Mashable: Since the introduction of Shorts, artist and creator channels that post both short and long-form have seen higher total watch time and subscriber growth.

Cute cat videos? Jalal pranks? DIY hacks? movie trailers? Open YouTube, search, and you will be offered thousands of videos to watch and learn from. Ever since its birth, YouTube has become the go-to place for watching our favorite videos, searching, and learning. It is without a question that YouTube is the most popular video hosting and sharing platform.

But it's the ascent of short-format videos that nobody saw coming! All thanks to the ever-expanding and ever-evolving digital space and the way we consume our content. Nowadays, short-form videos can be found just about anywhere. As new short-form video platforms become more popular, brands are taking note.

A recent study found that 30% of social media marketers plan to put more money into short-form videos than any other trend in 2022. This makes short-form videos the most profitable way to advertise on social media.

And how would it be possible for the world's most popular video-hosting service to fall behind? Enter, YouTube Shorts! As the name suggests, YouTube Shorts allows users to upload and share videos that are under 60 seconds in length. YouTube Shorts are watched by over 1.5 billion logged-in users every month. In fact, in April 2022, shorts containing content sampled from long-form videos generated over 100 billion views.

YouTube Shorts, which are similar to other formats, work in the same way. As a rule of thumb, they should be shot vertically and last for under 60 seconds.

Since the introduction of Shorts, artist and creator channels that post both short and long-form have seen higher total watch time and subscriber growth than those who solely upload long-form.

It's been one year since YouTube brought Shorts to the Middle East and Northern African region in an effort to empower artists by expanding their reach and providing them with fresh ideas for their work. Since its start, there are now more than 1.5 billion logged-in YouTube Shorts viewers around the world every month.

After embracing motherhood, Azza, a passionate YouTuber based in the UAE, used Shorts to continue sharing her stories with her community. Despite having fewer long-form videos, Shorts allowed Azza to increase her subscriber base by 43%. “YouTube Shorts really gave me a new avenue of content and helped me grow my channel ”, Azza quoted.

The voices of YouTube's creators and artists have been crucial in the site's evolution. The addition of shorts to YouTube's library was a significant step in the right direction. YouTube is seeking to perform even better on its first anniversary of releasing shorts in the area.

Neal Mohan, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, said: "Shorts have become an essential part of the YouTube experience for our creators and viewers." "While we’re still at the beginning of our journey with Shorts, we look forward to continuing to innovate the product so our creators can continue to express themselves, connect with their audiences, and increase their reach and revenue opportunities on the platform," he added.

In an effort to refine the experience and improve it further, YouTube has added a slew of new features.

Creators on YouTube can now use the newest ‘Video Remixing' features, Cut and Green Screen to Shorts, to remix video content from the world's biggest video archive. The feature is available on iOS and will arrive on Android soon.

YouTube Analytics just launched a new design that enables creators and artists to access insights and performance statistics for individual content across our various video formats, including VOD (video on demand), Live, and Shorts. It is now possible to personalize and optimize content strategies to get the most out of the platform and make the most money from it.

YouTube has discovered that with the release of its new products, a new platform-specific trend has emerged: "the growth of the multiformat creator and artist." In order to optimize their creativity, reach, community connection, and profitability, these multiformat YouTube creators and artists generate an unlimited flow of content possibilities by effortlessly switching between multiple video formats on the platform.

This interaction across video formats reflects the reality of the modern spectator, who expects the material to accommodate their busy lifestyles, diverse interests, and various attention spans. As an end result, it is producing tangible outcomes for our creators and artists.