Difference Between YouTube Video vs Shorts

Creating engaging content on YouTube can feel overwhelming at times. You might wonder if you should focus on long-form videos or YouTube Shorts. YouTube Videos and YouTube Shorts serve different purposes, and identifying which will help you achieve your specific goals will help you create more targeted content.

This guide will explore the differences between YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts ideas to help you identify the best work for your next project. Before you start reading, it's essential to know that this guide isn’t just about comparing YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts.

We’ll also help you discover viral trends within your niche so that you can create content that resonates with your audience. We’ll show you how to use Virlo’s virality analysis tool to identify trending topics for YouTube videos and YouTube Shorts. Let’s get started.

Table of Content

• Difference Between YouTube Video vs Shorts

• Which One Should You Make: YouTube Video or Shorts?

• How to Make Viral YouTube Shorts

• Benefits of YouTube Shorts

• Go Viral with Virlo's Virality Analysis Tool

Difference Between YouTube Video vs Shorts

Duration and Format: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

YouTube Shorts are short-form vertical videos up to 60 seconds long. Regular videos can vary significantly, from a few minutes to several hours. Shorts are optimized for mobile viewing, while regular videos are typically produced in horizontal format. 

Content Creation and Production Time: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

Due to their brevity, YouTube Shorts often require less production time. Because of this, creators can produce Shorts more frequently than regular videos. Longer videos necessitate more extensive planning, scripting, and editing, resulting in a longer production cycle. 

Discoverability and Audience Engagement: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

YouTube Shorts have a dedicated section within the YouTube app, making them easily accessible. Compared to regular videos, shorts tend to attract more views and likes per view but receive fewer comments per view. Regular videos appear in standard feeds and search results. They cover broader categories and typically foster deeper engagement through comments and discussions. 

Content Types and Categories: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

YouTube Shorts primarily focus on entertainment and trending topics, aligning with viewers' quick consumption preferences. Regular videos encompass a wide array of content, including in-depth tutorials, detailed product reviews, and comprehensive storytelling, catering to audiences seeking thorough information.

Monetization: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

YouTube Shorts are integrated into the YouTube Partner Program, allowing creators to earn revenue through ads and other features. Regular videos also belong to the YouTube Partner Program, offering monetization avenues such as ad revenue, channel memberships, and sponsorships.

Posting Frequency Recommendations: YouTube Shorts vs Regular Videos

Due to their shorter production time, creators are encouraged to upload YouTube Shorts frequently, even daily, to maintain audience engagement. Given the extensive effort required, a recommended schedule for regular videos is 1-2 high-quality weekly uploads to ensure content quality and viewer retention.

Which One Should You Make: YouTube Video or Shorts?

Define Your Goals: Exposure vs. Depth

When choosing between YouTube shorts and long-form videos, define your goals. YouTube shorts are the best option for getting noticed quickly and going viral. Due to their short, snackable format, they offer quick engagement and higher chances of being pushed by the algorithm. 

On the other hand, if you're aiming to build long-term authority, trust, and deeper audience relationships, long-form videos work better. They are particularly effective for tutorials, reviews, storytelling, and other in-depth content. Long-form videos also allow for higher watch time and offer more opportunities for monetization through ads, sponsorships, and channel memberships.

Understand Platform Behavior and Viewer Interaction

Platform behavior also plays a key role in deciding which format to use. Research shows that shorts generate more views and likes per view, which makes them perfect for exposure and gaining subscribers quickly. However, long-form videos receive more meaningful engagement through comments and discussion, suggesting a deeper connection with viewers. Creators using long-form content often find building a community and trust easier.

Compare Monetization Opportunities

Monetization is another critical difference between the two formats. While YouTube shorts are now part of the Partner Program and can generate revenue, their RPM (revenue per thousand views) is generally lower than that of long-form videos. 

Due to their longer duration, traditional YouTube videos can host more ads, such as pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and skippable ads, leading to higher income. Long-form videos are also better suited for brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and product placements because there’s more time to explain or demonstrate products.

Production Time and Content Frequency

Regarding content production and frequency, shorts are quicker to make, often requiring minimal editing and setup. This means creators can post consistently and frequently, even daily. In contrast, long-form videos require more planning, scripting, and editing, which limits how often a creator can post. However, the trade-off is that each long-form video usually delivers more value and can retain audience attention for longer.

Know Your Audience: Preferences Matter

Audience preference is another factor. Mobile-first viewers, especially younger demographics like Gen Z, prefer shorts because they’re fast-paced and easy to consume on the go. However, audiences seeking in-depth knowledge or entertainment tend to appreciate long-form content more. Educational channels, product reviewers, gamers, and vloggers benefit from the extended runtime, which allows for deeper storytelling and explanation.

Current Trends: The Hybrid Strategy

A current trend in 2025 shows that creators who use a hybrid strategy—incorporating both shorts and long-form content—tend to perform best. Shorts help capture attention quickly and grow subscriber count, while long-form videos build trust and increase engagement. For example, a creator might use shorts to tease a tutorial or react to trends and then invite viewers to a full video that goes into more detail.

Match the Format to Your Content Type and Niche

Finally, your content type and niche should guide your format. If you’re in entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, or meme culture, shorts can help you ride trends fast. If you create educational content, deep dives, or product reviews, long-form videos will serve your audience better.

Related Reading

• Most Liked YouTube Short
• Most Commented Youtube Short
• Can I upload TikTok videos on YouTube Shorts
• YouTube Video vs Shorts

How to Make Viral YouTube Shorts

1. Use Virlo for Finding Trends for YouTube Shorts  

Virlo is an excellent tool for identifying trends that can increase the chances of your YouTube Shorts going viral. The platform takes a data-driven approach to helping short-form content creators crack the code of virality through AI-powered trend analysis. Using creator insights and advanced analytics, Virlo enables you to identify winning content patterns, optimal posting times, and successful audio/video combinations that help you stand out in today’s fast-moving social landscape. 

If you’re an independent creator looking to build a sustainable side business, Virlo takes the guesswork out of content strategy. The platform analyzes the latest viral trends and helps you understand when to post and what combinations of elements drive engagement. Whether you’re just starting or looking to optimize your existing content, Virlo helps you navigate the ever-changing algorithms to increase your chances of going viral. Go viral with Virlo’s virality analysis tool.   

2. Give it an Attractive Title  

Optimizing the title or caption of your Short is just as crucial as making the video itself engaging. Consider using the title as a hook to keep viewers watching your Short until its end. You’ll need to experiment with this since different kinds of language work for various audiences. That said, it’s a good idea to keep your title short and punchy and use words that resonate with your audience.   

3. Make the First Few Seconds Count  

Come up with a compelling hook to get your viewers’ attention within the first few seconds of your video. Avoid clickbait, though! Nothing makes a viewer swipe to the next YouTube Short faster than a clickbait video. It’s a great idea to brainstorm a few hooks before filming your Short, and to make sure you experiment with different kinds of hooks across your videos.   

4. Create the Perfect Loop  

YouTube Shorts are played on a loop by default. If the viewer doesn’t swipe to the next Short video, they will see the same Short again for the second time, or even more times. A perfect loop will help make your Shorts look crisper. When filming and editing a Short, create a smooth loop to encourage multiple views.  

5. Re-Hook Your Audience  

It isn’t enough to create a strong hook for the beginning portion of your Short. Despite the short length of the video, you need to keep viewers engaged throughout its duration. Ideally, you should aim to re-hook your audience every three to five seconds, whether with a trending sound, text, or other visuals.   

6. Create Consistently  

Whenever a new platform or a feature like YouTube Shorts gets released, content creators will pour themselves into testing it out and figuring out how to make it a part of their strategy. But all too often, these creators give up after a few attempts that don’t go far. If you want to go viral with Shorts, you have to create them consistently. That can be one video a day or one a week, but just make sure you stick with them. That’s the only way you’ll start seeing results!   

7. Use Relevant Hashtags  

Hashtags are a great way to make your Shorts more discoverable and should be part of your YouTube Shorts strategy. Do some research and see what hashtags top creators in your specific niche use or what hashtags are featured in viral videos, and include them in your content.   

8. Post Your Shorts at the Right Time  

While there’s no hard-and-fast rule for the best time to post on YouTube Shorts, you can follow some general tips. According to research from HubSpot, most marketers post YouTube content between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays. That’s generally a good time to post. But if you have a big enough audience, you can check YouTube Analytics to see when your subscribers will most likely be on the platform. Post at those times for the best chance of going viral.   

9. Learn from the Competition  

Ever heard the saying “great artists steal?” It has been attributed to everyone, from Russian composer Igor Stravinsky to Steve Jobs, but the full saying goes like this: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” The difference? Copying would mean just taking what the competition’s doing and doing the same thing. “Stealing” means finding out what works and putting your spin on it — injecting your creativity into an established format or trend. Doing this should be an important part of your research.   

10. Jump on Trending Music  

With YouTube Shorts’ built-in Sound tool, creators can add popular songs from major labels to their videos without getting penalized. Whenever appropriate, consider featuring trending music in your Shorts to improve their chances of going viral. Pick a song that matches closely with what your Short is about. 

Related Reading

• Youtube Shorts Ratio
• Youtube Shorts Font
• Youtube Shorts Thumbnail Size
• Youtube Shorts vs Tiktok vs Reels
• How Often to Post Youtube Shorts
• How to Get More Views on YouTube Shorts

Benefits of YouTube Shorts

1. Embrace a New Frontier in Short-Form Video

YouTube has been around for a long time, since 2005.  As with any social media platform, the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be. Regarding short-form video, YouTube Shorts is still in the early stages of development. So, getting started now will allow you to tap into this emerging new space before it gets too crowded.  

YouTube Shorts is seeing explosive growth.

In July 2023, it surpassed over 2 billion monthly active users, 33% more than in July 2022. While TikTok and Instagram are saturated with billions of users, YouTube Shorts is still a new frontier that small businesses can explore. Starting today will allow you to build an audience before the space gets too crowded. 

2. Strengthen Your YouTube Presence

One of the best things about YouTube Shorts is that they don’t exist in a vacuum. Short and long-form videos are all published on one YouTube page and integrated into the main app. In addition to showing up in Google search results, Shorts also appear in users’ regular YouTube feeds, notifications, and subscriptions, making it easy to maximize your reach and strengthen your YouTube presence.  

As YouTube product manager Pierce Vollucci explains, channels that incorporate both Shorts and long-form videos perform better overall than those that invest solely in long-form. Vollucci states, “The channels that made Shorts seem to be growing faster. We anticipate that audience demand for short-form content is here to stay.” 

For small businesses, this translates to offering audiences a mix of content types. If you already have a strong audience from long-form videos, consider Shorts as an ad for your main channel that can be placed in front of more viewers before directing them to your longer videos. 

3. Boost Your SEO Visibility

With YouTube owned by Google, both its long-form videos and YouTube Shorts can dominate the video search results. This is great news for small businesses looking to boost their search engine visibility and reach relevant audiences searching for keywords and queries related to their brand. 

Just like long-form videos, SEO rules also apply to YouTube Shorts. Be sure to add relevant keywords to the title and video description to ensure your short-form content appears when your target audience searches for similar videos and is specific and relevant to the keywords used.  Consider the example from Mob Kitchen below, which has garnered over 53,000 views and 1,600 likes. 

Those searching for a “chocolate croissant” recipe are drawn to the video with a title that reflects the top keywords, including “just six ingredients.” They also use an engaging thumbnail image to entice viewers and closed captions, before leveraging the content by cross-posting it to their blog and email newsletter. 

4. Repurpose Your Existing Short-Form Video Content

The beauty of YouTube Shorts is that it allows you to repurpose existing short-form vertical videos from Reels and TikTok, saving you valuable time that can be put towards more video content.  By repurposing these vertical videos to YouTube Shorts, you can continue to show up consistently on social media, maximizing the value of your videos and boosting your brand’s reach.  Unsure what short-form videos to repurpose for YouTube Shorts? Consider these tips: 

Repurpose top-forming videos

Use analytics to get data on your top-performing videos. Prioritize cross-posting the reels that generated the most engagement. 

Jump on a trend

If you recently posted a TikTok or Reel with trending audio, use it on YouTube Shorts to see how it performs on a new platform. 

Focus on high-performing content themes.

Educational videos and tutorials, humorous videos, and user-generated content are top performers on YouTube Shorts. When looking for videos to report from TikTok and Instagram Reels, lean into these content themes. 

With Plann, you can easily repurpose existing short-form content for YouTube Shorts with our handy cross-post tool. By planning, you’ll be able to create a strategic social media schedule that allows you to spend less time manually posting content and more time on building your audience. 

5. Gain Access to YouTube Shorts Monetization Programs

Though YouTube Shorts initially weren’t part of the YouTube Partner Program (YPP), monetization options were announced in late 2022 to allow creators to earn money from their short-form content. To be eligible for YouTube Shorts monetization, you must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. 

In addition, you need either 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days that are valid or 4,000 public watch hours of long-form videos in the last 12 months. For those focusing primarily on the growth of YouTube Shorts, the former is recommended as watch hours from Shorts in the Shorts Feed don’t count towards the watch hour threshold. 

YouTube has also introduced an expanded program for new creators and those with smaller followings, allowing you to monetize through fan funding and YouTube Shopping. You can apply for the program if you have 500 subscribers, three public uploads in the last 90 days, and three million public Shorts views in the last 90 days. 

Virlo helps short-form content creators crack the code of virality through AI-powered trend analysis.  Our platform combines creator insights with advanced analytics to identify winning content patterns, optimal posting times, and successful audio/video combinations that help your content stand out in today's fast-moving social landscape. Perfect for independent creators looking to build a sustainable side business, Virlo takes the guesswork out of content strategy. 

We analyze the latest viral trends and help you understand when to post and what combinations of elements drive engagement. Whether you're just starting or looking to optimize your existing content, Virlo enables you to navigate the ever-changing algorithms to increase your chances of going viral. Go viral with Virlo's virality analysis tool.

Go Viral with Virlo's Virality Analysis Tool

YouTube Shorts and YouTube videos have different audiences and purposes. Long-form YouTube videos target users looking for specific information or entertainment, while YouTube Shorts cater to an audience seeking quick, easily digestible content.  While both YouTube Shorts and videos can help boost your channel's reach and engagement, they serve distinct roles in a channel's overall content strategy. 

Think of YouTube Shorts as a way to promote your channel and create quick, catchy content that appeals to the latest trends. In contrast, longer YouTube videos are the bread and butter of a channel, helping you establish authority in your niche and providing valuable information to your audience.

Virlo helps short-form content creators crack the code of virality through AI-powered trend analysis.  Our platform combines creator insights with advanced analytics to identify winning content patterns, optimal posting times, and successful audio/video combinations that help your content stand out in today's fast-moving social landscape. Perfect for independent creators looking to build a sustainable side business, Virlo takes the guesswork out of content strategy. 

We analyze the latest viral trends and help you understand when to post and what combinations of elements drive engagement. Whether you're just starting or looking to optimize your existing content, Virlo enables you to navigate the ever-changing algorithms to increase your chances of going viral. Go viral with Virlo's virality analysis tool.

Related Reading

• Best Time to Post YouTube Shorts
• Best Hashtags to Use on YouTube Shorts
• How Many Hashtags Should I Use on YouTube Shorts
• Why Are My YouTube Shorts Not Getting Views
• How to Go Viral on YouTube Shorts
• How Long Can YouTube Shorts Be