Short Video Monetization and Customer Attraction Manual #Shorts: Winning the “Warring States” Era!

Short videos are increasing their presence on various video platforms. With Youtube, the largest video platform, starting to monetize short videos in February 2023, many people are aiming to make a buck in this genre.

We asked two people who actually produce short videos to talk about whether it is possible to make money from short videos, how difficult it is, and how companies should utilize short videos.

What is the definition of a short video?

Today we have gathered two people who actually make money from video production and would like to ask them about short videos, a hot topic these days. To begin with, please tell us your definition of short videos.

Mr. A: Thank you very much. Short videos are short videos that can be posted on Youtube and other platforms. There are some differences from platform to platform, but the duration of a video can be from 15 to 90 seconds.

Mr. B: It is said that the short video boom started when TikTok was released in 2017 and quickly became popular around the world, especially among young people. In Japan, it already became popular in 2018 and was chosen as the new buzzword of the year.

Mr.A: When TikTok started to become popular, the short video market was almost exclusively teenagers and early 20s, both in terms of viewers and contributors. Later, Instagram added a short video posting function in 2020 under the name “Reels,” and Youtube also released a short video function in 2021, which completely established it as a segment of the video market. Even today, these three services almost dominate the short video market in Japan, don't they?

Mr. B: In the early days of TikTok, it was something for students to post their memories and inside jokes for fun. Later, it grew with the birth of influencers who posted interesting things in short videos, and with the entry of Instagram, I think it began to reach a wider audience.

In terms of audience and contributors, TikTok has a younger audience, Instagram's Reels has women in their 20s and 30s, and Youtube has men and people of all ages as its main audience.

Why did short videos become popular all at once?

Mr.A: The number one reason is that anyone can create videos easily. However, with short videos, for example, a student can ask an interesting classmate to do a one-liner and post it as it is.

In the case of TikTok, the app also had functions for adding effects and music, so even amateurs could create videos that looked somewhat “realistic,” which I think is what attracted young people to TikTok.

Mr. B: In the early days, TikTok was a platform where people could post their own inside jokes. However, influencers who created and posted well-crafted videos started to emerge one after another, and the video content gradually shifted from the inside joke to the mass audience.

The subsequent release of Reels, which is not like TikTok in that it does not feature interesting videos, but instead focuses on female-oriented content such as beauty information and posts by celebrities.

Mr.A: The user base that the app originally has is directly reflected in the short videos. Youtube has been popular as a side business for several years, but short videos have made it even easier.