YouTube Shorts Receives Monetization Through Partner Program By: Beau Crawford - November 2022
Earlier this month, it was announced that YouTube Shorts will now receive increased monetization on creators’ videos with support of the YouTube Partner Program. With Shorts video views rising and the growing community of short form content creators on the platform, advertisers were eager to get their brands on the feed as soon as possible. This change will end the YouTube Shorts Fund, which temporarily provided small amounts of monetization during the inception of YouTube Shorts, but the new 45% revenue split will be leagues more lucrative for creators compared to other platforms hosting short-form videos like TikTok, Instagram and in some cases Snapchat. The YouTube Partner Program features 10 ways of monetization for channels including Super Thanks (which is newly implemented into Shorts), Super Chats, YouTube BrandConnect and integrated merchandise shops.
This will certainly light a fire under other tech companies to support their creators that are racking up way more views with ads already implemented successfully. YouTube had already established itself as the home for long-form video creators to build a stable income through the partner program. Google is pulling out all of the stops to ensure that YouTube is the premiere destination for creators of short-form and livestream content.
From a marketing perspective, there are many takeaways. First, I think it should be acknowledged that the creator economy is very real and getting ads in front of viewers will be the future for brands finding audiences that will make them money. The partner program gives proof that these viewers are invested in their favorite creators and are willing to spend money in the form of donations and purchasing items from the online shop. In other words, the influencer marketing stock is steadily rising as cult fanbases of these YouTube channels generate revenue for Google and get brands seen by millions of people in a very short amount of time and at a low cost compared to other advertising options. Short form video will be a part of marketing strategies globally but we’ve yet to see the long term viability of these campaigns simply due to the infancy of this medium.
Channels making videos on YouTube will now receive more kickback for their viewership than ever before, so videos will now be more budget friendly for individuals and businesses who are investing resources into their content (which could inadvertently create more jobs). With Google opening up the monetization program as much as they have, it is contributing to the general trend of consumers getting their entertainment online and previous mediums of entertainment that were plastered with ads (TV shows, movies, radio etc.) are dying.
Sources:
https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/supporting-the-next-wave-of-creative-entrepreneurs/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/youtube-monetizing-shorts/465139/#close
