorts as they overall seem to do better there, especially the sillier ones. Educational content pieces do not seem to do that great on Shorts.”

Orca tip: If you’re looking for trending ideas for short-form videos, you’ll want to check out our list of CapCut templates and video trends. We update it weekly! 

2. What type of YouTube Shorts content works best for clients or brands? 

If you’re posting for businesses or clients, you’re probably wondering what kind of content you should prioritize. 

According to Jenn, trends top the list. Psst! Jenn had a YouTube Short go viral from a trend. (Can you guess which one it is from the list of examples below?) 

Jenn also notes that YouTube Shorts with “tips and tricks” do well, too. Finally, informational videos rank #3 on her list. 

Emily has insights on what you should post for your clients, too! She says:

“Real people. We have noticed when posting for our clients, they prefer to see real people in the video content and not stock, fake, put-together things. So taking footage from events or testimonial videos is great to add to YouTube Shorts.” 

3. What should new social media managers keep in mind while creating content for YouTube Shorts? 

Here’s Emily’s advice for social media managers who are just getting started with YouTube shorts:

“A/B test! You don’t know what is going to stick until you try it. Think outside of the box. Be funny and daring, and have fun with it. Things you don’t think are going to work, usually are the things that work and vice versa. It’s funny how it works that way sometimes.”

Jenn’s also a big fan of fun and experimentation: 

“Don't be afraid to do something silly or unusual. People watch Shorts mostly for quick entertainment. Have fun with it!” 

1. What’s the most important part of a Short? 

An engaging hook! You have only seconds to capture your audience’s attention, so you’ve got to make it snappy. Need hook ideas? You can steal inspo from our resource on TikTok hooks. 

2. Should brands and agencies use hashtags in YouTube Shorts?

Yes, YouTube recommends adding hashtags to your YouTube Shorts. More specifically, the platform recommends using “#shorts” in your video title. 

Don’t get carried away with hashtags, though. YouTube will penalize “over-tagging” by ignoring your hashtags or removing your video altogether. Experiment with your content to determine how many hashtags work for you brand. 60 hashtags is considered over-tagging. 5 hashtags seems to be the sweet spot. 

3. Can you upload custom thumbnails for YouTube Shorts?

Yes . . . and no. You can post your YouTube Short with a custom thumbnail image – even when you post your Short with HeyOrca! Just be aware that your community members will only see your custom thumbnail if they watch your video as a regular YouTube video. In all other cases, YouTube will automatically generate a thumbnail image for your Short. 

Orca tip: Thumbnails can improve click-through rates (CTRs), but if you don’t want to spend too much time on a thumbnail image that may not be seen by every viewer, focus instead on adding accessible video captions to make your post stand out.  

1. Make some marketing magic

Who said professional industries have to post boring content? Get your coworkers together to perform a disappearing act – just for the fun of it.

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2. The squad is back together

Grab your work besties and tell them, “Let’s dance!”

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3. Tips and tricks

Establish your brand or client as a subject matter expert by sharing advice or little-known industry insights. 

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4. Social media holidays

Engage your community by sharing your spin on fun social media holidays, like Walk to Work Day.

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5. Just here for the content

What’s the difference between team bonding days and content days? Not much, if you ask us! 😜

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