7 YouTube trends to get you more views in 2023

Highlights

This year’s trends on YouTube include Shorts, social commerce, and more.
Over 60% of views come from Gen-Z and Millenials — so your content should speak to them.
As a creator, incorporate these YouTube trends to get better engagement and sponsorships.
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Shorts

Following the enormous success of TikTok and Reels, YouTube has decided not to give up without a fight. They’ve launched their own shorter-form video content platform called Shorts. Shorts have 1.5 billion monthly active users and get more than 30 billion daily views.

As a creator, you have the opportunity to gain entirely new audiences from the algorithm and earn money. Usually, your content is relevant to your followers and to people who love content like yours. But since YouTube has a vested interest in Shorts, they’re pushing trending content on everyone, no matter what the category. What’s great about this short-form content is that you can post it across all your channels. If you make a TikTok, you can easily post it as a Reel and a Short as well. TikTok is where the trends start, so it’s strategic to begin there and funnel your content down.

There are a few ways to help your Short go viral:

  • Keep it as short as you can: It needs to be less than 60 seconds, but the shorter you make it, the higher the chance of people rewatching and doubling or tripling your views.
  • Be the cool teacher: Teach people something they don’t know or explain something they do know in a new, creative way.
  • Be yourself: Funny, weird, random, and real content does well in this format. Use trending audio, music, and visual themes of other viral videos. But make sure it’s recently trending on YouTube.

People are scrolling all day and have a small attention span. So a great tip for getting them to actually stay and watch your Short is also relevant for any length YouTube video. This leads us to the next trend…

Hooks

You have anywhere from 1 to 8 seconds to capture someone’s attention. This means the first few seconds of your YouTube video are vital. Make it punchy, with a combination of text, visuals, and sound. This way your audience is invested immediately and they don’t simply scroll past your content.

A lot of creators devote a ton of thought and time to their intros and outros. A good intro is a worthy investment. If you don’t have one already, you can use an intro template to create one easily.

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But when you’re trying to get new followers and more views, they won’t be emotionally invested enough in you yet to watch a whole intro. You have to tease them with the most exciting part of the video right off the top. Start with a ton of fast visuals, and ask a question that will make them stop and think or say something controversial right off the top to get their attention. Then you can go into your intro and take the rest of the video to explain, tell a story or show what you do best — at your pace.

Growing your audience isn’t just good for the ego. It creates a loyal group of people who trust your opinion and will be genuinely influenced by what you say and sell. This gives you more opportunities to monetize your content and make more money.

Social commerce

70% of YouTube viewers bought from a brand after watching videos. And now there are even easier ways for them to shop. You may have started making videos because of a passion or just for fun. But the business of YouTube is a remarkable way to make a living, especially if you have a dedicated and trusted audience.

Shopify and YouTube partnered up last year to make it easier for creators to sell their merchandise directly through their videos. If your brand extends beyond YouTube and you have a shop, this is a frictionless way to turn your viewers into shoppers.

70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing it on YouTube

There are 3 ways you can lead them to buy:

  1. Lives: Tag and pin products during a live stream.
  2. Videos: Show a curated list of products on a shelf below your video.
  3. Store tab: A new tab can be added to your channel, featuring all your products.

If you don’t have an online shop, but you’re focusing on partnerships and sponsored content, the key is to stay authentic. Yes, this word is way overused, but when you’re partnering with other brands, your audience can smell BS a mile away. If you’re a beauty vlogger and you start selling car insurance, it’s painfully obvious that it’s an ad. But when your comments are full of questions about how you keep your skin glowing and then you do a sponsored video with a sunscreen brand, this tracks. The content feels authentic, your viewers believe you and they’re more likely to go to your link and buy.

Even if you haven’t met them, your audience feels like they know you. They think of you as a friend. When a friend makes a good recommendation, chances are that we’ll listen and be motivated to buy because we trust them. If you stay with that trusted source, your content will sell. And if you show what you’re selling in a way that actually educates your viewers, they’ll know how to incorporate it into their lives.

Tutorials

How many times a day do you google “how to…”? We have a million questions that need answers and your channel can help. Tutorials and how-to videos of all kinds are one of the most searched things on the internet. The best answer to a question is what will show up at the top of Google search results. So even if people are searching there and not on YouTube, your video can come up as the top answer.

If this is already a format you’re using, then definitely keep it up this year. This trend isn’t going anywhere. If you normally don’t use this structure for your videos, experiment and try a few! Name it “How to [insert what your topic is here]” and track where your audience is coming from. If you get an increase in organic traffic from search, then you know it’s working.

Try and include trending YouTube topics and the SEO keywords that most people are using when they search. Incorporating those keywords into your title and video description will help bring your video to the top of the results page. Also, adding closed captions to your videos will help you come up first when people search.

 

Fandom

Fostering an online community is not a new concept. But fandom surrounding TV shows, bands, books, comics, and movies is bigger and more powerful than ever. 61% of Gen Z describe themselves as a big or super fan of someone or something.

Watching a TV show alone is no longer the full experience. Now, true fans watch an episode and immediately (or maybe even during, if it’s live) connect with other fans through social media.

You must be a fan of something. As a creator, if you can tap into the fandom surrounding something you already love, you can gain a super rabid following in a short amount of time. Just make sure it’s something you know and love — for real. 

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Personalized

For a while, people loved being voyeurs online. They enjoyed seeing the inside of a hotel they could never afford, a VIP section they’d never get into, a fashion trend that wouldn’t work on their body type, and all sorts of aspirational fantasies.

Now, 65% of Gen Z believe content that’s personally relevant to them is more important than the content that lots of other people talk about. They want their content to speak to their specific experience. That’s what matters to them.

65% of Gen Z audiences want to watch personalized content

Instead of trying to impress your audience with how elite or unattainable your life is, try making content that is more down to earth. Emotionally relate to your audience’s struggles, connect your passions to theirs, and think about how what you know or what you’re amazing at can be easily understood by all of your viewers.

Maybe you can even change how you share. Instead of always starting sentences with “I”, try talking to the viewer, and acknowledging them. Maybe it’s “you” or “we” since they’ve had this experience too. Bring them into your videos in a way that makes them feel that this relates to their day-to-day life.

Chill content

We’re on our screens all the time and are inundated with a constant stream of bad news and hectic visuals. Everyone could use some chill. 83% of Gen Z have watched soothing YouTube content to help them relax and help calm their anxiety.

Calm. Relaxed. These are vibes that almost everyone is looking for. 

How can you adapt your videos? It can be as simple as changing the BPM on your background music to something slower. When viewers hear a song they know, their brain has to do double duty and listen to them talk over the lyrics. Try using more neutral, lyric-free songs that let your viewers stay present.

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You can also experiment with ASMR. If you don’t have the right setup to record your own ASMR sounds, use pre-recorded sound effects from a copyright-free collection.

Try playing with how fast you speak, how quickly you cut between shots, and what stories you tell. You can be honest with your viewers too and tell them that you’re making special videos so that everyone can have a little relaxation moment together. Invite them to the shared chill experience.

Artlist is here to help creators like you find better templates, the right music, and high-quality visuals. So that this year, your videos can get more views and have an even better chance of going viral.

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