Hashtags are used on multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and more. Users will put hashtags into the caption of their post or into the first comment to help categorize and make posts more searchable. Hashtags, when used appropriately, can increase your reach, brand exposure, and more without having to spend a dime.
Another platform that uses hashtags is YouTube. Users will add hashtags into the descriptions of their videos in hopes of expanding their reach and increasing video views. YouTube decided to create YouTube Shorts shortly after TikTok was launched to compete with the platform. YouTube Shorts is a section of YouTube that displays only vertical format videos that are 60 seconds or less. Shorts have skyrocketed in popularity since it was first launched, with collectively over 5 trillion views.
However, with popularity comes intense competition for views and reach. In result, YouTube is attempting to help YouTube Short creators receive more reach and engagement on their videos by suggesting hashtags to add to their shorts during the uploading process.
As YouTube explains…
“To make it easier for Shorts creators to add relevant hashtags to video titles, we’re running an experiment that suggests new hashtags to include when publishing Shorts. If you’re a creator in the experiment, you’ll see suggested hashtags appear in the upload flow on mobile. The suggestions will be custom to your channel as they’re based on content you’ve previously uploaded.”
In other words, while uploading a YouTube Short, YouTube will suggest hashtags that may help your video gain more traction. Itwill suggest these hashtags based on common tags or relevant topics that are associated with your channel or profile. YouTube suggested hashtags should greatly assist creators in choosing the right hashtags for their shorts, instead of irrelevant or typical promotional tags like “#Shorts”.
The new feature will help creators categorize their videos, avoid generic tags, and help viewers see more personalized content. The suggested hashtags will help YouTube’s algorithm display more relevant content to more users.
Overall, YouTube’s suggested hashtags is still in its experimental phase, so it may take time to become an efficient method for creators to use. If you’re a creator on YouTube Shorts, remember to #UseHashtags! If you’re a small business on YouTube, read about how you can utilize the platform here.
