TikTok hashtags: How to use the best hashtags for more views in 2024

Hashtags have become a universal tool for discovering topics on social media and other online platforms—and TikTok is no different. Using hashtags can help you find content related to your niche and help people find your content.

With over 1.6 billion monthly active users (and counting), it’s important to stand out among the noise. And TikTok hashtags can be a great way to do that.

In this article, learn more about what TikTok hashtags are, the benefits of using them, top TikTok hashtags and tools that can help you find the best hashtags.

What are TikTok hashtags?

TikTok hashtags are words or key phrases that are denoted by the hashtag (#) symbol and used to categorize content on the platform so users can browse content easily.

TikTok hashtags function similarly to those on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, connecting users with relevant content. Adding a certain hashtag to a video will make the content discoverable when someone searches for the hashtag. This allows users to join in on trending or relevant conversations using the right hashtags.

For example, someone searching for #gaming on TikTok can discover content related to gaming only if that hashtag has been added to the video description. Or if someone searches for #BookTok, they’ll find content from that specific TikTok subculture.

8 Benefits of using hashtags in your TikTok strategy

Incorporating hashtags into your TikTok marketing strategy is a must. Learn seven benefits your account can get from using hashtags in your video captions.

1. Increase visibility

Adding hashtags to your TikTok captions can help you get your content in front of TikTok users who aren’t already following your brand. When you use a hashtag relevant to the content of the video, you could attract people who are already interested in the topic.

For example, adding #DIYProject could help your video show up in the search results of people who are searching for the hashtag.

2. Boost engagement

Better visibility could also translate to higher engagement rates. When more people see your TikTok content, there’s a chance many of them would want to engage with it by liking or commenting on it.

3. Build community

Branded TikTok hashtags are a great way to create a community around your business. You could encourage your audience to create videos using a brand-specific hashtag. This will help you build a strong community of followers who enjoy sharing content related or relevant to your business.

For example, Jellycat has managed to build a community around the #jellycat hashtag. Users post about their own Jellycat stuffies, talk about launches and more. The hashtag has generated 1 billion views, proving just how popular these videos are.

4. Identify competitors

Popular industry-specific hashtags can also help you uncover other businesses that are using the hashtag. And you can conduct a competitive analysis using this hashtag data (among other metrics) to uncover their strategies, content and performance to benchmark your TikTok performance against theirs.

5. Get TikTok content ideas

Searches for category-specific hashtags will bring up results for top-performing content relevant to the hashtag. This is a great way to see what resonates with your target audience and get content inspiration.

6. Find relevant influencers

You can also use hashtag searches to discover influential accounts that are creating content relevant to the hashtag. If you plan on running an influencer marketing campaign, this is a great way to discover TikTok influencers you can partner with.

7. Jump in on trends

TikTok trends come and go, but capitalizing on the right ones at the right time can help boost visibility and engagement. When you create content based on trending hashtags, you’re showing your followers that your brand is fun and relevant.

Discover trends by tapping the search icon in the top right corner of your TikTok home feed. You’ll see popular trends as well as topics the app thinks you’ll like based on your activity. Browse TikTok like someone in your target audience might to see what types of content ideas pop up.

8. TikTok monitoring

Hashtags—especially branded hashtags—are a key component to social media monitoring on the TikTok platform. TikTok monitoring can help you track and respond to social engagements to understand your target audience and protect your brand.

Use a TikTok monitoring tool to gain insights about your target audiences, competitors and brand sentiment.

Top TikTok hashtags in 2024

Curious on how to find the trending hashtags on TikTok? We’ve got some of the top TikTok hashtags in several industries for inspiration.

50 Popular hashtags on TikTok

1. #fyp
2. #foryou
3. #viral
4. #foryoupage
5. #tiktok
6. #fy
7. #trending
8. #funny
9. #duet
10. #comedy
11. #love
12. #meme
13. #tiktokindia
14. #funnyvideos
15. #learnontiktok
16. #music
17. #video
18. #like
19. #memes
20. #cute
21. #prank
22. #fun
23. #follow
24. #aesthetic
25. #tik_tok
26. #tiktokuni
27. #tiktokviral
28. #tiktok_india
29. #happy
30. #new
31. #tiktoker
32. #foodtiktok
33. #viralvideos
34. #followme
35. #live
36. #dancer
37. #repost
38. #tiktoklover
39. #funk
40. #tiktokphilippines
41. #tiktoktravel
42. #tiktokchallenge
43. #funfacts
44. #likeforlike
45. #dancetutorial
46. #levelup
47. #like4like
48. #viralpost
49. #followforfollowback
50. #follow4follow

Top 10 Trending TikTok hashtags

Keep in mind that this changes week to week, so you’ll need to check out what TikTok is saying their trending hashtags are right now.

1. #dodgers
2. #terrifier3
3. #terrifier
4. #mizukiakiyama
5. #projectsekai
6. #glorilla
7. #fornitemares
8. #robot
9. #rafecameron
10. #moonmusic

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for B2B

1. #B2BMarketing
2. #BusinessGrowth
3. #EntrepreneurLife
4. #CorporateCulture
5. #BusinessTips
6. #B2BSales
7. #Networking
8. #BusinessInnovation
9. #Leadership
10. #B2BContent

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for fashion and beauty

1.  #FashionInspo
2. #BeautyTips
3. #OOTD (Outfit of the Day)
4. #MakeupTutorial
5. #FashionBlogger
6. #BeautyHacks
7. #StyleGuide
8. #FashionTrends
9. #BeautyGram
10. #Fashionista

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for fitness

1. #FitnessJourney
2. #WorkoutMotivation
3. #HomeWorkout
4. #Fitspo
5. #GymLife
6. #FitnessChallenge
7. #HealthyLifestyle
8. #FitnessGoals
9. #FitFam
10. #ExerciseRoutine

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for food and beverage businesses

1. #Foodie
2. #FoodPorn
3. #Recipe
4. #Cooking
5. #FoodBlogger
6. #Yummy
7. #FoodLovers
8. #Restaurant
9. #Cocktails
10. #FoodTikTok

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for technology and software

1. #TechTips
2. #SoftwareDevelopment
3. #Innovation
4. #Coding
5. #TechNews
6. #AI
7. #CyberSecurity
8. #TechGadgets
9. #Programming
10. #TechTrends

Top 10 TikTok hashtags for travel

1. #TravelTok
2. #Wanderlust
3. #Adventure
4. #TravelBlogger
5. #Explore
6. #TravelGuide
7. #RoadTrip
8. #TravelVlog
9. #BucketList
10. #TravelTheWorld

TikTok hashtag best practices

Maximizing your reach on TikTok starts with a smart hashtag strategy. By following these best practices, you can effectively use hashtags to enhance your TikTok content’s reach and engagement, growing your presence on the app.

1. Mix popular and niche hashtags

Combine widely used hashtags with more specific, niche ones. Popular hashtags increase visibility, while niche hashtags help you reach a targeted audience. This will not only increase your reach, but also attract more engaged and interested followers who are more likely to interact with your content

2. Avoid irrelevant hashtags

Steer clear of banned hashtags, as they can limit your content’s visibility, but also ensure your hashtags are relevant to your video. Irrelevant hashtags can confuse the algorithm and may even lead to your content being flagged as spam. So don’t use trending hashtags in the hopes that it’ll stick and widen your reach. Use relevant hashtags intentionally with your content.

3. Use the right number of hashtags per video

While TikTok allows up to 100 characters for hashtags, using too many can make your caption look cluttered. Stick to 3-5 relevant hashtags per post to maintain a clean look and maximize the impact of each hashtag.

4. Place hashtags strategically

Where you place your hashtags matters. Include them in your caption, either at the beginning to immediately catch the viewer’s eye or at the end to keep the caption clean. Or, you can add them in a comment under your video to keep the caption concise.

TikTok hashtag generators and discovery tools

Looking for even more inspiration for TikTok hashtags? There are many tools available to help you find the perfect hashtags for every video you publish. These four are the perfect starting points.

Sprout Social

Sprout Social is an all-in-one social media management platform that can help you through dozens of tasks—from monitoring online conversations to discovering trends and so much more. Find relevant hashtags as you write content in the Compost box, which automatically suggests hashtags as you begin adding them to your post. Alternatively, use Suggestions by AI Assist to generate copy and hashtags as you compose posts. These AI automation features can help eliminate the guesswork from manually researching relevant hashtags.

Hashtag Expert

Hashtag Expert is an easy-to-use smartphone app that can help you find hashtags based on a starter keyword, a category relevant to your industry (of which there are 35 to choose from) or a group of hashtags you’ve used before. Download Hashtag Expert and start compiling hashtags for your video content.

You can easily get a group of relevant hashtags for your video and save them for later, or copy them right inside the app to then paste into your TikTok caption. Plus, you can get access to daily trending hashtags to help you discover even more content ideas.

TikTok Hashtags

TikTok Hashtags is a basic hashtag generator that can help you find related hashtags.

Start by typing in a hashtag like #style and generate a handful of relevant and popular hashtags that can help increase visibility on your content. This is a completely free tool that’s easy to use for each of your new videos.

For the record, TikTok has no association with this website.

Ahrefs TikTok Hashtag Generator

Ahrefs has a free AI TikTok Hashtag Generator tool as a part of its free digital marketing and SEO tools arsenal. But this hashtag generator works a bit differently than the others.

With Ahrefs’ AI hashtag generator, you can type your video caption or a brief synopsis of your video into the text box and wait while the tool generates a list of hashtags for you to include. Specify the number of hashtags you want, the formatting you prefer, as well as the writing tone you’re going for. Then copy and paste the hashtags right into TikTok.

Make TikTok hashtags work for you

With more businesses using TikTok in their marketing strategies, incorporating the use of hashtags can be a great way to stand out. But just using the right hashtags isn’t enough. You also need to keep an eye on your TikTok analytics to look for opportunities to keep improving.

The post TikTok hashtags: How to use the best hashtags for more views in 2024 appeared first on Sprout Social.

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How social media changed the sports marketing game

Sports marketing isn’t new, but it does look different. The use of social media in sports marketing has transformed the way fans interact with their favorite athletes, teams and sporting events.

Sports figures—once separated from their fans by traditional media—have become our favorite influencers and mainstays in our feeds. Events and recaps previously reserved for stadiums and live TV are now available to watch 24/7, and fans—not commentators—get to have the last word in the comment section.

No longer just spectators, consumers play an active role in the sports industry and sports marketing campaigns. It’s consumers who have changed what sports marketing looks like by putting their engagement and dollars behind female, para, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ athletes, and athletes from a wide range of sport backgrounds. This diverse range of athletes has sparked a global sports marketing renaissance, and is giving brands a way to expand their reach (especially to new audiences).

Brands who have capitalized on this new golden age of sports marketing are increasing their awareness and positive sentiment—even if they aren’t directly related to the sports industry. As you plan for 2025, consider how the changing face of sports marketing could align with your strategy and goals.

Social media sports marketing catapults into mainstream culture

In the past, sports marketing campaigns targeted a smaller subset of sports fans. They largely failed to see the potential of incorporating a diverse range of athletes (with a few exceptions, like tennis superstar Serena Williams). Today’s sports marketing campaigns capture the attention of all kinds of audiences, and bring sports figures into the cultural zeitgeist. Which expands the opportunities for brands and athletes alike.

Interest in women’s sports sets new records

Recent media moments like WNBA rookie Angel Reese and rugby player Ilona Maher on the cover of Sports Illustrated demonstrate how far sports equity has come. More fans are tuning into women’s sporting events around the world than ever, there’s increased pressure to close the pay gap and female athletes’ bodies are celebrated for strength rather than aesthetics.

Yet, there are still naysayers and trolls who cast doubt on the ability of female athletes to compete at the highest level and draw profitable audiences—despite all evidence to the contrary. For example, Google launched a deal to double The Athletic’s coverage of women’s sports, and Ally Financial’s recent one-year, multimillion dollar sponsorship deal with ESPN will funnel 90% of its overall investment into women’s sports. Many brands who have successfully reached Gen Z audiences cite increased interest in women’s sports as the primary way they’ve been able to reach that demographic.

Interest in women’s sports mirrors newfound interest in other underappreciated events and athletes. Some of the most celebrated campaigns of 2024 feature athletes from women’s leagues, para athletes and up-and-coming players. In Ad Age’s lineup of the best sports marketing campaigns of 2024, they feature campaigns like Adidas’ Runner 321, which spotlights triathlete and marathon runner Chris Nikic, Adidas’ first sponsored athlete with Down Syndrome. Another standout is Gatorade’s Caitlin Clark is just getting started campaign, a simple yet inspiring homage to the rookie WNBA star.

New rules expand opportunities to partner with athletes

The Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) ruling in 2021 also greatly expanded the pool of athletes brands could work with by making it possible for college athletes to profit from partnerships—including those who had already built an online following. Like Olivia “Livvy” Dunne, the Louisiana State University gymnast who collected $3.6 million in 2023 from brand endorsement deals, including her partnership with Accelerator Active Energy. A recent video she posted about the brand received more than 60,000 likes and 1.5 million views on TikTok.

Renee Samms, Principal Strategic Services Consultant at Sprout, cautions brands to act ethically when signing deals with young athletes. “After the introduction of NIL and sponsorship deals, college athletes were thrown into the world of influencer marketing. They are athletes and students first, not influencers. This is a new, very nuanced world for them, and the decisions they make and contracts they sign could massively impact their career beyond their collegiate years. They don’t have the experience of working in this world or have teams behind them. It’s up to brands to act responsibly, and provide the best possible guidance for rights usage and fair pay.”

This advice applies to brands forging partnerships with all athletes—especially young, female, queer or para athletes—who are new to paid collaborations. Brands should always assume deals with athlete influencers could go public and act accordingly.

Brands of all types are taking a cue from the sports marketing playbook

A record-setting 5 billion people engaged with the 2022 World Cup on social, while there were 12 billion engagements about the 2024 summer games. The sheer volume of sports fans worldwide means even unlikely brands can use the sports industry for co-marketing opportunities and brand partnerships that extend reach and grow their audience.

Samms puts it like this: “Sports have always brought people together. Most people—including celebrities—are sports fans. After going through a global pandemic and other dark cultural moments, the positivity and inspiration of sports have mass appeal. People are seeking a sense of community—from pickleball courts to social media. This is the perfect time for brands (from all industries) to seize the moment.”

Here are a few examples of brands across industries taking the plunge into sports marketing.

Food and beverage

The Hershey Company took notice of the online buzz surrounding their Reese’s brand and WNBA star Angel Reese. The confectionary company turned that social insight into surprise-and-delight marketing activations followed by a viral collaboration.

As Paige Walker, Social Media Intelligence Supervisor at The Hershey Company told us, “The campaign was so successful because we listened to our consumers and Angel Reese’s fans. Audiences really appreciate when brands take their ideas and feedback into consideration. It creates a genuine relationship. Fans had repeatedly asked Reese’s to partner with Angel, and we made it a reality. My favorite part of the campaign was seeing the fan reactions—it made the hard work worth it!” The campaign resulted in millions of views, major media pickups and very happy fans.

Other food and beverage brands such as McDonald’s and Hellman’s are partnering with teams and athletes to create unexpected moments. Like when internet darling Grimace threw the first pitch at a New York Mets game (and went on to become their good luck charm). Or when Titans’ quarterback Will Levis starred in a mayo fragrance campaign.

But as unexpected brands dabble in sports marketing, how can you create a meaningful campaign? Here’s advice from Walker: “Use social listening to look where you’d least expect to find a brand connection or opportunity. You never know who is talking about your brand or products and how they’re using them in their daily lives. It may be a partnership your brand has never considered before, but it could help create more awareness within new communities.”

Fashion

SKIMS became the official underwear partner of the WNBA this year. While a fashion and shapewear brand may not seem like the most obvious choice for a partnership, the empowering campaign message landed with basketball and fashion fans alike.

Other fashion brands like David Yurman and Savage x Fenty are partnering with athletes who share a passion for both style and their sport.

Insurance and finance

Gainbridge partnered with athletes Caitlin Clarke, Billie Jean King and Annika Sörenstam to promote their product ParityFlex, an annuity designed to address women’s unique retirement needs.

Other insurance companies like GEICO and State Farm sponsor athletes, events and athletic associations year-round.

Legal concerns to remember when racing to execute sports marketing campaigns on social media

Even with the massive opportunity sports marketing presents, brands need to proceed with care. The industry can be particularly litigious when it comes to intellectual property (IP).

As Samms explains, “IP rights—like rights to usage of content, logos of various teams or various leagues, and athlete names, images and likenesses—are particularly challenging to navigate. I highly recommend working with a skilled and experienced legal team in these instances.”

While the risks of mismanaged sports marketing campaigns are similar to influencer marketing, there are added layers of complexity that usually come from teams, leagues and events. The ANA describes two primary legal infractions:

• Trademark infringement: This refers to unauthorized use of a mark that is likely to cause “confusion, deception or a mistake about the source of the goods or services.” For example, using a name similar to a league, team or athlete, or misusing a logo, could be considered trademark infringement. Other actions, like cybersquatting, trademark counterfeiting or using a trademarked visual could all be seen as deliberate trademark infringement. Unless you have a specific partnership in place (which is notoriously hard to obtain), it’s typically best practice to avoid using sports industry IP in your content.
• Ambush marketing: This occurs when a company that’s not an official sponsor takes advantage of an event’s high profile attention by “launching marketing activities that create an association with the event.” Ambush marketing isn’t always unlawful, but it can still result in legal repercussions from event owners, official sponsors and legislative bodies. For example, if a company tries to run a promo or campaign tied to a particular event, athlete or organizer, that could be seen as ambush marketing. Also, attempting to market yourself in the physical space where an event is taking place could be frowned upon.

Both of these areas can be murky. Where does commenting or participating on a cultural event end and IP infringement or ambush marketing begin? Those most qualified to answer those questions will be your legal team. Just because they may caution you to avoid specific names, likenesses, images or events, doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to join the conversation on social or work with athletes.

Create your own sports marketing wins

Sports marketing has become a much more inclusive, highly engaging space, largely driven by social media and the diversity of athletes now in the spotlight. Brands that tap into this transformation can reach new audiences and build deeper connections, leveraging the passion and loyalty of sports fans across the globe.

As you plan your 2025 social media strategy, consider how the growing influence of women’s sports and diverse athletes could complement your brand (even in the most unexpected ways). The clock is running and it’s time for brands across industries to explore sports marketing as a key part of their growth strategy (in partnership with their legal team).

Looking for more content strategy insights for marketing leaders as you head into 2025? Download our CMO 2025 social content strategy pre-mortem to facilitate more productive planning for you and your team.

The post How social media changed the sports marketing game appeared first on Sprout Social.

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A guide to choosing the most effective social media networks for your brand

Which social media networks should your brand focus on?

Not too long ago, the answer may have been, “as many as your team can handle.” But times have changed. Social media management is evolving rapidly, and consumers are becoming more discerning about where they engage. They now turn to different platforms for different purposes—whether it’s customer care, entertainment or staying informed. And they expect your brand to meet them where they already are.

The most successful strategies strike a balance between your business objectives and the behaviors of your audience. In this article, we’ll explore how to prioritize social media networks so your brand shows up where it matters most.

What is a social media network?

A social media network is an online platform that supports communication, interaction and content sharing among individuals and communities. It’s a broad definition, and intentionally so. As consumer and advertiser preferences shift, so do social media networks.

Consider this: Early social media was primarily about connecting existing communities through text-based content and personalized profiles—think custom-coded MySpace page or writing on your friend’s Facebook Wall.

Today, visual content and algorithmic feeds reign supreme on social, ushering in an era of hyper-personalization. Feeds and timelines have become entirely unique to the individual, based on user preferences. Interactions are less public and flourish in comment sections, direct messages and closed communities.

These shifts may feel sudden, but they’re the result of small changes happening constantly over longer periods of time. That’s why it’s crucial to stay up to date with the state of your favorite networks.

The three types of social media networks (and their benefits)

The social media network landscape has grown exponentially in recent years. Emerging networks are constantly introduced; existing networks evolve to remain competitive and the idea of maintaining a presence on every platform is becoming less feasible, even for teams with ample resources.

Before we can help you decide where to focus your efforts, let’s get on the same page with how consumers are using different types of social media networks today.

General social media networks

General social media networks are what most people think of when they picture traditional social platforms. They’re built primarily for communication, connection and content sharing. These networks enable a broad range of interactions—from posting text and images to professional networking and community-building. These networks include:

Instagram

According to the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, 84% of social media users have an Instagram profile, making it the most popular social media network across ages.

Users’ primary reasons for scrolling Instagram are to connect with friends and family and alleviate boredom. But half of all users also interact with brands there at least once per day.

Facebook

Two decades after Facebook first appeared and revolutionized how we connect and share online, it’s still one of the most popular platforms in the world.

Today, about 83% of all social users have a Facebook profile. Gen X leads the way in Facebook usage, followed closely by Boomers and Millennials. It remains the top choice for news and current events. Consumers across all ages are also likely to turn to Facebook for social media customer service.

X (formerly Twitter)

Almost half (48%) of all social users across age demographics have an X profile, with men significantly more likely to have a profile than women.

Consumers use X for entertainment, connections with friends and family and keeping up with influencers and celebrities. When interacting with brands, X’s purpose changes slightly. While still wanting to be entertained, consumers are also most likely to engage with educational product content and contests and giveaways.

Pinterest

Social users view Pinterest as a source of good vibes. In fact, more than half (51%) of surveyed consumers feel that Pinterest content is more positive than content on other platforms. That number climbs even higher for Gen Z.

The best brands on Pinterest use the social media network to inspire their audiences with aspirational content. Affirm, a fintech company offering buy now, pay later services, uses the brand to connect with Millennial audiences planning their next big purchase—whether that be a bucket list trip or furnishing their first home.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn’s user base primarily consists of Gen X and Millennial corporate professionals, making it the go-to platform for everything career-related—jobs, networking, professional development and personal brand building.

As the leading platform for B2B marketing, it’s also an excellent place to source leads. In fact, recent LinkedIn statistics show that 62% of B2B marketers generate leads through LinkedIn. Even better, it delivers 2x higher conversion rates and a 33% increase in purchase intent compared to other platforms.

Threads

In 2023, Meta launched Threads, which quickly became the fastest app to reach 100 million users. Since then, new features have been rolled out and users are starting to figure out how Threads fits into their daily scrolling habits.

Currently, most users turn to Threads to pass the time, though many also use it to stay updated on news and real-time events. While entertainment and education are key draws, users also enjoy seeing brands interact with one another, which has proven to be an effective strategy for brands on Threads looking to drive engagement.

Social entertainment networks

The rise of short-form video—along with the growing accessibility of video editing tools like CapCut and Canva—has ushered in what social media consultant Rachel Karten calls the “social entertainment era.”

Consumers now prefer entertaining content across all platforms, with 66% of social users finding “edutainment” to be the most engaging form of brand content—outperforming memes, serialized content and skits. While all platforms are beginning to favor more entertaining content, certain networks are built with entertainment at their core. Those include:

YouTube

More than three-quarters (78%) of all social users have a YouTube profile, and that number soars even higher for Gen Z and Millennials.

As consumer attention spans shorten, YouTube’s relatively long videos continue to appeal—even when it comes to brand posts. Over half (51%) of YouTube users favor brands’ long-form videos. The long-form nature of YouTube content also allows you to create short-form content for other video platforms like Instagram and TikTok, maximizing your reach and ROI.

TikTok

Younger consumers drove (and continue to drive) TikTok’s rapid growth. Though 68% of social users have a TikTok profile, that number skyrockets to 86% for Gen Z and 73% for Millennials.

For Gen Z especially, TikTok is more than a social network. It’s a search engine, a news source, a birthplace of culture and an online shopping mall. It’s the top channel for news and product discovery among the age cohort.

Community-driven social networks

Community-driven social networks offer dedicated spaces for groups with shared interests. Unlike broader social spaces, these networks prioritize group discussions, along with direct interactions within specific, interest-based communities. These networks include:

Reddit

Reddit is a text-based social network made up of over 100,000 communities, known as subreddits, each with its own unique rules and culture.

The network’s audience tends to be younger, with nearly 70% identifying as male. While Reddit is often associated with its major subreddits—like /r/IAmA or /r/personalfinance—it also hosts active communities on a wide range of topics, from fitness to beauty and beyond.

Discord

Discord is a voice, video and text chat app used by over 300 million people worldwide. What began as a spot for gamers to congregate is now home to communities for all sorts of interests—from readers and equestrians to botanists. If a topic has enough enthusiasts, there’s likely a Discord server dedicated to it.

While Discord may not be the best network for growing your audience, it offers significant potential for those willing to invest in building a long-term community. For brands with strong advocacy programs, a Discord server can facilitate meaningful connections and conversations among community members, making it an invaluable space for fostering engagement.

Vertical social networks

A variety of niche social media networks have emerged to serve the interests of highly specific communities. There’s Letterboxd for film enthusiasts, Strava for runners and Nextdoor for local neighborhoods—the list goes on.

If your target audience aligns with an existing vertical network, these platforms can provide unparalleled access to authentic opinions that can enhance your marketing strategy. For example, a construction company operating in a specific region might find greater value in focusing its efforts on Nextdoor rather than investing heavily in larger platforms.

A framework for choosing the right social media networks for your strategy

So which networks are the most important for your brand?

Grab a piece of paper and a pencil—or open your favorite note-taking app—and take some time to answer the following questions. Some answers may come to you easily, while others might require a bit of research. Remember, this isn’t a decision to rush. Use this opportunity to align all stakeholders on your social strategy, ensuring everyone is on the same page. That way, you can narrow your focus with confidence.

What are your top business priorities?

Social media is valuable for more than just marketing, so it’s important to consider marketing and overall organizational goals. If you limit your focus to just your greater marketing team, you might miss opportunities to make a bigger impact.

For example, let’s say you work with a B2B brand that’s primarily focused on conversions in its marketing efforts. If you pick priority networks based solely on that goal, you might spend all your time on networks that drive a lot of clicks. Your product team, on the other hand, might be focused on improving customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

If you don’t take the product team’s goals into account, you might end up ignoring networks that provide valuable customer feedback through support requests or community discussions. By paying attention to this feedback, you can work together with your team to increase social influence within your organization.

Social media can affect many areas of a business. That’s why it’s essential to understand priorities at different levels within the organization before choosing which networks to focus on.

Where is your audience currently spending their time online?

Remember, successful strategies strike a balance between business objectives and audience behaviors. Focusing too heavily on one at the expense of the other can lead to a strategy that misses the mark.

To determine where your audience is currently spending their time, you should combine consumer research—like the stats mentioned in this article—with your historical performance data. Use a social media management tool to identify which profiles are generating the highest impressions and engagement. If you’re using Sprout Social, you can find this information in the Profile Performance Report.

This report will provide you with a high-level aggregation of analytics so you can get a pulse on the performance of your social profiles. If certain profiles consistently outperform others, now is the time to dig into why.

Where are your competitors most active?

Your last step in the research process is conducting a competitive analysis. By taking a closer look at the social media strategies of your top competitors, you can uncover valuable insights that you might have missed when focusing solely on your efforts.

Social media is an incredible resource for competitive intel. Marketers often tap into social data to assess customer loyalty and pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors’ offerings. If you see your competitors thriving on a particular channel, it’s a strong signal that it’s worth exploring your presence there, too.

If you want to dive deeper into your analysis, consider using a social listening tool. With Sprout’s Social Listening capabilities, you can create Competitive Analysis Topics and break down the data by specific Themes. This way, you discover which messaging from your competitors resonates most with audiences and where they’re making the biggest impact.

Prioritize the right social media networks for your brand

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which social media networks your brand should prioritize. The key is to combine consumer insights, data and your marketer’s intuition to make the best decisions.

Luckily, when it comes to consumer insights, we’ve got you covered. Our survey of over 4,500 consumers reveals what people really expect from brands on social media—and how those expectations vary across different platforms. Dive into the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report to discover which content types your team should focus on and where to direct your energy to create the most ROI.

Get the report

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Salesforce and Sprout Social are ushering in a new era of social media customer care

Sprout Social’s global partnership with Salesforce means Salesforce customers can seamlessly transition to and manage their full social media presence and social customer care operations through Sprout’s award-winning social suite.

When we launched our partnership back in 2022, Ryan Strynatka, SVP & COO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud said, “Salesforce is excited to partner with Sprout. We’re on a journey to empower companies to create a 360° view of their customers, and by integrating with Sprout’s industry leading social media management platform we will help our customers deliver success now.”

In this article, we explain how this partnership can help you maximize your brand’s performance, and how it’s evolved for your benefit.

Why Salesforce chose to partner with Sprout Social

Salesforce and Sprout care deeply about our customers’ success, and at the forefront of our decision to partner was the value we can provide our joint customers.

Social is still a young industry that evolves everyday, with new trends and use cases that lead to new business requirements. Because social is Sprout’s expertise, Salesforce recognized that Sprout can help companies elevate their social media management and take advantage of our strong network partnerships and integrations. We help more than 34,000 of the world’s best brands integrate their customer touch points, so Salesforce knows we can help their customers stay on pace with the emerging changes in the social landscape.

Sprout enables Salesforce customers to better connect with their audiences, streamline workflows, deliver excellent social customer care and turn social data into meaningful insights—all from one platform.

Here are the three core customer benefits that drove our partnership.

1. Customer care at scale

Customers are turning to social as the first line of communication with brands. A Q1 2024 Sprout Social Pulse Survey found that 80% of consumers agree they use social media more now compared to a year ago to engage with brands about customer service needs. Social and customer care teams must be ready to meet consumers’ changing expectations.

Sprout’s platform helps brands connect with customers quickly and efficiently so they can better address their needs and build greater brand loyalty. With Sprout’s streamlined single code base, our platform is scalable and delivers innovations faster, enabling brands with the agility to onboard with ease. It’s intuitive for practitioners—which makes it easy to adopt and use every day. For Salesforce customers, customer care representatives are able to respond from either Sprout or Service Cloud, with real-time synchronization between the two.

Keep reading to learn more about our comprehensive Service Cloud integration.

2. More than 100 new features every year

Given the speed at which social evolves, brands can’t afford to be left behind. Marketers and customer care representatives must be able to engage their customers across social networks. To do that, they have to stay in sync with the latest platform updates and emerging trends.

That’s why integrations with both social networks and technology partners are the core of Sprout’s platform. Our partner integrations, with platforms like Salesforce, enable our customers to easily connect tools across their technology stacks and create one simplified experience. And our network integrations with top social platforms like TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn help us keep up with the speed of social–adding new functionality to Sprout as each social network evolves.

Sprout offers highly requested features from existing Social Studio customers.

Partner integrations:

• TikTok
• Instagram Reels and direct messages
• Meta Threads
• Yelp
• Glassdoor
• Canva
• WhatsApp
• Slack
• Reddit Listening

Platform features:

• Comments on paid posts
• Optimized publishing times
• Unified social scheduling and comment tagging
• Campaign reporting
• Customizable business hours
• Employee advocacy
• AI functionality
• Social Listening
• Influencer marketing

3. #1 Best Software Product according to G2 2024 Awards

Sprout was named the #1 Best Software Product across all categories in G2’s 2024 Software Awards. And in G2’s 2024 Fall Reports, Sprout ranked #1 in 94 different reports, with 173 leader badges spanning all business segments. The winners were selected based on reviews from real users.

How the Sprout Social Salesforce partnership enhances our platform experience

Salesforce trusts that Sprout is the right platform to help enterprise companies deliver relationship-building services, reach their audience and capture data that drives strategic decision making.

Through this partnership, we will elevate our award-winning platform to continue to innovate with Salesforce products and provide an all-in-one social management and customer care experience.

Sprout’s integrations with Salesforce

To easily build a single view of the customer, Sprout offers a robust integration with Salesforce solutions integral to your business including Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Tableau, Slack and Marketing Cloud Intelligence data, and now Agentforce assistant for Service Cloud, an internal conversational AI for CRM.

We built a sophisticated logic layer that connects Salesforce to Sprout, which means your customer data can easily be passed and stored between both platforms. This component of our integration—paired with our product automation—makes customer care seamless for your team by creating an all-encompassing view of your customer.

For example, in Sprout, Salesforce Contact information shows you the name, social profile, email address and phone number of each person who contacts your brand on social. You can track past conversations across customer service channels so your social support team is empowered to deliver omnichannel customer care.

And with new innovations like Sprout + Agentforce, care agents and managers can use conversational AI to surface data from cases across social and CRM, in real-time, to inform customer interactions, improve service quality and speed up resolution times. Agents can get the context they need to solve customer problems, without manually digging for insights and delaying responses.

Ryan Barretto, CEO of Sprout says, “Salesforce is the global CRM leader with a footprint across sales, service, marketing, commerce and data intelligence. Powerful, elegant integrations from Sprout into Salesforce give our customers an unprecedented ability to build closer connections with customers and operationalize social at scale.”

These comprehensive Salesforce integrations make it possible for customers to smoothly migrate to Sprout. With the help of our professional services team—who are well-versed in Social Studio and Sprout—you can make the transition with little to no downtime.

Plan for the future of social media management

Social media isn’t slowing down. Stay on top of your social strategy by planning for long-term social media management success.

Transform your social media management and customer care strategy with Sprout Social’s comprehensive Salesforce integration. Get in touch with our team to schedule your demo today.

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What you need to know to create a social media budget

No matter which industry you work in, you want to ensure your investments are cost-effective. In marketing, that inevitably raises questions like: Are we optimizing ad spend? How much are you really spending on your tech stack? Are social media campaigns worth the investment? These are all worthwhile questions to consider. Having a social media budget will help you answer them.

Whether your organization’s wallet is big or small, budgeting is at the core of social media planning. Once you start tracking your spend, you’ll find it easier to analyze the effectiveness of your strategy so you can drive impact from social media faster.

Where to begin: How to create a social media budget

According to the 2024 Sprout Social Index™ Report, 60% of marketers plan to quantify the value of their social media engagement in terms of revenue. To do that, you need to have a clear budget so you can extrapolate value, return on investment and impact. Here’s tactical advice on how to create your social budget—using your existing social data and strategy as a foundation.

Understand your team’s needs and historical data

Gather your previous social budgets, strategies and performance data from the last two to three years. This is what you’re going to use to develop a baseline for your 2025 budget.

In many cases, social marketers use their previous year’s budget as a starting point and increase or decrease it based on the company’s upcoming goals for social. This is a good way to begin, but it’s not the only data to use when developing your next year’s budget. Also consider:

• Organizational goals: Your social goals will be informed by your broader organizational goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). Consider how the goals have changed from previous years and how the new goals will impact your upcoming social activities.
• Past performance: Highlight what has worked and what hasn’t in previous years—this will help you determine the types of social strategies you’re going to run in 2025. From this information, you can determine campaign and resourcing costs.
• Social platform distribution: Review performance metrics like reach, engagement, conversions and ROI from each social platform you use, such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Which platforms have seen growth and which ones are lagging behind? How will this inform your platform distribution and resources in the coming year?
• Internal skills and expertise: Do you have enough people and resources in 2025 to execute your campaigns in-house, or will you need to hire new employees and/or contract external resources? The answers to this question can greatly affect your budget.

Take into account current economic conditions

Marketers are always asked to do more with less—and you may be asked to do the same with your 2025 social media marketing budget. When determining how much to spend on social in the coming year, factor in the following macroeconomic conditions as they may affect your organization’s purse strings:

• Economic outlook: Factors such as inflation, interest rates, geopolitical news and consumer confidence play a large role in both marketing strategies and budgets. Stay informed about the overall economic outlook for 2025 and how it may affect your industry.
• Industry trends: Research industry-specific trends in social and identify potential opportunities for your brand. How is your target audience feeling about brands on social media? What formats interest them the most? Customer sentiments can have a massive impact on your budget. For example, if your target audience values video formats, your creative production costs might be higher than if they preferred static images. Sprout’s Social Media Content Strategy Report is a good starting point for what’s happening in social, and how you can apply it to your own plans.
• Competitive landscape: Analyze your competitors’ social media presence. What platforms are they prioritizing? What types of campaigns do they run? Check their brand profiles, and consider using a tool like Meta Ads Library to dig into their paid strategy. These insights will help you identify ways to differentiate your social strategy, which can have downstream impacts on your social media budget.

Decide on the type of budget you’ll use

How will you determine your social media management costs based on the insights you’ve gathered? There are three common types of social media budgets:

• Traditional budget: This is where you start with a sum of money and then allocate amounts to each category. Once a category is depleted, you can’t move other funds into it. This type of budgeting requires careful and detailed projections for each type of spend. If you miscalculate how much you need for training, for example, your team may be out of luck until the next fiscal year—which may impact your social performance.
• Flexible budget: This is where category depletion can be fulfilled by another category. Did one run out of money and another category has extra to spare? Move it over. In this type of budget, you essentially have one pot of money, and you can allocate funds to different categories as needed. It’s a good option for brands that have shifting priorities during the fiscal year.
• Zero budget: This is when you start every category with zero at the beginning of each budget planning cycle. You increase the amounts per category, justifying the cost every time. One of the advantages of this type of budget is that each dollar spent is aligned closely with marketing and organizational goals. It’s a good way to keep your department on track if you have a history of straying from objectives.

There are many ways to manage a marketing budget. Some teams even take a lump sum and deduct as you operate. This can get complicated if you have multiple components to track because it makes it more difficult to see how well your budget performs over time.

What should a budget for social media marketing include?

Now that you know what to consider when developing your social media budget, you’re ready to dive into how to budget for social media marketing. Let’s break down some of the factors to consider as you do so.

Use goals as your foundation

You won’t know how to allocate your budget until you know your social media goals. For example, if you’re hoping for more conversions, you might invest more heavily into paid lead generating campaigns and less into awareness efforts.

To help you set goals, refer to your previous year’s goals and budget allocations. Ask yourself questions like:

• Did you meet those goals?
• Which strategies were successful?
• Did you have budget left over or were you stretched thin?
• Do you want to increase resources to drive new strategies or expand previous ones?

In addition to considering your social goals, think about what goals your audience may have for following your brand on social media. Your goals need to align with your audiences’—otherwise the disconnect may lead to poor engagement.

According to the Sprout Social Index Report, some of the primary reasons consumers give for following a brand on social include staying informed about products and services, having access to exclusive deals and being entertained. These reasons will have an impact on the type of content you create—which will affect your budget.

Once you decide on goals, the next step is to consider all the different components that factor into a budget. Every element we list may not make sense for an organization’s budgeting process, so use what is most relevant for your business and objectives.

Employees and training

Social marketers are multifaceted. They often handle copywriting, data analysis, strategy, creative development and more. These efforts often support needs beyond marketing. In fact, 76% of social marketers say their team’s insights inform other departments, and 65% say other teams inform their social efforts, according to the Sprout Social Index Report.

To excel on social—and keep your marketers from burning out—businesses of all sizes should invest in recruiting, hiring and retaining social marketers. If you need help thinking through how to evolve your social team, check out this guide with four org chart models to consider.

Keep in mind that adding new members to your team isn’t the only option. Sometimes a reorganization of existing team members may do the job. The majority of social teams are structured by network, while others are structured by audience engagement, content distribution and internal functional support. Consider what structure may work best for your team.

Part of your marketing budget might include this team’s payroll and administration expenses, which may already be calculated into the company’s bottom line. If this is the case, you can ignore the payroll part. If you predict having to hire a contractor or consultant to fill a skills or bandwidth gap, add that to your social media marketing budget. For a small business, having anyone dedicated to marketing is an investment: make sure you’ve included their payroll amounts and any salary increases or bonuses. You want to recognize and retain your team, so building career growth into the budget is crucial.

Social media is constantly changing. Keeping a pulse on industry trends and new platform features demands time. Whether you are considering a new creative format like Instagram Reels or an emerging platform like Threads, social marketers need the ability to explore, evaluate and decide how to fit these into their strategy.

No matter how big your team is, training will always be part of your budget. If you don’t learn or adjust to new features, you risk falling behind your competitors.

Content creation and production

Social media has accelerated business competition, but developing creative, informative content helps brands stand out in a crowded landscape. Consistently publishing and investing in content—especially short-form video—is imperative for achieving social goals.

Whether you produce content in-house or you outsource, it takes money, time and lots of planning. On average, video production costs organizations between $880 and $1200 per video but can vary by location. But given that video is a top content format for social, you should definitely include it in your strategy. And don’t forget post-production—editing, audio and graphic design work also takes time and money. Don’t let your content fall flat because you forgot to budget for post-production effort.

Finally, if you’re going a paid content route, you’ll need to include that content creation here or in the general advertising budget.

Brands publish an average of 11 posts per day across social channels, but the number can vary depending on industry. If your content strategy requires a higher volume of daily posts, your budget in this area might be much larger than that of a brand that posts a few times a week.

One way to alleviate costs is to build a user-generated content strategy to supplement some of your content calendar while also building brand loyalty. It’s something social media users crave, along with authentic, non-promotional content, according to The Index. Keep in mind that while user-generated content can reduce some of your content creation costs, you’ll still need to allocate resources to managing it.

Another idea is to repurpose your existing content across multiple channels and media types. Can you edit a video into a GIF? Or turn article quotes into graphics? This is a great strategy to stretch your budget while reinforcing your brand’s value proposition by repeating key messages.

Software and subscriptions

Social media marketers have plenty of manual tasks that can get in the way of prioritizing meaningful work that makes a bigger impact. According to The 2024 Social Media Productivity Report, tasks like influencer management, responding to customers and content creation take up a lot of time. Can these tasks be fully or partially automated, and can your team use some of the time they save on other more important tasks?

Social media software can transform the productivity of your social media department, helping you drive revenue and make a business impact.

Plenty of social teams use resources that come with recurring monthly or annual costs. They include subscriptions to social media management and analytics tools or customer support and email platforms.

Relying on native social networks to manage all the moving parts of your social strategy can hinder your progress. Social media tools enhance efficiency, empower creativity and generate data that benefits your whole business. Some of our favorites, which range in price, include:

• Google Trends and Feedly (integrated with Sprout Social) for content curation.
• Canva for turnkey graphic design anyone can master.
• Sprout Social for social media management, including publishing, analytics, community management and more. You can boost efficiency with a user friendly platform that centralizes the majority of your social tasks.
• Sprout Social’s Influencer Marketing Platform, Tagger for influencer campaign management and marketing, including searching for vetted creators.
• Sprout’s Premium Analytics and Listening solutions to ensure you have all the data you need to measure ROI, share of voice in your industry, rising social trends and more.
• Bitly for custom link management.
• Our free UTM builder and Google Analytics for comprehensive campaign reporting and social attribution. These tools are also useful for determining a budget for each social media campaign.
• Dropbox to easily save and share social content, especially videos.
• Grammarly for checking your social media copy quality.

Whatever keeps your social marketing running smoothly should be included in this area of your budget. If you are considering changes or new software in the coming year, consider including some padding here.

If you’re not sure when to upgrade your enterprise level social media management software, check out this article where we walk through considerations to think about before committing to a tool.

Advertising and paid campaigns

Advertising is another big-budget area for social, and for good reason—58% of consumers say that social media has some influence on their purchasing decisions. That’s why many brands consider paid social media a cornerstone of their social media strategy.

For companies executing multichannel campaigns, you’ll need to decide how much to allocate for each channel. If Facebook is your biggest channel, for example, it makes sense to devote more money there. The average Facebook ad cost per click hovers around the $0.6 mark but fluctuates based on industry.

If you want to grow your Instagram audience, invest more of your social media campaign budget in Instagram ads. Thankfully, you can manage Instagram and Facebook ads from one location, and even serve the same ad across both platforms.

If you’re just starting out with social media advertising, we suggest learning the basics first and experimenting with different platforms, targeting options and content approaches.

Influencer, creator and other business partnerships

Social media users cite brands partnering with influencers they love as an action that compels them to buy.

It’s no wonder between brand collaborations, the booming creator economy and influencer marketing campaigns, brand partnerships are everywhere on social media. They effectively increase your brand presence and get new customers to your virtual door, but they do cost money to implement, especially depending on the reach of your partner.

When it comes to working with content creators, marketers cite budget as their biggest challenge. For example, almost half of all influencers charge between $250 to $1,000 per post, which can be too costly for some brands. Do your research and decide which channels and content types to prioritize early to make a better case for your creator-focused budget.

A celebrity will inevitably be more expensive than a microinfluencer, so it’s important to do your research to choose the right partner for your brand and reap the greatest ROI.

Similarly, the cost of your partnerships can depend on content type, as well as the platform you’re requesting content for.

While you’re cementing your contract with brand partners, make sure to incorporate a mutually agreed-upon social reporting plan so both parties can track how well the partnership performs.

Use this handy influencer marketing budget template to strategically allocate resources to high-value partnerships and control costs by setting clear spending limits. You can also use the template to create a few different social media budget examples for your brand.

Social customer care

Social media has amplified the customer relationship for brands: 63% of consumers agree that their loyalty to a brand is significantly influenced by the quality of customer support they receive on social media.

Social provides a quick, easy and efficient way for customers to air grievances, ask questions and get help from brands. This is why brands interested in differentiating themselves are investing in modern customer service solutions on social. In fact, 71% of business leaders agree that most companies don’t have a strong social media strategy for customer service and care at the moment. This gap could be your brand’s big opportunity.

One of the biggest challenges brands face when providing customer care over social media is that they are inundated with customer requests and inquiries, making it difficult for them to resolve issues in a timely manner.

Social customer care solutions that streamline processes and increase efficiency are a great investment for brands that want to create memorable customer relationships.

AI tools

Artificial intelligence is transforming the game for social media marketers, with the majority of marketers saying AI has a positive impact on their work.

AI-powered tools expedite nearly every social media management task, from data analysis to content creation to customer engagement and more. If you’re looking to help your social team increase efficiency for manual or repetitive tasks so they can prioritize the human elements of social media, incorporating AI tools into your social media budget is a must. 61% of marketers who are experimenting with AI cite improved productivity as an immediate benefit—which means the return on your investment is immediate as well.

Consider which tasks your social team spends time on each week that could be made more efficient by artificial intelligent tools. For example, triaging customer support requests is a cumbersome manual task that can take up a lot of time from a social media manager’s day. Artificial intelligence tools can triage customer requests and give your agents data about previous interactions to speed up responses, helping your team focus their time on other priorities.

Create a social media marketing budget to set your team up for success

At the end of the day, a budget helps you organize your team and your strategy. And it has benefits that extend beyond simply boosting posts—from securing the software you use, to guiding your advertising strategy, fueling paid partnerships and more.

Whether you have a good idea of what your social media budget will be or are just getting started on your research, it helps to know how much time your team spends on each social task. Download this free time tracker template to get a clear picture of how long it takes to complete routine social tasks, so you can advocate for the resources you need to accomplish your goals.

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How to schedule YouTube Shorts [2024 Guide]

If YouTube marketing is a part of your overall social media strategy, you’ve likely dabbled in making YouTube Shorts to connect with your audience and share quick, entertaining content.

Regularly uploading videos builds a routine for your audience, increasing YouTube engagement and getting them excited for more. Posting consistently also boosts your channel’s visibility by signaling to YouTube’s algorithm that you’re active and worth recommending.

So, how do you stay consistent and maintain a healthy work-life balance? Batch film your content and schedule it to publish in advance so you always have videos to post.

This guide will teach you more about the benefits of scheduling YouTube Shorts and how to schedule them using Sprout Social and the native YouTube app.

What are YouTube Shorts?

Launched in 2020, YouTube Shorts are vertical short-form videos, similar to TikTok videos or Instagram Reels. The videos can be up to 60 seconds long and made using the Shorts camera in the YouTube app or uploaded from your computer. Users can find and watch Shorts on the YouTube homepage, in the Shorts tab on YouTube, on a creator’s channel homepage and Google search results.

How to schedule YouTube Shorts in Sprout

The scheduling workflow for a YouTube Short is the same as what you would do to post a YouTube Video. You just need to make sure your video file matches the required specifications for a Short.

Here’s the whole process, broken down step by step.

1. Select the camera icon in the Compose box.

 

2. Select the video file you want to upload.

Ensure your video follows these specifications:

• File type: .MP4 or .MOV
• Max length: 60 seconds
• Aspect ratio: Square or vertical
• File size: 3 GB

3. Give your video a title.

4. Open the YouTube Video Options section to add key details to your video.

These details include:

• Adding YouTube tags, separated by commas.
• Deciding if you want the video to be Public, Private or Unlisted.
  Selecting a Category for your video and a Playlist to publish your video to (optional).

5. Click Show Advanced Settings to expand and manage other video settings.

These settings include license rights and ownership, allowing embedding and publishing to subscription feeds.

6. Schedule your YouTube Short.

You have the option to:

• Select your desired publishing date and time.
• Create a Draft to save your post and schedule it later.
• Queue the Short to automatically post it at a pre-set time.
• Publish the Short immediately.

Alternatively, selecting the Use Optimal Times feature powered by ViralPost®, will give you options for the best times to post your Short for your unique profile and audience behavior.

How to schedule Shorts on YouTube

Want your YouTube Short to publish at a specific time? Scheduling Shorts on YouTube is pretty straightforward.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. Click Create and choose Upload videos.

3. Pick the file you want to upload and fill in your video details.

Make sure your video meets the specifications for YouTube Shorts.

4. Click the Schedule card and set the date, time and time zone you want your video to go live.

5. Click Schedule and you’re all set.

Changing a scheduled publication time for a YouTube Short

If you change the scheduled publish time, or decide you want to publish your video right away, follow these steps:

• Sign in to YouTube Studio or use the YouTube app.
• From the left Menu, select Content.
• Select the video you want to edit.
• Select Edit Visibility from the dropdown menu.
• To change the scheduled publish time, ensure the visibility is set to Private. Click Edit Draft then choose the new time under Schedule.
  • To publish the video immediately, set the visibility to Public.
• Select Publish.

How to schedule YouTube Shorts on your phone

Follow these steps to schedule a Short via YouTube’s native mobile app. Sprout users can also schedule shorts through the mobile app.

• 1. Open the YouTube app.
• 2. Click the Create button (the plus icon at the bottom center of your screen) and tap Create a Short.
• 3. Record your Short or select the media you want to upload.

There are also options to add music to your video (just make sure it’s non-copyrighted if you want to monetize it), text, voiceovers and filters.

• 4. Click Next and add more video details like titles and captions.

• 5. Select Visibility to choose how you want the video to be published (i.e., Public, Unlisted or Private).
• 6. Tap Schedule to select a publishing date and time for your Short.

• 7. Go back to the Add Details screen.

Under Visibility, you should now see your scheduled date and time.

• 8. Click Upload Short to schedule your YouTube Short.

Why you should schedule your YouTube Shorts

Scheduling your content in advance on the native platform is a good place to start. However, using a social media management platform like Sprout Social will save you time and help you maintain a consistent content calendar.

Here are three reasons why:

• Stay organized and efficient. Instead of trying to keep track of all your content ideas and video clips while posting in real time, a YouTube marketing tool like Sprout enables you to schedule, publish and promote your Shorts content in one place.
• Publish at the right time. Capabilities like our Optimal Send Times™ analyze your audience’s engagement patterns and schedule your posts to publish at the best times automatically. This means you worry less about scheduling and focus more on creating great content.
• Gain insights to optimize your efforts. Sprout Social’s analytics and reporting features offer deep insight into how your audience responds to your content, so you can make smarter decisions and get better results.

Schedule for YouTube Shorts success

Scheduling YouTube Shorts is a great way to stay organized and publish regularly.

There may still be times when you’ll want or need to post in the moment. Still, pre-scheduled content gives you the flexibility to experiment and take advantage of trends or current events without worrying about gaps in your content calendar.

Finding a healthy balance between organization and creativity is the best way to maintain an authentic and meaningful relationship with your audience.

To help you strike the right mix, use our YouTube strategy template to audit your current efforts, analyze competitors and define your goals and audience.

FAQs

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