Now that we are seeing more and more Image Posts in the YouTube Shorts Feed creators are testing, and attempting to optimize, for the most engagement. The first thing a creator must decide is “what is engagement on an Image Post?” This is difficult to answer because in the YouTube Studio app creators cannot see the number of live views or total views that an Image Post receives. There are metrics for impressions, likes and new subscribers.
As with all new social media features, when initially launched creators have to fill in the blanks to determine engagement. While the YouTube Studio app does not show live views or total views of posts, this is data that YouTube has and will likely make available in the near future. In the meantime, the metrics that are showing are impressions, likes and new subscribers.
In our testing, posting a new Image Post does reduce the amplification of the previous Image Post but not so much that is should adjust strategy. The reason for this is every YouTube Channel has an “audience size”. If the audience size is 500 there are only so many impressions and likes available for content.
In the early days of Instagram, user behavior changed the algorithm to punish users for posting multiple pictures a week, no less in a single day. The YouTube Shorts Feed is not seeing that type of user behavior.
Here is an example. On a YouTube Channel we administer, there are about 7,000-10,000 likes per day on Image posts. We tested four (4) image posts in a day and received around 5,000 likes that day. When we posted eight (8) Image posts in a day, we received 11,000 likes that day. We have not posted more than eight (8) image posts a day as we simply do not have the content that makes sense for that topic area.
What this case study shows us is that YouTube Shorts viewers want more Image Posts. Note that it is topic specific, but most categories are seeing popularity with Image Posts. If you have a popular YouTube Channel and you have yet to start posting Image Posts, now would be the time to get started. If you want to increase your subscribers and overall exposure on YouTube, reach out to us at jesse@wojdylosocialmedia.com as we can help you gain a bigger audience through the YouTube Shorts Feed.
As we dive deeper into Google’s strategy to take on Instagram, it looks to be coming in the form of the YouTube Community tab. Now that more and more people want a place to house their interest, a YouTube Channel and Community is the way to do so. You can post all your pictures and photos on the Community tab. You can share your short form videos as YouTube Shorts and you can upload longer videos as long form YouTube videos.
The most important thing about this community building is the fact that the YouTube algorithm is naturally going to bring you fans and subscribers of your content. The only good thing to come out of AI has been the YouTube algorithm. They are seeing better and better results every day with the YouTube Shorts Feed; that is why they are willing to push still Image Posts so heavily in April 2026.
It seems to the case that the larger YouTube Channels are starting to catch on that the YouTube Shorts Feed is creating a lot of engagement and new subscribers. This is especially true for in the moment events like a severe weather event or a major sporting event.