TikTok against Shorts: the duel that worries and upsets YouTube executives

The American giant has been experimenting for some time now with the short and vertical video format popularized by its Chinese competitor. But if the creators responded present, the income generated is not satisfactory, which would cause some headaches for the leaders of the Google subsidiary.

Is TikTok the only one making enough money with its model? Not quite. Another of its American competitors manages to generate billions of dollars by copying it, and YouTube should surely take inspiration from it. Or maybe not…

A thorn in the side

Are Internet users spending too much time on Shorts? In any case, this is what some senior executives on the YouTube side seem to think. According to FinancialTimes, they fear that their competitor to TikTok will monopolize viewing time to the detriment of the longer and more horizontal content that has made the success of the platform. If we can argue that the bet of this one finally proved to be a winner, the problem is in fact financial.

Short content would not be profitable enough for the American giant, which does not manage to derive enough advertising revenue from it. More traditional videos generate more money, and it’s a business model that YouTube has mastered better for years. At least Google is happy with it.

But while platform users are changing their viewing habits, creators also seem to be turning their backs on more traditional videos. According to FinancialTimes, these bring more short content and less long content, making Shorts a thorn in the side of the American giant. If not outright… a new competitor.

A mandatory passage through the TikTok model

However, can YouTube backtrack, make Shorts less important, or throw it in the trash, like so many services sent to the graveyard by Google every year? It might be ill-advised, given the success of the format for TikTok, but also and especially for Meta. Reels is said to have conquered Instagram users and seen its advertising revenue increase tenfold over the past 12 months, reaching an annual turnover of more than $10 billion. In truth, the social media giant is outperforming its Chinese rival financially, which could motivate YouTube executives to keep faith in Shorts.

And, they are doing so, as the latest additions to the service show their desire to provide more possibilities for creators. Ironically, creators will be able to create vertical content from their horizontal videos more easily than ever before, and will have access to features similar to those offered by TikTok. The American giant is showing its ambition to keep all users on its platform, and obviously at all costs, if the words of the company’s executives have been understood by the FinancialTimes.

YouTube therefore faces two major challenges. On the one hand, the platform will have to learn how to make short content profitable, which constitutes a very different economic model from the one it masters with long content. On the other hand, it will have the heavy task of retaining users who appreciate the TikTok model, and who also seem convinced by Meta’s response. But if the Google subsidiary finds itself facing two behemoths, nothing is impossible. YouTube is one of the most popular social media outlets in the world, with an audience that spans more age brackets than any of its rivals. He would be the ideal player to attract young and old to the short format, which would be very advantageous for advertisers.

Source : The Verge