Monetization for YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels

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In the digital age we live in now, there are many ways to pass the time, and short-form video content is one of them. These kinds of videos are short and to the point, and they try to say as much as they can in a minute and a half. YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are two big names in this market.

There would have been a third one called TikTok, but it’s not available in India, so it would have been much more useful to compare the other two. Which of YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels has that something extra? Let’s try to find an answer.

Brief Information About YouTube Shorts

In 2021, YouTube Shorts came out, and since then, videos in the portrait orientation can only be 60 seconds long. When YouTube Shorts came out, Instagram Reels and TikTok were already the most popular places to watch short videos. To compete with them, YouTube came up with Shorts and used the fact that it has more than 2 billion users to do so. YouTube says that 15 billion people watch its Shorts every day.

Creators already knew what to make thanks to TikTok and Instagram Reels, which was a big plus for YouTube. Some users got used to the new Shorts feature quickly, but others still haven’t. YouTubers like MKBHD, Mr. Beast, and others have started making Reels for their channels to show content they think doesn’t need a long video and could be shown in a shorter one. As well as, all the creators have complete knowledge of current updates and digital marketing. That’s why, if you are thinking to start your career in YouTube shorts or Instagram Reels, then first you want to do Digital Marketing Course in noida from reputed institute.

Also, another good thing about YouTube is that if people get tired of Shorts, they can switch to the regular long YouTube videos. Also, the experience is built into the app itself, so users don’t need to download a separate one. YouTube has also started to push its Shorts platform to TVs, which is something that TikTok and Instagram Reels can’t do.

Next, if you have YouTube Premium, you can watch videos without ads, which you can’t do with Instagram Reels either. As far as the viewing experience goes, the way you swipe up or down is the same. The algorithm seems to choose content based on what I watch most on YouTube, such as tech shorts and shorts about cars. I also like to watch comedies, but I haven’t seen many of them on my feed.

Also, some of the things that are shown are repeated, but that doesn’t happen very often. Another good thing about Shorts is that you can see everything you’ve watched without having to ask for all your data, like you have to do with Instagram. You can also use the “Dislike” button to tell YouTube what it shouldn’t recommend. I’ve seen that this feature works well with YouTube’s algorithm, and since then, I haven’t seen any videos that I told YouTube I didn’t like.

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What you Need to Know About Instagram Reels

Since 2020, Instagram has been making short videos, and when India banned TikTok, it quickly became an alternative in the country. When the Reels platform first came out, you could choose between 15-second and 30-second videos. This was later changed to 60 seconds, and now you can record a Reel that is up to 90 seconds long. As of 2022, more than two billion people use the platform, and the company says that 91% of those two billion people watch at least one reel every week.

One of the first big platforms to copy TikTok’s idea and use it in the form of “Reels” was Instagram. Facebook, which owns Instagram, used Reel’s large number of users to add the same feature to its own app earlier last year. With this change, Reels was able to reach even more people.

Users of Instagram and Facebook Reels can look forward to more than just short videos, which is another benefit. Users can look at other people’s photos and stories. Facebook, on the other hand, has longer videos, photos, posts, and news feeds that are different for each person.

When I used Instagram Reels, I think it quickly learned what I liked and didn’t like. It knows what I like to watch and gives me more of the same. Also, I don’t remember seeing the same video twice as I scrolled, which I think is another good sign. So, you won’t see the same videos over and over, just ones that are similar. In my experience, Instagram Reels users are more creative than YouTube Shorts users, who sometimes just post a clip of their long-form video, which doesn’t defeat the purpose of short videos.

Instagram Reels shows a lot of ads, which is one thing I don’t like about it. Once you start your streak, Instagram won’t let you swipe through videos without showing you an ad at least once every 5 Reels. When we compare Reels to YouTube Shorts, we can see that YouTube Shorts is better because it can get rid of all ads with the YouTube Premium plan, which makes the subscription worth more.

Also, Instagram has a “Not Interested” button that is hidden in the three-dot menu, which I don’t like. It should be in the front, where the user can press it quickly. But Instagram was better because it learned my habits quickly and kept me up to date on the latest trends.

Which is Better: Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts?

Both Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are good for different kinds of users. I like Instagram Reels better than YouTube Shorts because I like what Instagram tells me to watch and it often shows me new content that hasn’t been seen before.

On the other hand, YouTube Shorts feels like an addition to regular YouTube, which shows you content based on what you’ve watched before. Because of this, it takes time for it to learn, and you have to show it new things to learn. Many people like this approach well than Reels’, so YouTube Shorts are perfect for them.

But until Shorts shows me a wider range of short videos, I will always use Instagram Reels to watch memes, car videos, tech videos, and more.