YouTube Shorts view count update wins over brands — but creators aren’t sold

Following the update, there has been no change to the way creators’ actual revenue is calculated; the only change is to the way the view counts displayed beneath Shorts are calculated. Creators’ revenue share payouts are still determined by YouTube’s “engaged views” metric — which uses the same view definition previously used for normal Shorts views. In fact, as a result of the change, creators anticipate that their revenue per thousand views (RPMs) will decrease somewhat as their overall view counts rise.

“Basically, nothing is really changing about anything, other than that I can just say I have more views now,” said YouTube creator Bennett “Money Mind” Santora. He added that he did not anticipate the increased view count would help YouTubers sign more branded content deals, since informed marketers would understand that the higher numbers were a result of view inflation rather than true channel growth. 

Other creators said that they were worried the change could encourage YouTubers to focus on the inflated view metric displayed beneath Shorts, rather than the engaged view metric that contributes more meaningfully to creators’ income. For example, the creator BnG Refining — who goes by the name “Scrooge” to his audience and asked not to be quoted by his real name — said that he was afraid less experienced creators might “flood the platform with content that they think is wanted, and not until hours, days, weeks later realizing that those were only ‘fake views.’”

A YouTube spokesperson told Digiday that the platform made the change in response to creators’ requests for a deeper understanding of how their short-form videos perform across platforms. But this type of data is most useful for creators who want to pitch themselves and their videos as inventory to prospective advertisers — the stakeholders to whom the changes seem to be addressed.

Bringing order to influencer marketing chaos 

Brands and marketers are far more welcoming of the update, saying it brings order to the chaos of influencer marketing. Now, YouTube Shorts, TikTok videos and Instagram Reels all measure their views in the same way, making it easier for marketers to compare creators’ and videos’ performance across platforms.

“It makes it easier, if you’re a brand, to say, ‘here’s how performance is across the board,’ vs. looking at impressions and then trying to judge an impression as a view,” said Krishna Subramanian, CEO of the influencer marketing company Captiv8.

However, some agency reps caution that, although this alignment and “generous view count” will be positive, brands must gauge content success based on “metrics like watch time, shares and comments when evaluating campaign effectiveness,” said Deanna Mulkeen, head of media investment at digital marketing agency Wpromote.

“More views don’t necessarily mean better engagement,” said Raul Tafur, vp of paid social and strategy at media agency Canvas Worldwide. “Brands and agencies have to watch for inflated numbers of views — and track deeper engagement indicators “like retention and meaningful interactions to assess true performance,” Tafur added.

In addition to a potential uptick in view counts, agencies also expect to see a shift in how creators might experiment with visuals, format and types of Shorts content. For example, this change may encourage more frequent posting with an emphasis on strong hooks and thumbnails on Shorts, said Emily Larsen, senior strategist at creative agency Movers+Shakers.

“The compelling opening hooks and eye-catching thumbnails [can] maximize starts and replays,” Larsen said. “I also [expect] a higher volume of content, with users posting more often to rack up views.”