Why YouTube is going to take over TikTok in 2023

Have you heard the buzz? YouTube is taking over TikTok. I am a long-time YouTube girly, so you know who I am routing for in this battle - but let’s be real, I don’t think it’s much of a battle. Curious? Let’s get into it!

Why YouTube is going to take over TikTok in 2023

YouTube has always been the go-to spot for long-form content, but when they released YouTube shorts a couple of years ago - they were most likely expecting folks to ditch their other short-form content platforms, but they didn’t. Why? Because Shorts on YouTube were kind of messy, unattractive, and didn’t really do anything for creators. But that has changed. Recently, YouTube made some changes that piqued the interest of its users.

In January of this year, YouTube announced that Shorts are now included in the YouTube Partner Program, which will enable channels to earn money for ads that play between the Shorts feed. Yes - this means YouTube Shorts can actually add to your ad revenue on YouTube. Beyond this huge financial update, YouTube made some other highly requested changes to the look and feel of YouTube Shorts. Including adding a Shorts tab and the ability to select a thumbnail for Shorts by selecting a frame of the video to act as the cover of the Short (versus YouTube selecting them for you at random).

With all of this being said, YouTube (in my opinion) has taken short-form content to the next level, which is going to drive some TikTok users to start focusing their energy on YouTube instead.

If YouTube truly is taking over TikTok, how do you get started on the platform and actually grow? I am going to break this into three steps.

Step One: Repurpose TikToks and Reels as Shorts

There are two different ways I suggest you repurpose your short for content.

First, you can use some of your past, high-performing content from TikTok or Instagram. If you have been on TikTok or Instagram for a while, you probably have some pretty awesome content ready to be published on YouTube. It can be super intimidating to add an entirely new platform or content piece into your workflow - so when you’re first getting started, repurposing your current short-form content is totally fine - you just have to be cautious about copyright music and stuff like that. But to grab your videos from TikTok, you can use a website called snaptik.com - it will allow you to download the video file using the link from TikTok. If you are pulling from Instagram, there is one for that as well called snapinsta.com.

Second, you can create content for both platforms. For example, if you are creating a video for TikTok or Instagram - just like you normally would. Create a version for YouTube shorts as well. The only change you actually might need to make is the length, but otherwise - you really aren’t having to do much additional work to create a Short. In a recent Creator Club episode, I talked about my 2023 TikTok strategy. The great thing about that strategy is that the videos I am creating for TikTok this year are perfect for YouTube Shorts. You can listen to that entire episode, but here is a summary of my most recent strategy.

I think the easiest way to explain this is to walk you through my thought process for coming up with the TikTok that really got this strategy started for me - it has over 450K views now.

I made a YouTube video called Why no one is watching your vlogs (and how to fix it) where I talked about the but-therefore rule of storytelling that I learned from Matt Stone and Trey Parker, South Park creators (and funny enough, I actually originally found that video clip on a TikTok, just saying!)

This video performed fine - nothing crazy, but I had good feedback in the comments that the but-therefore rule was a helpful way to think about storytelling. So I figured, why not. I set up my phone and filmed a vertical video where I explained it. But, I started the video by saying “if you’re not getting views on YouTube, this is probably why.” I added a hook that was relevant to what I wanted to share, and would hopefully grab the attention of scrollers.

Then, here’s where the secret sauce of my TikTok strategy comes in. I edited the TikTok like a YouTube video. I brought that footage onto my computer, I added titles, extra graphics, supporting b-roll, and captions - and then I exported it and sent it back to my phone to post.

This is why I think it did so well - not because it’s so much higher quality than a video made in TikTok - it’s not. But just because I went to the effort of adding a lot of visual aids to make it more engaging. Creating mini YouTube videos as Shorts would be a great way to get started on the platform and it will also help you for step two in this process.

Step Two: Create long-form videos based on Short performance

Now that you have some content posted on YouTube, this will be your best indicator as to what long-form content to create. Once you pick the topics, it’s time to create a great video - but how? I am going to give you my secret, viral video sauce:

Step 1: Before you even start the scripting process for your video, you should first put your focus on the title and thumbnail. If you can’t even get people to click on your video, then it doesn’t matter how amazing your video is - no one is ever going to watch it! I start my planning for every video by coming up with a compelling title, usually, I will know what the main concept or points are going to be - but the most important thing is that the title grabs your attention, and then I’ll make sure I script the video to match the title. This also helps make sure you deliver on the promise of your title and helps guide you when scripting. Because basically, if you can’t think of an attention-grabbing title and a great thumbnail concept, you might not want to make the video.

Step 2: Now that ****you’ve got an idea, you need to make your video plan. And lucky for all of you, I have a notion template for just that. I use this template to write every single one of my YouTube scripts - and I’ve structured it, and even left myself a few notes and instructions - to make sure I don’t miss out on any of the important details. You can grab this in the show notes or just head on over to katiesteckly.com/shop.

Here is a brief rundown of how I use this template, if you want the full tutorial, check out my YouTube video called ****My Formula for a Viral YouTube Video****. I will use an existing script I wrote for a video called “How to become a full-time content creator” as my example for you.

Of course, the first step in the script, which is the first step in my formula, is to come up with potential title ideas. Here are a few of the titles I came up with for this video

this is what it takes to become a full time creator (of course, this is what I settled on)
you can make instagram your full-time job
if i was starting from zero this is what i would do to grow as a creator
here’s what it takes to become a full time creator
wanna be a full time creator? here's how:

Another important section of this template is coming up with Thumbnail inspiration. As mentioned before, developing the thumbnail and title should always come before scripting - and this template is set up just for that. For this section, I pulled some examples from a couple of YouTubers who have great thumbnail concepts and dropped their examples in my template to reference, and then with those in mind, I jotted down some notes of how I would recreate these in my own style. This is also the time you will want to come up with the thumbnail text as well, something different from the title that will grab the attention of the viewer.

After the title and thumbnail, plus a lot of other steps (which you will find in the video I mentioned) - it’s time to develop the script, just like a story, there are three sections - opening, body, and outro. Using this story concept as a guide, it’s time to tell your story.

The opening needs to hook them in the first 10 seconds, bring in the tease from the thumbnail and preview the end result before diving into deeper detail. Try to keep the intro 30 seconds long max.

The body needs to keep the pace up, introduce new questions that make the viewer want to keep watching. Tell a story in parallel with the information/education you’re sharing.

For the outro, you will choose a relevant video beforehand, tease the outcome or result of that video, and then mention it in the last 20 seconds. Also, make sure to link to the video on the end screen.

Now, a successful YouTube video goes beyond a title, thumbnail, and well-prepared outline. You need to also focus on having a high-quality video with good lighting and audio.

You can definitely start with your smartphone if that’s all you have currently. I would suggest filming in front of a window, so you get some natural light and maybe investing in some sort of microphone to ensure your audio is clean and crisp. But if you want to graduate from your phone, I recommend using the Sony ZV-1 camera, Manfrotto travel tripod, and the Rode Video Micro for your audio. I have a video all about this, you can check it out on my channel as well.

Beyond that, make sure you edit your video with a lot of b-roll, other visuals, music, and so on. This will help make sure it’s super engaging.

Step Three: Develop a content strategy and posting schedule

Now you know how to craft high-quality, engaging Shorts and YouTube videos, it’s time to develop your content strategy and posting schedule. You have to make sure the strategy you create for yourself is sustainable.

Honestly, this is something I still struggle with. Last year, I planned on going into 2023 only posting 1 long-form video a week and 3-5 short-form videos. But as January of this year hit - I went back on my strategy and was shooting two long-form videos per week. But, I went on vacation in February and I realized that my best videos are the ones where I’ve followed my curiosity and my passion (not every video like that has done well, to be fair) but the point is - the best videos have passion in them - and it’s hard to instill that passion when you’re in a rush all the time. So, I went back to my original plan of 1 long-form video and 3-5 short-form videos per week.

Now, this might now work for you, but a great place to start as a beginner would be 1 long-form video and 2 short-form videos per week.

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I will be honest, I am so excited about YouTube taking social media by storm and I am even more excited to see what y’all create using this platform. I have tons of content on my own YouTube channel all about starting, growing, and maintaining a YouTube channel - so if this convinced you, check out all of those free resources!