How to Schedule YouTube Shorts for Maximum Impact

The rising popularity of YouTube Shorts made this format one of the best ways to get discovered and grow an audience on the YouTube platform. Still, it can be difficult to maintain a regular posting schedule while also creating quality content. One thing you can do to solve this is learn how to schedule YouTube Shorts and make more time for the creation process.

Scheduling your content on this platform can help you reach your target audience, improve your social media strategy, and achieve higher engagements. If you’re interested in learning more about it and finding out how you can do it hassle-free, keep reading!

How to Schedule YouTube Shorts on YouTube

There are two ways to schedule YouTube Shorts natively: via mobile app and via YouTube’s official website. Here’s what you need to do in both cases:

Mobile

To schedule Shorts via mobile, you need to:

• Open the YouTube app on your phone and log in to your account.
• Click on the Plus sign at the bottom of the screen and shoot your Short directly or upload a video (YouTube allows you to record up to 60 seconds for your Short).

• Edit your YouTube Shorts by adding audio, text, and filters or trimming your footage.

• Add an eye-catching caption and set the audience restrictions. You can also change the thumbnail of your Short by clicking on the pencil icon.

• To schedule your Short, tap on Visibility and click on Schedule. You can then choose the date and time when you want your Short to be published. This will be based on your local time zone, so if you are targeting an audience in a different location, you need to convert the time manually.

Desktop

You can also schedule Shorts on YouTube’s website from your desktop by doing the following:

• Tap on the video camera icon in the upper right corner and select Upload video.

• Once you’re redirected to the YouTube Creator Studio, you can upload your video. While you can’t select the video type, YouTube will automatically categorize videos under one minute as Shorts.
• Add a title and a description. The latter is optional, but we recommend adding one so you can include any relevant hashtags that can boost your Short’s visibility. While you can always add hashtags to the video title, it is limited to 100 characters, with only 40 characters actually shown on the screen. 

• Wait for YouTube to finish its copyright check, and then set the schedule for your Short.

How To Schedule YouTube Shorts With Publer

While scheduling natively can be convenient, it also has limited features. If you want a simpler and more comprehensive way of scheduling YouTube Shorts, you should use Publer.

With our tool, you can easily schedule posts in bulk and enjoy a host of other features, such as multiple scheduling options, a unified content calendar, easy cross-posting, and AI tools to make quality Shorts.

Let’s see how you can schedule YouTube Shorts with Publer:

Sign up for Publer

You can sign up for Publer by using an email address or by connecting an existing account on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, or Apple to the platform.

During the sign-up process, you’ll be asked some questions that can improve your experience, such as how you plan to use the platform and similar.

Next, you’ll need to create a Workspace where you can easily manage all your social media accounts. Luckily, Publer supports over 12 social media platforms and can streamline your social media management process hassle-free.

Finally, all that remains is to connect your YouTube account with the platform by clicking on the YouTube logo and signing in.

Create a YouTube Short

To create a Short, go to the Create tab on the left sidebar and select your YouTube account. Then, tap on Short and upload your video.

Once the upload is done, add the necessary details, like a title and some hashtags. As we mentioned earlier, a description isn’t necessary, and only the title will be immediately visible when viewing your Shorts. However, it can give more context to your video and promote your other social media accounts.

You can also use AI Assist to create a catchy title and an informative description; Publer also generates hashtags that you can use to optimize your Short.

Schedule Your YouTube Shorts

When all the details are complete, schedule your YouTube Short with one of Publer’s scheduling options:

• Manual. This option works like the native scheduling option and allows you to choose the time and date when your Short goes live. However, you can schedule more accurately with Publer, as scheduling natively only permits scheduling by the hour and not the minute.
• AutoSchedule. Publer’s automatic scheduling feature relies on the timeslots you create on the platform and automatically schedules your Short to be published in the earliest available timeslot.

While Publer offers a Recurring and Recycling posting schedule, YouTube’s automation policies do not allow duplicate videos, so you won’t be able to use them for your Short.

You can easily view all your scheduled Shorts by going to the Calendar tab and clicking on your YouTube account from the options. This will help you keep track of what content you post so you can ensure variety in your Shorts.

Another great feature to utilize on Publer is push notifications. When scheduling your YouTube Short, you can click on Get a reminder to receive a notification before the Short is published.

Clicking on the notification will redirect you to your scheduled Short on the Publer app. You can then open your Short on YouTube to change your thumbnail, perform a copyright check, and process the video in different resolutions. These will help enhance the quality and visual appeal of your content.

Requirements & Criteria for YouTube Shorts

Before you start making YouTube Shorts, there are specific requirements and criteria that you should follow. Here are some of them:

• Shorts have a maximum length of 60 seconds. This can be one long video or several combined segments.
• If you use audio from YouTube’s library, your video will be limited to 15 seconds only.
• Since Shorts target mobile users, your videos must be shot vertically or have a 9:16 aspect ratio. Different formats will result in black panels on the sides or at the top and bottom of the frame.
• The ideal resolution for Shorts is 1920×1080 pixels. This ensures the optimum quality for vertical videos.
• YouTube recommends adding #Shorts in your video’s title to optimize your Short’s visibility on the platform.

Does Scheduling YouTube Shorts Affect Views?

Scheduling your YouTube Shorts does not affect their views or interactions. However, scheduling can help you target a wider audience and post more consistently, which will improve your content’s visibility.

Shorts operate on a different algorithm than other content on YouTube; they aren’t reliant on a user’s long-form video history. This means that your videos can show up on anyone’s Shorts tab, regardless of whether they were originally interested in your type of content.

By scheduling YouTube Shorts, you will have ample time to create and perfect each video, leading to higher-quality content. Premium content will lead to higher views and engagements and, eventually, new followers.

4 Benefits of Scheduling YouTube Shorts with Publer

Scheduling YouTube Shorts with Publer has several benefits. It helps you:

#1. Save Time

One of the best reasons to schedule YouTube Shorts is to save time. Unlike long-form videos that can require months of planning, shooting, and editing, Shorts can be done in minutes. This means that you can set aside time to bulk-create and schedule Shorts and then focus on other tasks like strategizing or content creation.

#2. Build Consistency

Consistency is crucial for a platform like YouTube, and scheduling your Shorts is one way to achieve that.

YouTube Shorts are great for introducing your brand to your audience, but long-form videos will keep them coming back. If you take too long to post, your audience may end up losing interest in your content. Scheduling Shorts ensures that you continuously publish fresh and relevant content on the platform while working on longer videos.

#3. Stay Organized

When posting manually, it can be difficult to keep track of what content you published last week. This can lead to content issues, and you may miss out on chances to boost your channel.

When you schedule YouTube Shorts with Publer, you can see all your scheduled posts on one calendar. This not only helps you stay more organized but can also improve your content strategy. Are there any holidays or events coming up that are related to your brand? You can easily create and schedule Shorts to capitalize on these occasions.

#4. Grow Your Audience

Scheduling YouTube Shorts means you can post content when people are most active. This helps you target international audiences and achieve higher engagement rates.

And, since you won’t have to worry about manual posting, you can spend time interacting with any comments you get on your Shorts. Responding to comments in a timely manner is important and will help you build a positive relationship with your audience.

3 Best Strategies for Scheduling YouTube Shorts

Knowing how to schedule YouTube Shorts is not enough; it’s important to know how to do it correctly for the best results. We offer the following tips to keep in mind:

• Upload at the best times. Do your research on the best times to schedule YouTube Shorts and try to target those hours for your content. You can also refer to Publer’s Best Times to Post table in your Analytics tab, as this is based on your audience’s history.
• Share content on different platforms. Maximize your content’s reach by cross-posting on different platforms, like Instagram and TikTok. Simply connect all your social media accounts on Publer to easily schedule and share your content on various sites.
• Utilize platform analytics. Use Publer’s comprehensive analytics feature to better understand your audience. What’s your main demographic? How do they interact with your Shorts, and what content are they most interested in? Once you define this, you can use that data to improve your content.

Key Takeaways

• You can schedule YouTube Shorts natively on both mobile and desktop.
• Scheduling Shorts on Publer gives you access to more options, like auto-schedule and bulk scheduling.
• YouTube Shorts follow certain criteria, such as a 60-second maximum length and an aspect ratio of 9:16.
• Scheduling YouTube Shorts will not directly affect its views, but you can use it to improve its visibility.
• From saving time and building consistency to staying organized and attracting new followers, scheduling Shorts via Publer offers a ton of benefits.
• When scheduling YouTube Shorts, don’t forget to post during peak hours, share your content on different platforms, and use analytics to refine your content.

Ervin Kalemi

Founder & CEO

With over 10 years of experience in software development, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and social media, I strive every day to bring the best solutions that will empower your business's online presence. Currently working on Publer and Kibo.