We already know that YouTube Shorts are racking up 50bn daily views, with 1.5 billion logged-in viewers a month. But now YouTube has announced three new stats focused on the musical impact of its short-video feature.

They’re big numbers too. First, the company says that the top 1,000 songs on Shorts saw more than 280bn combined views in January 2023 alone.

Second, YouTube says that fan-created Shorts increased the average music artist’s audience of unique viewers by more than 80% that month.

Third, also in January, artists who were ‘active’ on Shorts – defined as posting weekly – saw more than 50% of their new channel subscribers coming from Shorts on average.

To summarise this: music-soundtracked Shorts are being watched a LOT; it’s the fan-made Shorts that are really boosting artists’ reach; and Shorts aren’t just leading to streams for those artists, they’re building followings.

What Is The Best Time To Post YouTube Shorts (Overall)?

After considering the factors impacting the ideal posting time for YouTube Shorts, we can determine the best time to post on the platform. Based on research and analysis, the best time to post YouTube Shorts is on weekdays, focusing on Monday and Tuesday, during peak hours for your target audience.

Peak hours are when most of your target audience is active on the platform and engaging with content. This varies depending on the demographics of your target audience. But generally, peak hours are between 12 PM and 3 PM and again from 7 PM to 10 PM.

Posting during weekends may not get as much engagement since many people may be offline. But this can vary based on your target audience. So it’s a good idea to test different posting times to see what works best for your brand or influence.

There’s no question that YouTube is the number one content platform when it comes to long-form video content. But what about short-form content? Well, thanks to the release of YouTube Shorts in 2020, YouTube is officially a short-form and long-form content platform with today’s statistics indicating that YouTube Shorts are receiving an average of 13 billion views per day — information that is not to be ignored by creators and marketers alike.

What differentiates YouTube Shorts from other short-form video platforms:

• YouTube has its own unique audience: If YouTube Shorts as a concept is so similar to Reels and TikToks, then what’s the benefit in terms of a marketing strategy? Well, it's important to keep in mind that different platforms attract different audiences, even if they provide a lot of the same features. If you are producing short-form content for TikTok or Reels, it’s still worth making an effort to get involved with YouTube Shorts to expand your audience and get the attention of YouTube’s 122 million daily users.