Deep Dive Guide to Engaging Audience Through YouTube Comments
Mon, 29 Nov 2021 16:00:28 +0000
https://www.subpals.com/deep-dive-guide-to-engaging-audience-through-youtube-comments/
Content is king on YouTube, and if your content on the video-streaming platform is good, you can expect plenty of viewers to engage with your videos. However, it’s not just the content that matters — how you interact with your audiences is also important. That’s where the YouTube comments section comes into play.
These days, more and more YouTube-based content creators are making the most of the comments section across all their videos to connect to their audiences better. In this article, we’re going to tell you why it’s about time you took the comments section on YouTube seriously, and how you can use it to encourage further user engagement. We’ll also touch on the importance of YouTube comment management. So, without any further delay, let’s dive right in!
- Use the pinned comment feature to provide more information
YouTube allows content creators to pin a single comment of their choice on each and every video. Typically, content creators use this pinned comment feature to provide greater information about the video. It comes in handy for informing viewers regarding what to expect in the video. You can also share the story behind the video using the pinned comment section, which will offer viewers insights into your video-making process.
The pinned comment feature is of great use, particularly for content creators who make long-form videos. If your video content is long, audiences are likely to look for a pinned comment from you before watching the video. Through this pinned comment, they’ll get all the information relevant to the video. Once they’re done reading the comment, they can decide whether they want to watch the video or not.
- Include timestamp comments when you can
Across both the YouTube comments and description sections, there’s a timestamp feature. You can use this feature to provide links to audiences for various parts of a video, along with their description. For example, if you’re talking about multiple aspects of a single topic in a video, you can use the timestamp feature to denote the different aspects in the form of chapters.
The feature is of great help to viewers who are on the lookout for a particular piece of information. Thanks to this feature, viewers don’t have to sit through the entire video to get to the part that they want to see. They can simply click on the timestamped link to get to the desired part in a fraction of a second.
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- Reply to your audiences
Your viewers, irrespective of their opinions, are the people who are taking the time out from their busy schedules to watch your videos. So, no matter what they have to say, you should be sporting enough to take it all in and reply to them promptly. Of course, it can get difficult to reply to each and every comment if there are hundreds of comments on your videos. However, not replying at all may alienate your audiences.
So, it’s about time you brushed up your YouTube comment management skills and put them into practice. If you encounter a troll who leaves a negative comment just for the sake of it, don’t get worked up. Always keep some sense of humor intact in your comments. Remember, the YouTube replies you come up with can be viewed not just by the ones you reply to, but also by others. So, always be well-behaved and well-mannered with your words.
- Use the comments section for giveaways
Right now, giveaways are among the most popular options when it comes to rapidly growing followers on various social media platforms — YouTube is no different. If your channel isn’t garnering enough responses from viewers, you can host a giveaway by considering the ones who comment as eligible participants.
Through giveaways, you can promote not just your products and/or service, but also promote products of a brand you’re collaborating with. Once all the comments have come in, you can use several methods to choose the winner. For example, you could use Google’s random number generator to generate a number. If the number is 41, you could choose the 41st comment from the top as the winning entry.
- Comment on others’ videos to gain prominence
YouTube’s exponential growth has resulted in every niche offering hundreds and thousands of content creators. So, for the curious viewer, the options are endless. However, if you’re just starting out, you will most probably be overlooked by viewers, who are more likely to watch videos uploaded by more popular content creators. In such a scenario, you shouldn’t be afraid to comment on videos uploaded by more popular YouTubers.
However, remember to keep your comments respectful. Even if you’re promoting your channel on another’s channel, you should always first talk about the video you viewed. For example, you could write a comment like ‘Really enjoyed this video. It would be great if you could check out my channel.’ This is a respectful comment that doesn’t blatantly promote your channel for the sake of YouTube shares. Sure, not all the people viewing the video will be encouraged to try out your channel. However, some will be curious to know what you’ve got to offer, and they’ll surely check out your channel.
- Hit those like and dislike buttons
YouTube likes and dislikes aren’t just for rating videos — they’re also available to approve or disapprove comments. For instance, if you encounter a comment that attempts to troll you for no reason, you should hit the dislike button and let the trolls know what you think about their comments. On the other hand, if you see an appreciative comment, hit the like button. There’s also a ‘love’ react option in YouTube’s comments section, which you can hit when someone really appreciates your work.
Sure, these buttons may not seem like they have a huge impact on your channel’s progress. However, YouTube’s algorithm counts YouTube likes and dislikes as engagement, and the more engagement there is on your channel, the more prominent it will be.
- Filter comments for responding to everyone
As we mentioned before, if you get a lot of comments on your videos, it can be hard for you to keep up with the replies. However, YouTube provides one feature to content creators that makes it easy for them to manage the comments on their videos — the filter comments option. By using this option, you can filter comments based on the ones you’ve replied to, and the ones you are yet to reply to.
Going through all the comments individually is a time-consuming affair. So, it’s much better to use the filter comments option to sort the comments based on who you’ve replied to. You can also use this feature to identify inappropriate comments that don’t adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines and report them.
How to deal with inappropriate comments
Sure, once you see an inappropriate comment, you can report it to YouTube’s moderators. However, unless that comment is reported by several other users, the moderators won’t bother to delete it. So, the best option is to disable such comments. To disable YouTube comments, you have to take the following steps:
Go to the dashboard of YouTube Studio (the official app for YouTube-based content creators).
Next, go to the ‘Settings’ page.
You’ll see a ‘Community’ option on the left panel. Click on it.
Once the ‘Community’ page appears, you’ll see a ‘Defaults’ tab. Click on it.
You’ll see a ‘Comments on your channel’ option with a drop-down box below.
Click on the drop-down box and select ‘Hold potentially inappropriate chat message for review’
Disabling comments
When content creators publish controversial videos, there may be a lot of inappropriate comments on those videos. Nasty fights may break out as well, and this may result in the comments section being viewed more than the actual video. In such a scenario, you may be forced to disable the comments for a particular video. Here’s how you can get it done:
Head on over to the Dashboard on YouTube Studio.
Look to the left panel and you should see a ‘Videos’ tab. Click on it.
Next, select the video for which you want the comments disabled.
YouTube will automatically take you to the page that displays the video’s info and settings.
On this page, click on the ‘More options’ tab.
Inside this tab, you should see a ‘Comments and Ratings’ section.
Under this section, select ‘Disable comment’.
Next, hit the ‘Save’ button to confirm the changes.
Conclusion
So, we’ve finally come to the conclusion of this article. We hope that you learn to use the comments section on YouTube better after going through this post. Trust us, putting in some effort into managing the comments section will go a long way in establishing your identity on YouTube and connecting you with fans. So, start putting these tips into practice as soon as you can for rapid results.
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