The rise of ephemeral content has reached YouTube; the social network has joined the popular stories. This is the short video and photo format that began on Snapchat and has spread to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
What are stories?
It’s the way we learn about the day-to-day life of our community and what’s new with the brands that interest us the most. As we have seen in different platforms, people publish their day in short videos or photos that disappear in 24 hours.
A curious fact: a year ago these stories came to YouTube under the name of ‘reels’; reels in Spanish, but only for some creators. This was the first step of the social network owned by Google; in the universe of disappearing micro-videos.
How are YouTube stories?
Although in its beginnings last year only 100 creators had access to this functionality, the company has advanced that, after checking the good reception and effectiveness of the tool, it will be available to authors with more than 100,000 subscribers to its channel.
YouTube stories are quite similar to those of other platforms, but incorporate some firsts that make them interesting. The content will not be as fleeting as in other networks, the big difference of this new update is that the duration of YouTube stories will be 7 days, not 24 hours.
We’ll see them at the top of the main page; on the subscriptions page and in the ‘below’ list below the video you’re viewing.
You will be able to add an endless number of complements to the photos and videos you upload such as: stickers, ears, texts, filters and music, among others.
But this is not just stories; augmented reality will be another novelty: the company has announced that the use of 3D meshes has resulted in much more realistic filters.
As with the videos shown on YouTube; users will be able to rate the stories with their thumb up or down. They will also have moderation tools that don’t allow harassment.
A space to interact with users
Although this new tool is designed for creators; brands and agencies with more than 100,000 followers in their channel will be able to make use of it. It is an opportunity for firms to create campaigns and publicize new products.
In YouTube channels we are used to see more elaborated videos, edited and with a script. This new space allows spontaneity to have its place in the social network and youtubers can be closer to their audience.
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