How to Share a YouTube Shorts Link

Sharing your YouTube Short should be simple, but sending the wrong link can kill its viral potential by pulling viewers out of the vertical, swipeable experience they expect. This guide will walk you through exactly how to get the correct, shareable link for your YouTube Shorts - on both mobile and desktop - and the best ways to use it to grow your audience across all your social platforms.

Why the Regular YouTube Link Is Hurting Your Shorts

Here’s the problem you've likely run into: you copy the URL from your browser's address bar for one of your Shorts, paste it on Twitter or in an email, and when someone clicks it, it opens in the standard, horizontal YouTube player. The immersive, full-screen Shorts feed is gone. The audio might be muted, the comments are off to the side, and the option to endlessly swipe to the next Short is lost. This completely disrupts the viewing experience and makes your content feel out of place and broken.

The goal is to always share a link that looks like this: youtube.com/shorts/VideoID.

This format ensures that anyone clicking the link - regardless of their device - is taken directly into the native Shorts player. It maintains the vertical format, the sound is usually on, and their thumb is hovering right over the screen, ready to engage or swipe to the next video.

The wrong link, which you want to avoid, looks like this: youtube.com/watch?v=VideoID.

This standard "watch" URL is built for traditional videos, not Shorts. Let's break down how to get the right link every single time.

How to Share a YouTube Shorts Link: The 3 Methods

Getting the dedicated Shorts link is straightforward once you know where to look. Here are methods for getting it done on mobile and desktop, plus a simple trick for manually fixing a link you’ve already copied.

Method 1: Sharing from the YouTube Mobile App (Fastest & Easiest)

The YouTube mobile app is designed for sharing Shorts and will almost always give you the correct link format by default. It's the most reliable way to grab your link on the go.

• Step 1: Open the YouTube App and find your Short. Navigate to your channel or find the specific Short you want to share by browsing your feed or subscriptions.
• Step 2: Tap the 'Share' Arrow. On the right-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a row of icons for Like, Dislike, Comments, Remix, and Share. Tap the Share icon (it looks like a curved arrow).
• Step 3: Choose 'Copy link.' A share sheet will pop up with options to share directly to various apps like Messages, Instagram, or WhatsApp. You'll also see an option labeled "Copy link". Tap it.

That's it! The proper youtube.com/shorts/ link is now copied to your clipboard, ready to be pasted wherever you need it. This method consistently provides the correct link because you're sharing from within the Shorts-native environment.

Method 2: Grabbing the Link from Desktop (The Right Way)

This is where most people get tripped up. Copying the address from your browser's URL bar is tempting, but it's the wrong move. It will almost always give you the standard `/watch` URL. Instead, you need to use YouTube's built-in share function.

• Step 1: Navigate to the Short on your computer. Head to YouTube.com and find the Short you intend to share. You can find it via your channel's content page or by general searching. Even on desktop, it will likely open in the dedicated Shorts player, a vertical black box in the middle of your screen.
• Step 2: Locate the 'Share' Button. Look just below the video description and channel name. As on mobile, you'll see a collection of icons. Click on the Share button (again, a curved arrow icon).
• Step 3: Copy the provided link. A new window will pop up showing the shareable link. It should already be in the correct youtube.com/shorts/ format. Click the blue "COPY" button next to it.

By using the official "Share" button on the webpage, you are telling YouTube that you want a dedicated sharing link, not just the raw browser URL. This ensures your audience gets the full Shorts experience you intended.

Method 3: Manually Fixing a YouTube Short Link (The Ultimate Hack)

Let's say a colleague sent you a link, or you already copied the wrong one from your browser bar. You don't need to go back and find the video again. You can manually correct the URL in seconds. Once you understand the structure, you won't be able to unsee it.

A YouTube URL is made of two main parts:

• The domain and path: For a standard video, this is youtube.com/watch?v=. For a Short, it's youtube.com/shorts/.
• The Video ID: A unique string of 11 characters (a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols) that identifies the video.

To manually fix a link, all you need to do is swap out the path and keep the Video ID.

For example, you have this incorrect link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Here's how to fix it:

1. Identify the Video ID. It's the string of characters right after watch?v=. In this case, it's dQw4w9WgXcQ.
2. Replace the entire first part of the URL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=) with the correct Shorts path: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/.
3. Add the Video ID to the end.

Your new, correct link is:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dQw4w9WgXcQ

This simple trick becomes second nature once you do it a couple of times and is incredibly useful when you're working quickly and trying to cross-post your content.

Best Practices for Strategically Sharing Your Shorts Link

Getting the right link is just the first step. Where and how you share it is what drives views, new subscribers, and community engagement. You’re building a brand, and your Shorts are a powerful asset for grabbing attention.

1. Cross-Promote on Every Relevant Platform

Your existing audiences on other platforms are the easiest people to convert into YouTube subscribers. Don't assume they see everything you post.

• Instagram Stories: Use the "Link" sticker to share your latest Short. Use an intriguing screenshot or a short clip as the background and add text like, "New Short! Tap to watch." It’s a direct and effective way to drive traffic.
• X (Twitter): Post the link with a compelling caption that creates curiosity. Asking a question related to the Short's content often works well to spark conversation.
• Facebook/LinkedIn: Share the link in groups or on your business page. Tailor the message to the platform - a more professional tone for LinkedIn, a casual one for Facebook.
• Email Newsletters: Embed a thumbnail of your Short linked directly to the proper URL. Let your most loyal fans know that you’ve released new content.

2. Always Add Context (Don't Just Drop a Link)

A naked link isn’t very appealing. Always accompany your link with a summary, a provocative question, or a behind-the-scenes tidbit. You're not just sharing a link, you’re starting a conversation. Context tells people why they should care enough to click. Is it funny? Informative? Shocking? Give them a reason.

Bad example: "My new YouTube Short: youtube.com/shorts/xyz123"

Good example: "I tried the 'viral' productivity hack that’s all over TikTok for a week. The results were... not what I expected. See what happened here: youtube.com/shorts/xyz123"

3. Know When to Link vs. When to Repurpose

While sharing a link back to YouTube is excellent for growing your channel, sometimes it’s better to upload the video natively to other platforms like Instagram Reels or TikTok. Native video almost always gets preferential treatment from the algorithm. A good strategy is to do both.

Use the natively uploaded version to maximize reach and discovery on a platform like TikTok. Then, later, use an Instagram Story with a link back to the YouTube version to funnel that new audience from other platforms back to your YouTube channel, converting casual viewers into long-term subscribers.

Final Thoughts

Getting the right YouTube Shorts link isn't complicated once you know the difference between the standard `/watch` URL and the vertical-friendly `/shorts/` URL. Using the in-app share button on mobile or desktop is your most reliable method, and the manual-edit trick is a great skill to have in your back pocket.

Executing a broad cross-platform strategy for your Shorts can feel overwhelming, jumping between apps to paste links and customize captions. It’s exactly why we built Postbase from the ground up for today's video-first social media landscape. We allow you to take that correct Shorts link, or the video file itself, and schedule it across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and more from one clean, visual calendar, ensuring your content always goes out exactly when planned and stays on brand everywhere.