--- title: Is chasing TikTok a mistake for YouTube? - The Hustle description: Some senior staff at YouTube worry that, in chasing TikTok, Shorts is crushing the platform’s long-form content. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1883943400-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-YouTube-logo_20230905212005.webp --- # Is chasing TikTok a mistake for YouTube? ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: September 06, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 Given TikTok’s massive success, other platforms — e.g., Amazon, Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube — have responded by [repeatedly attempting to copy](https://thehustle.co/10-12-22-tik-tok-copy/) the short-form video app. ![A red play button over a black-and-white swirl background.](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1883943400-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-YouTube-logo_20230905212005.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1883943400-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-YouTube-logo_20230905212005.webp) But is it even a good strategy? At YouTube, some senior staffers reportedly have their doubts. #### **Why’s that?** YouTube’s answer to TikTok is [Shorts](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10059070?hl=en): videos up to 60 seconds long that users can create and upload with their phones, replete with in-app editing tools. Since launching in 2021, Shorts has gained 2B+ users, but some insiders worry that it’s come at the expense of YouTube’s long-form content, [per](https://www.ft.com/content/c51ce73a-8ae7-4f5e-aa3c-5e24e471cc7b) *The Financial Times*. Longer videos are more lucrative for YouTube as they: - Have more room for more ads - Receive higher click-through rates Meanwhile, creators — who receive 45% of net revenue for Shorts compared to 55% for longer videos — may not care because they’re quicker and easier to make, and brands both like and are willing to pay for them. #### **Does YouTube have a choice?** Maybe not if it wants to keep up with consumer tastes, especially those of Gen Z and millennial users. But it might not be all bad. After three consecutive quarters of declining ad revenue, sales rose 4.4% to $7.7B in Q2. And as *9to5Google* [points out](https://9to5google.com/2023/09/04/youtube-shorts-cannibalize-long-videos/), YouTube has more than just long-form video and Shorts, diversifying its podcast, music, and TV offerings (e.g., YouTube TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket). #### **Shorts…** … as easy as they are to watch, may also serve as a gateway to other content, [per](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2022/11/29/2022-11-29b.html) McKinsey & Co. - TikTok’s [#BookTok](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/booktok), which touts 174B+ views, helped sell [20m additional books](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2022/11/29/2022-11-29b.html) in 2021, implying that users’ attention spans are just fine when it’s something they’re genuinely interested in. - Fifty-nine percent of Gen Z users use short-form video to find content they want to explore via long-form video. **A video that Shorts can never replace: **This 10-hour [crab rave](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-50NdPawLVY). Topics: [Social Networking](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/social-networking) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![One chip, several problems](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/161461033-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-paqui_20230914213352.webp) ### One chip, several problems - ![Avocado guy goes viral again and other weird takes from the extremely wealthy](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1343746157-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-avo-toast_20230913220144.webp) ### Avocado guy goes viral again and other weird takes from the extremely wealthy - ![The fediverse, explained](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/137506517-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-fediverse_20230810222715.webp) ### The fediverse, explained - ![Can social media actually drive social good? Guess we’ll find out](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/488540169-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-roarsocial_20230801221729.webp) ### Can social media actually drive social good? Guess we’ll find out - ![How Grimace horror became a McDonald’s win](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/804184190-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-grimace-shake_20230718230302.webp) ### How Grimace horror became a McDonald’s win - ![A rush to save the memes of Imgur](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1118253184-httpsthe-hustle.hubspot.comhubfsDaily20Newsletter20ImagesMay2010202023archives.webp) ### A rush to save the memes of Imgur - ![The next big app is here — until it isn’t](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1978269103-final_size-apps_20230426005628.webp) ### The next big app is here — until it isn’t - ![The next big thing for influencers is less influencing](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1107964340-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-07T225526.718Z.webp) ### The next big thing for influencers is less influencing - ![TikTok’s new plan to avoid getting banned in the US](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1576652447-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-16T235439.232Z.webp) ### TikTok’s new plan to avoid getting banned in the US - ![Schools and parents take on social media](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/GIFs/856650110-final_size-facebookhypnotize_20230324004445-1.webp) ### Schools and parents take on social media Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "datePublished" : "2023-09-06T22:23:40.000Z", "headline" : "Is chasing TikTok a mistake for YouTube?", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1883943400-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-YouTube-logo_20230905212005.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/is-chasing-tiktok-a-mistake-for-youtube", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Juliet Bennett Rylah", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:11:48+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-09-06T22:23:40+0000", "headline" : "Is chasing TikTok a mistake for YouTube?", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1883943400-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-YouTube-logo_20230905212005.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```