- Have you ever wished for a magic tool
that could skyrocket your engagement
and subscriber count on YouTube?
Well, your wish has just been granted.
YouTube is finally giving smaller channels
access to a feature that's been a secret weapon
for bigger channels.
In this video, I will share with you the three things
that you must do to unlock this feature
and also share three methods of using it to get more views,
subscribers and engagement.
So what's the game changing feature?
Well, drum roll please.
(drum beat music)
It's community post.
Yes, you heard it right.
YouTube has expanded access to community post,
allowing all creators,
regardless of their subscriber count
to take advantage of this feature.
Previously, this was a privilege only for channels
with over a 1000 subscribers.
Then they dropped it to 500, but now it's open to everybody.
But what exactly are community posts?
They live on your YouTube channel in providing text
and photo based way to engage with your subscribers.
It's like having your own
mini social media platform within YouTube,
you can post polls, quizzes, gifs, texts,
images, even links to videos.
Now, here's something powerful that I've been noticing
with community posts.
They're great for exposure.
For example, Owen has 3,200 subscribers,
yet his poll got 16,000 votes.
What?
You're seeing what I'm seeing here?
Some channels are seeing a higher engagement on these posts
than they have subscribers.
These posts are reaching far and wide,
beyond your subscriber base,
pulling views and engagement from all corners of YouTube.
And I will show you how to take advantage of this
in a moment, but first, how do you unlock this feature?
Go to YouTube Studio.
Click on settings, then go to channel
and click on feature eligibility.
First, you will have to have standard features enabled.
This should be owned by default,
as long as your channel is free
from active community guideline strikes.
Next, make sure intermediate features are enabled,
by simply verifying a phone number.
Finally, you can opt into advanced features.
If you've been active on YouTube for at least two months,
you'll have what's called channel history and you're done.
However, if your channel's newer
or has not been active, you have three options.
First one is video verification.
Use your phone's camera to capture your face,
so Google can verify that you are a real person
and that you haven't been suspended
for violating YouTube policies.
Two, ID verification.
Take and send a photo of a valid ID,
like a passport or driver's license
to confirm your birthdate
and that you haven't previously been suspended from YouTube.
And number three, wait.
If none of those options sound good,
just continue being active and after two months,
you'll be able to access these features
due to your channel history.
And just like that, you have advanced features enabled
and now you have community posts.
Sometimes it can take up to 48 hours to reflect,
so if you don't see it immediately,
just have a little bit of patience, it's coming.
Now that you have this feature,
how can you use it to engage and grow your audience?
Well, there are three ways that I've seen be most effective.
Number one, use polls and quizzes.
These are fun and interactive ways to engage with viewers.
You can ask for their opinions, test their knowledge
or just post for entertainment.
These get insane engagement
from people beyond your subscriber base
and usually leads to the most new subscribers.
Personally, I like to let viewers
pick the title of our videos.
This helps create a sense of ownership from them
that makes them more likely to watch when it's released.
But this also helps us choose the title
that's most likely to get clicks
by getting direct feedback from our viewers.
Whenever I'm having trouble deciding on a title,
I just throw it into the community tab
and let viewers decide.
Two, send traffic to your videos.
While YouTube lets you share a video card here.
I've never seen these posts do well.
Instead, I craft an original post
that links back to the video at the end or in the comments.
Usually, I will share a stat or a poll
themed around the video to get people engaged.
Then, shamelessly plug the video somewhere along the way.
Now that you have the community tab,
I really think that this should be
a part of your promotion plan for every video.
It takes two minutes of work
and can send meaningful amounts of traffic to that video
and help kick start its way through the algorithm.
Three, post regular updates.
Keep your subscribers in the loop
about what's happening with your channel.
Are you planning a new series?
Did you just hit a milestone?
Let them know.
This is an easy way to share the side of you
that's not in your videos
and connect with fans beyond your content.
Now listen up.
That is just the community tab.
I also shared this video
about how to get a 1000 subscribers faster,
without even uploading a video.
And as you can see, people are really enjoying that video.
I highly recommend you click this next.
See you guys next time.
(upbeat music)