After announcing earlier this year that it would share ad revenue with the creators of Shorts, YouTube is experimenting with new revenue streams for the service. The platform plans to introduce TikTok-like shopping features in Shorts, allowing users to shop directly for products promoted by influencers through links in videos, The Financial Times has reported.
YouTube plans to roll out two separate schedules starting in 2023. The first is an affiliate marketing system that would pay a commission to select US-based creators who promote products. Meanwhile, users in the US, India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia would be able to shop through Shorts via links. All that on top of the aforementioned system that will give creators a 45 percent share of ad revenue from the beginning of next year
“It’s more of an endorsement model than a more traditional advertising model or a paid placement model,” YouTube Shopping’s GM Michael Martin told the FT. “Our goal is to focus on the best monetization opportunities for creators in the market.”
YouTube’s Shorts channel, which recently got its own tab, now has 1.5 billion monthly users, more than the 1 billion users now on TikTok. Despite that success, however, Alphabet revealed in its latest earnings report that revenue from YouTube ad sales fell and fell short of expectations.
As such, YouTube is experimenting with new revenue streams already exploited by TikTok and Meta. However, the endorsement approach hasn’t worked as well in the US as it has in other countries, so YouTube plans to focus its direct shopping programs on markets where it’s worked, such as South Korea.
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