Visual Appeals of Popular YouTube Short-Form Video Memes

Short-form video memes (SFV memes) have become a key medium for the creation and circulation of digital culture, yet the specific visual strategies driving their virality on platforms like YouTube Shorts remain underexplored. This study analyzes twenty top-liked YouTube Shorts using a mixed-method approach to identify how established principles of memetic appeal-such as simplicity, humor, repetition, and whimsicality-are enacted through concrete visual techniques. Findings reveal recurring strategies including bold text overlays for clarity, single-color rimmed frames as genre signals, easily trackable motions, rapid editing, sudden plot twists, and exaggerated facial expressions to generate humor and absurdity. Comparative analysis shows that real-scene memes rely on relatable framing and narrative surprises, whereas produced memes employ formal manipulations such as 3D/VFX and audiovisual synchronization. The study concludes that the virality of SFV memes emerges from the interplay of these visual strategies, offering a refined framework for understanding audience engagement and content diffusion in short-form video ecosystems.