TikTok, once again, leads the app download chart. But YouTube is not yet giving up the fight. It continues to enhance its Shorts, a 30-second entertaining video clip. music clips. The platform designed an appealing Shorts logo. It also enabled analytics and control tools for the TikTok clone. To encourage the creation, the platform also initiated Shorts creator funds. Last March, Shorts were launched in the US. This June, YouTube expanded the availability of Shorts to Canada, Latin America, and the UK. Today, YouTube beta tests Shorts in the Middle East and UAE. The expansion of shorts to the Middle East and UAE is YouTube’s next step to outcompete TikTok.
Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, recently reported the rising viewership of Shorts from 3.5 billion in 2020 to 6.5 billion this year. By expanding Shorts to other regions, it can lure TikTok creators to join the video-sharing platform.
YouTube beta tests Shorts in the Middle East and UAE as of 12 July 2021.
Implications for Marketers:
YouTube’s expansion of Shorts to the Middle East and UAE is a clear indication that the platform is really determined to outcompete TikTok in any global region. For marketers, such an expansion means reaching more audiences through their video ads.
