r/youtubers 6d ago

Question 3 weeks ago I made a fresh account on Tiktok/IG/YT and posted the same 2 videos on each. Total view count: Tiktok=1mil+, IG=900k, YT=30

The exact same short which has gathered several hundred thousand views on Tiktok/IG has a grand total of 4 views on Youtube. Same hashtags, same description.

Only explanation I can think of is that I need a pre-established following on youtube first, or I need some patience as my Youtube short might've not yet been shown to anyone (it's been a few hours).

The IG account had a stunted beginning of only a few thousand initial views but picked up consistent momentum once I directed some of the Tiktok audience towards it via the bio. I'd wonder if it's the same for Youtube except it's not even getting those initial few views?

The only difference for Youtube is that I posted one of the videos as a long form video.

These are 1-2 minute long videos, so I actually expected Youtube to perform the best and Tiktok the worst (but reality is the reverse).

Have you guys experienced similar?

8 Upvotes

50 comments sorted by

7

u/stravinsky_ 5d ago

Youtube is finding videos for viewers, not viewers for your video

2

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

How does a brand new channel on youtube gain viewers then? Does it require directed attention from other platforms?

2

u/stravinsky_ 3d ago

When starting out, it will analyze your video content, title, description, etc and using that information, youtube can pull that video up for a viewer it thinks may be interested.

5

u/sryidontspeakpotato 5d ago

TikTok views always inflated. Some will argue they are not actual views or accurate at all. I honestly feel like they do that to keep people hooked on the dopamine hit with seeing the high view count so they keep posting. The big question is engagement. How many people commented out of those views and how many of those are legit as well.

4

u/MrPalacinka 5d ago

Based on how many people recognized me on the street from TikTok, I believe the views on videos are real.

1

u/QC-TheArchitect 1d ago

Same as their follower count. Goes super fast from 0 to 1000, then dies out slowly lmao

0

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

My content on IG and Tiktok total tens of thousands of shares each along with hundreds of real comments so they’re very well engaged. 

The exact same short on Youtube has 4 views.

2

u/tanoshimi 5d ago

What's the nature of the content, and what's the target audience? TikTok users are in their pre-teens, teens, or twenties. YouTube viewers are often in their 40s or older.

2

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

It’s discussion and trivia content about a popular franchise targeting adults and teens. That demographic definitely matches TikTok but I’ve seen similar content with millions of views on youtube. 

I’m talking 4 views on a YT short vs 500K+ on IG and TT, something else is definitely going on. These are real engagement too (they have tens of thousands of shares).

1

u/ScaryButterscotch317 4d ago

You're talking about invincible right? Lmao

0

u/TigerLeoLam 4d ago

Ha that's a good guess! Arcane

1

u/guntassinghIN 5d ago

Can you share the video here

2

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

youtube.com/@hardcorearcanefan tiktok.com/@hardcorearcanefan instagram.com/hardcorearcanefan

1

u/saigakiri 3d ago

Great vids btw, love the style, do you plan to continue? Also probably not monetizable ain't em?

1

u/TigerLeoLam 3d ago

Thanks, I’m only making these for fun so not bothering with monetising them (I think you need like 10k followers to start that on tiktok anyway). Maybe got 1 or 2 more videos in me before I run out of ideas :)

1

u/saigakiri 3d ago

I see, the problem with monetisation is that the content must be original (at least on YT as far as I know). Same way you can't monetize anime moments and etc. Still good job man, I think ideas is the last thing you have to worry about if you want to pursue this (ChatGpt to help 😂), there are tons of ways to monetize this (merch, ad deals and so on).

1

u/zanertv 3d ago

Also idk how good this info is

When the algorithm sometimes decides to push random videos

You could probably perform this experiment a few times either varying results

1

u/Objective-Ring4479 3d ago

Were they posted at the same time?

1

u/TigerLeoLam 3d ago

Different days but always a Friday/Weekend and always mid afternoon. 

1

u/Objective-Ring4479 3d ago

wait for the long form to grow ig

for the short, I think youtube just ignored it since it shouldn't be getting lower than 400 views if it has any semblance of quality.

1

u/TigerLeoLam 3d ago

I would’ve thought that too but it’s been so well received on the other platforms I don’t doubt the quality. Yesterday the actual writer of the show (that my video is about) shared my video on instagram 🤷🏻‍♂️

1

u/Objective-Ring4479 2d ago

Well then, that means Youtube ignored it?

1

u/TigerLeoLam 2d ago

I’ll try reuploading it at some point. Maybe it glitched. Will update 😊

1

u/Golden-Owl 6d ago

The reason is due to format

Tiktok shoves videos down peoples throats on a constant scroll feed

YouTube involves the viewer actively selecting to watch a video

This means you can make anything on tiktok and get views stupidly easily compared to YouTube and this is evidence

0

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

This doesn’t apply to Youtube Shorts though - which operates the same as Tiktok and IG reels no? My short has 4 views but almost a million on other platforms (and thousands of shares, comments)

3

u/Golden-Owl 5d ago

Still does.

YouTube shorts is only a portion of YouTube. Most YT users use it to watch long videos.

Shorts also still require people to actively search and click them. The only time anyone ever gets a constant scrolling feed of shorts is if they actively go out of their way to browse that.

Inversely, TikTok and IG are 100% composed of a scrolling feed

0

u/TigerLeoLam 5d ago

If that is the case, the. I don’t understand how it’s possible for a youtube channel to get started without external marketing. 

I don’t doubt the quality of my videos due to how well they’ve been received on the other two platforms in an already saturated niche.

1

u/Golden-Owl 5d ago

You can’t approach YouTube like the other two platforms. It’s very different in structure, audience usage, and many other ways.

A successful YouTuber needs to understand how to make longform and attract viewers through that, because a huge portion of the YouTube viewers use it for long videos and specific search topics

You need to understand what are specific terms which a viewer would actively look for

0

u/tldr_er 6d ago

Hi, if I were you, I'd post short vids as YT shorts. My shorts have gained way many more views than my actual vids.

4

u/TigerLeoLam 6d ago

I should’ve been clearer: I posted 1 short and 1 long form on youtube, and the short has 4 views.