Short-form video isn’t just a trend. It’s becoming the foundation of digital content discovery. As a small business (Endurance Learning), we knew we needed to start showing up on video, but creating polished, original video content from scratch just wasn’t realistic with our time and budget. Creating YouTube Shorts with Descript made it possible.
Short-form video is the most leveraged media format by marketers. (HubSpot Marketing Trends Report, 2024)
What changed everything for us? We realized we were already sitting on a goldmine of content: our webinars and podcast episodes. We realized we didn’t need to produce new content to get started with Shorts/Reels. We had dozens of video recordings from webinars and our podcast. We already had hours of thoughtful discussions, interviews, and insights. The only question was how to turn those long recordings into bite-sized, scroll-stopping clips.
This article breaks down how we started turning long-form recordings into engaging YouTube Shorts with Descript, how we’ve been publishing those clips across multiple platforms, and what we’ve learned along the way.
Why YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts launched globally in 2021 and now racks up over 70 billion daily views according to YouTube’s own announcements in 2024. For creators and brands, Shorts represent a powerful, algorithm-driven discovery engine. YouTube actively promotes Shorts, especially from newer or smaller channels, making it an ideal platform for small businesses trying to expand reach without massive ad spend.
Videos under 90 seconds achieve a 50% viewer retention rate. Vidico
What makes Shorts particularly valuable for us:
- Built-in discoverability: Shorts are featured in a dedicated feed on the YouTube mobile app. In our first month of experimenting we got far more views on a Short than we ever did on a full video.
- Cross-promotion opportunities: You can link back to full-length videos or other resources in the description.
- No need to overproduce: Authentic, snappy clips often outperform scripted ads or polished promos.
- Easy to create: Not only can we create these on a simple smart phone camera, but we can take existing videos and easily create shorts.
- Not just YouTube: We use the same format for LinkedIn (you can see my co-founder Brian talking about training activities) and Instagram.
Don’t forget. The real genius of this is that most social media consumption is happening on phones. The reason that social media platforms are favoring portrait video is that this is the natural format for a smartphone and offers huge opportunities for people to share content from anywhere.
“On platforms like YouTube, 87.35% of visits are made from mobile devices, underscoring the importance of mobile optimization for content creators.” digitalsilk.com
Tip: When you think about SEO or social media, always remember that there are for profit companies behind these platforms. Their algorithms aren’t random or really that mysterious. They will show you what they want you to produce and what they are going to make sure people see. Profile videos are clearly what they want to promote and will give you an excellent chance of getting in front of more users.
Why Make YouTube Shorts with Descript
Our team at Endurance Learning has been using Descript for years to support our elearning development efforts. It was the first tool we found that reliably created transcripts from audio or video. We have grown to trust it as it has built out more features.
Within the last few months we made a decision that we wanted our podcasts to go beyond audio and take advantage of video. While we had hundreds of audio-only episodes we had been hearing that having the podcast on YouTube could help us grow.
“Hitting an all-time high, YouTube is the most utilized podcast listening platform in the U.S.: 34% say it is the platform they use the most, followed by Spotify (17%) and Apple (11%)” – WestWoodOne
Since we had Descript and had seen some features related to podcast recording, we decided to use it more for video. This action is what set us up for success with shorts. The simple act of spending a little more time in Descript and looking around at the features opened our eyes to Descript’s Underlord (I think the product team has a sense of humor).
As an experiment I dropped the recording of a recent podcast into Descript. It processed and then I clicked Underlord and asked it to create 5 shorts or reels. Oh my! I thought we were going to have to comb through each episode for insights. No need! It created 5 reels for me without any effort and they were all interesting clips.
Creating YouTube Shorts with Descript: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
We decided to create YouTube Shorts with Descript, an AI-powered editing tool that made the entire process fast and accessible; even for a small team. Part of the reason we decided to use Descript was that it we were already paying for it and using. Before you pick a tool to use, I encourage you to check out our free tool for Selecting Small Business Software.
Here’s our workflow:
Step 1: Import and Transcribe
We uploaded our webinar or podcast video file into Descript. The tool automatically generated a full transcript, synced to the video timeline.
This let us skim the transcript like a blog post and find strong soundbites in minutes instead of watching the full video.
Step 2: Run Underlord
When I first saw this feature I thought it was going to be a joke. I asked Underlord to give me 5 clips and keep them under 30 seconds. I was stunned to see it give me 5 usable clips. Now, when my Marketing Manager used it she felt the need to make some edits (you can). But to me, this was so easy I couldn’t ignore it. It found a variety of smart quotes, concise tips, and funny moments.
Step 3: (OPTIONAL) Edit the Clip
I call this optional because it really isn’t necessary but it does improve the clip. You can change which words are included and remove filler words.
Step 4: Pick a Layout
There are several different layouts to choose from, but the basic layout with the captions on the bottom looks pretty good.
Step 5: (OPTIONAL) Add Layers
Again, I was satisfied because I love a quick solution. Luckily I have someone on my team who thinks more about branding. She added a logo and occasionally a title. These are very easy to add and reuse.
Step 6: Export and Upload
Export each clip as an MP4 and upload it to YouTube. YouTube automatically detects that it is a Short. Don’t forget to add a link to the full-length episode or a related resource.
The whole process can take less than 20 minutes for a batch of clips as long as you don’t spend too much time perfecting the clips.
Publishing Strategy: More Shorts = More Reach
We quickly realized that one clip per video wasn’t enough.
Most of our webinars and podcasts had multiple moments worth sharing, so we started posting 3–5 Shorts at a time. We saw a few things happen:
- More Shorts = more chances to be discovered. Some videos would spike in views immediately, others caught traction days or weeks later. Some never gained traction.
- The YouTube algorithm seems to group Shorts by creator. Posting more gives viewers more ways to engage with your content.
- Viewers who find one Short often end up watching several. Giving them a feel for our tone and voice before clicking through to a longer video or our website.
There’s no penalty (and plenty of upside) to sharing multiple Shorts from the same source material.
Cross-Posting: LinkedIn and Instagram (More Selectively)
While we are creating create YouTube Shorts with Descript specifically for YouTube, we’ve also tested sharing these clips on LinkedIn and Instagram Reels.
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is much more about personal connection so we follow what LinkedIn wants (remember what I said about doing what the platform wants if you want it to promote you). We don’t generally post these clips from our Endurance Learning business page. We give them to my colleague Brian (who is in most of the clips) and ask him to pick clips that he wants to talk about on LinkedIn and he shares them personally. Because engagement on LinkedIn is more thoughtful and conversation-driven, we post less often but aim for deeper relevance.
Instagram Reels:
We’ve experimented with Reels primarily for brand reinforcement, not growth. Instagram is visual and style-forward, so we pick clips that are:
- Emotionally engaging
- Visually dynamic
- Easily digestible with no context
We’re not relying on Instagram for lead generation, but it’s a useful channel for reminding followers that we’re active and credible in this space.
What We’ve Gained
We’re still very new to this strategy and are watching for gains. This is unlikely to be our main promotional efforts, but it does provide a way to get more benefit from existing content. Since launching this strategy, we’ve seen several benefits:
- Increased traffic to long-form content: Shorts act as mini-previews that drive curiosity. We’ve seen small bumps in older content that we’re linking to.
- New YouTube subscribers. Our channel was fairly dead. We added 40% new users in the first few days. Yes. We started with 10 users, but this was all organic and an indicator that we can’t expect more.
- More content, less effort: We’re now creating weeks of video content from assets we already had.
And most importantly, it’s sustainable. This approach doesn’t require a full video team. With Descript, a single person can manage the entire workflow.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a small business sitting on a library of recorded conversations, webinars, or podcasts, this is your invitation: you’re already halfway to a video marketing strategy!
You don’t need to film anything new. You don’t need a full editing suite. Creating YouTube Shorts with Descript using a repeatable workflow gives you the opportunity to start appearing in YouTube search today!
For us, YouTube Shorts have become a low-cost, high-leverage way to:
- Expand our reach
- Reinforce our brand
- Extend the lifespan of our best ideas
It’s a strategy we’ll keep refining and one we’d recommend to any small business looking to dip their toe into video.
