YouTube Adds GIF-esque ‘Clips’ Option

Select YouTube Users, Mainly Gamers, Can Create Short-form Versions of Their Videos

YouTube has announced its upcoming launch of a new ‘Clips’ Option, allowing users to create looping GIF-style clips of  select portions (60 seconds maximum) of their YouTube videos.

Check out this sneak peak of how YouTube Clips work:

 

The clip will play on repeat on the original video’s watch page and, once finalised, is also shareable via email or to other social media platforms. YouTube will allocate a new URL for the clip, meaning – once copied and pasted – it appears on feed as below:

YouTube is looking to expand its available content sharing methods and boost engagement on the popular video streaming site. TikTok’s increasing popularity is testament to how engaging short-form videos can be, meaning this ‘Clips’ option, enabling users to share their favourite video moments to their social feeds, could be a winner.

YouTube will begin by rolling out this option to a small test pool of accounts; it is “currently in limited alpha,” with the primary focus being on creators within the gaming YouTube community.

Whilst the ‘Clips’ option will expand to a wider audience, YouTube has revealed that the focus remain on gaming-related videos.

Once a channel has Clips access, this button will appear below the video playback screen.

[Image Creds: YouTube]

YouTube is also adding a new Clips view counter for eligible channels, providing a way to monitor Clips engagement.

[Image Creds: Social Media Today]

Clips could definitely be worthwhile feature to experiment with for creators and social media marketers – stay tuned for when YouTube rolls it out to a wider audience.

Finally, for our previous #SocialShort, click here.