YouTube launched a new feature called YouTube Communities for creators to interact with their fans and viewers right on the platform, instead of having to take viewers to Discord, WhatsApp, or other 3rd party community platforms. YouTube wrote:
“We wanted to build a space where, for the first time ever, subscribers can chat with each other and the creator directly. This introduces a whole new level of interaction on YouTube, and takes some pressure off creators to always make new content to keep their community buzzing.”
To be fair, there's always been a Comments section on YouTube for creators and viewers to interact with one another, but comments didn't facilitate conversation in the way that YouTube is hoping its Communities feature does.
Here's how YouTube Communities is different from / similar to Comments:
- Fan-initiated – both conversations and comments can be initiated and shared by fans, with creator control over who can participate.
- Dedicated Space – one central spot for continuous conversations with viewers, as opposed to disjointed conversations across individual videos.
Once a creator turns on their Community, anyone who enters can join the convo, make posts, and reply to each other. There’s also a special section for creators to pin their own posts for more visibility.
Communities initially launched with a select group of creators on mobile devices, with plans to expand access to more channels early next year.
Additionally YouTube is rolling out a new tool called Community Hub that gives creators a combined view of all the activity on their channel. YouTube's AI systems will help surface popular comments and offer reply suggestions so that creators can engage with their audience faster and more frequently.