Using YouTube with Publlish

Learn how to connect your YouTube channel to Publlish, schedule YouTube Shorts, write optimised descriptions, and manage your YouTube content alongside all your social channels.

YouTube Shorts has become one of the most powerful short-form video formats for brands — and it plays well alongside TikTok and Instagram Reels. If you're already creating vertical video content, publishing it to YouTube Shorts with Publlish takes minutes and dramatically increases your content's reach.

This guide covers how to connect your YouTube channel to Publlish, what you can publish, and how to get the most out of the integration.

What You Can Do with YouTube in Publlish

Schedule and auto-publish YouTube Shorts
Write titles, descriptions, and tags in the Publlish composer
Repurpose vertical videos from TikTok or Instagram Reels as YouTube Shorts
Manage YouTube content in the same calendar as all your other channels
Coordinate cross-platform video publishing in one workflow

YouTube Shorts vs. Long-Form YouTube Videos

It's important to understand what Publlish currently supports for YouTube.

YouTube Shorts — vertical videos under 60 seconds — are fully supported for scheduling and auto-publishing through Publlish.

Long-form YouTube videos (horizontal videos, longer than 60 seconds) have limited API support for scheduling through third-party tools. If you need to schedule long-form YouTube uploads, this is best done directly through YouTube Studio.

This guide focuses on YouTube Shorts, which is where Publlish's YouTube integration shines.

Requirements Before You Connect

A YouTube channel associated with a Google account
The Google account must have Owner or Manager access to the YouTube channel
A Google account logged in to your browser before starting the connection flow

How to Connect Your YouTube Channel to Publlish

In your Publlish dashboard, go to Channels → Connect a Channel
Select YouTube
Log in to the Google account that owns or manages your YouTube channel
Grant Publlish the required YouTube permissions
Select the YouTube channel you want to connect
Your channel will now appear in your Channels list

If you manage YouTube channels for multiple clients, connect each channel separately — each counts as one channel on your plan. See plan limits →

How to Schedule a YouTube Short

Click New Post in your Publlish dashboard
Select your YouTube channel from the channel selector
Upload your vertical video (under 60 seconds for Shorts)
Write your title — this is the key SEO field for YouTube, keep it clear and keyword-relevant
Write your description — include relevant keywords, a call to action, and any links
Add tags to help YouTube understand your content category
Set your publishing time and click Schedule

Your Short will auto-publish to your YouTube channel at the scheduled time.

YouTube Shorts Video Specs

Make sure your video meets these specs before uploading to avoid errors:

Format: MP4 recommended (MOV also accepted)
Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical) — this is what triggers YouTube to classify it as a Short
Duration: Under 60 seconds for Shorts classification
Resolution: 1080 x 1920 recommended
Frame rate: 24–60fps
File size: Under 256GB (Publlish may apply lower limits based on your plan)

Videos longer than 60 seconds or with a non-vertical aspect ratio will be uploaded as regular YouTube videos, not Shorts.

Writing Great Titles and Descriptions for YouTube Shorts

Unlike TikTok and Instagram, YouTube is also a search engine. Your title and description directly affect how discoverable your Shorts are.

Title best practices:

Keep it under 60 characters so it doesn't get cut off
Lead with your main keyword or topic
Make it specific — "How to write a LinkedIn post in 5 minutes" outperforms "LinkedIn tips"
Avoid clickbait — YouTube's algorithm penalises high click-through with low watch time

Description best practices:

Write at least 2–3 sentences describing what the video covers
Include your primary keyword naturally in the first line
Add links to related content, your website, or other social channels
Include a call to action (subscribe, follow, visit site)

Tags:

Add 5–10 relevant tags covering the topic, format, and audience
Tags matter less than they used to for ranking, but they still help with related video recommendations

Repurposing Content Across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts

If you're already creating short-form vertical video for TikTok or Instagram Reels, publishing the same video to YouTube Shorts through Publlish is one of the highest-leverage things you can do for your content reach.

In Publlish, you can select TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube at the same time when composing a post and publish to all three simultaneously. You can customise the caption, title, and description for each platform independently before scheduling.

TikTok performs best with a casual, hook-first caption and trending sounds
Instagram Reels works well with a short punchy caption and hashtags
YouTube Shorts benefits from a keyword-rich title and a descriptive summary

Using TikTok with Publlish → Using Instagram with Publlish →

YouTube-Specific Limitations in Publlish

Long-form videos (over 60 seconds or horizontal) are better managed directly through YouTube Studio
YouTube Community posts (text and poll posts) are not currently supported through Publlish
YouTube Live cannot be scheduled or streamed through Publlish
YouTube Playlists cannot be managed through Publlish — use YouTube Studio for playlist organisation
Monetisation settings (ad types, monetisation on/off) must be configured in YouTube Studio

Troubleshooting YouTube in Publlish

My YouTube Short didn't publish automatically Check that your YouTube channel is still properly connected. Google/YouTube connections expire and need to be refreshed periodically. Go to Channels and click Refresh next to your YouTube channel. See how to refresh a channel →

My video uploaded as a regular YouTube video, not a Short YouTube classifies a video as a Short if it's vertical (9:16) and under 60 seconds. Check your video's aspect ratio and duration — if either is off, YouTube won't treat it as a Short.

My video upload failed Check the file format and size. MP4 under 256GB is recommended. If the file is very large, try compressing it before uploading. See the full video troubleshooting guide →

I connected the wrong Google account Disconnect the channel in Publlish, then reconnect using the correct Google account — make sure you're logged into the right Google account in your browser first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I schedule YouTube Shorts with Publlish? Yes. YouTube Shorts (vertical videos under 60 seconds) can be scheduled and auto-published through Publlish.

Can I schedule long-form YouTube videos with Publlish? Publlish's YouTube integration is optimised for Shorts. For long-form video uploads and scheduling, YouTube Studio offers more control and is the recommended tool.

Can I post the same video to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube at the same time? Yes. Select all three channels when composing in Publlish. You can customise titles, captions, and descriptions per platform before scheduling.

Do I need a YouTube channel or just a Google account? You need a YouTube channel associated with your Google account. If you don't have one yet, create it at youtube.com before connecting to Publlish.

How many YouTube channels can I connect to Publlish? As many as your plan allows, with each channel counting as one channel slot. See plan limits →

Does Publlish support YouTube analytics? Publlish provides basic YouTube performance data. For detailed YouTube analytics (watch time, subscriber growth, revenue), use YouTube Studio.

Will Publlish add a watermark or branding to my YouTube videos? No. Publlish does not add any watermarks or branding to your videos.