YouTube - What They Don't Tell You
R is for Review
My AtoZ theme this year is my YouTube journey with my new fiction channel, and all that I have learned - plus some free fiction - scroll down to the embedded vid for that.
As an author, I have always been told, do not engage with reviewers, be they good or bad. I once got a 1 star review saying my book was "Full of lies" – it was fiction about vampires, so can't fault them on that one, but it was a very odd review to leave. I went on my way and ignored it.With YouTube, we don't have reviews per se, we have comments. And that's all we have to begin with (later we are given a community tab we can play with to talk to our subscribers, but we don't get that to begin with). Comments are a bit like reviews, in that they comment on our content. Unlike reviews, however, we very much need to engage.
Comments fluff the algorithm. Be they good comments or bad comments, they make the algorithm happy. We want more comments, lots of them, and we want engagement.
So, when starting out, we need to respond to every comment we get.
|
|
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay |
Further down the line this is likely to be impossible, but when we are starting out, we need to get in there every time a comment drops.
Oh, and as I mentioned in my "B is for Bugs" post, if your comments are sorted by "Top Comments" which I believe is the default, you may not see what the algo deems questionable comments. Resort by "Newest First" and you should be able to see them.
Some of these questionable comments are perfectly innocent, some are trolls. And when I say engage, I do not mean, feed the trolls. If you get really nasty comments report them and be done, well, unless that is the vibe you are going for. Some channels thrive on drama.
I've had a couple of odd comments so far, but nothing nasty. Honestly, most of my comments have been from family and friends so far, but I have still engaged with every single one.
There is a very useful comments tab in YouTube Studio which allows us to see all comments and sort and filter them, including by "I haven't responded". And it allows us to reply right there rather than having to go to the vid post too.
So basically, think of comments a bit like reviews that we have to respond to. How we respond will set the tone for our little slice of the YouTube community. And, as I mentioned in my "K is for Karma" post – go out and comment on other people's content too. And make sure to make it about their content, not just a chance to mention yours, because it's a bit like reviewing – you don't spend a whole review talking about your own book. Comments are part of the life blood of YouTube and should very much not be ignored.
Do you comment on vids when you use YouTube?
I am trying to train myself to leave comments - I always like vids I enjoy, but comments are something I am forcing myself to leave.
Current YouTube Episode
April's Theme - Ghost Stories
New story every week day at 4pm GMT
Please subscribe to never miss a vid (it's free).
About the AtoZ Challenge
The A to Z Challenge happens every April. Bloggers from all
over the world come together to post every day in April, apart from Sundays,
inspired by the letters of the alpha bet. A = April 1st etc. Some of us have
themes, some of us don't. Click the image below for more info and links to
other participants.
Check Out My Fiction YouTube Channel
Each week we have a theme and so there will be something for all tastes.
- 🎤Micro stories as YouTube Shorts Monday - Thursday - for fun quick viewing
🕮A longer story every Friday - for story time, over coffee or before going to bed- This week we're going for 5 micro stories & a box set kind of vid on Saturday - to see what happens.
Tasha's Social Media
@beren_writes
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Amazon📚Join My Newsletter📚
Receive 2 FREE eBooks just for signing up and a free short
story once every month on Free Fiction Friday.
List hosted on MailChimp, information will only be used for Newsletter
contact, and we do not send spam.
I think you do a great job of responding to comments or leaving your views and I feel it's more or less the same on YouTube! The trolls can get really annoying. I don't have a channel but I have read some comments and in general the hate people have in hearts is shocking. Great walkthrough you gave on how reviews work!
ReplyDeleteDropping by from a to z "The Pensive"
Thank you. I don't understand trolls either - I cannot begin to comprehend why someone would want to be horrible to someone else just because they are hiding behind a keyboard.
DeleteTasha, I'm sure your vampire novel was full of lies -- unless there's something you need to tell us? LOL. Great advice, thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for the A-Z Challenge My Languishing TBR: R
I was telling about my blog to my 8 yr old and she asked me if i get hate comments or nasty comments... i think these are xommon terms in todays world ...ha ha
ReplyDeleteI very rarely comment on YouTube videos. Then again, I very rarely use YT for anything but music. But I think "do not engage with reviews" is a good rule. Unless it's a very nice review, in which case I will totally engage :D
ReplyDeleteThe Multicolored Diary
I don't always leave reviews/comments on videos. I only sometimes review books I read on Goodreads. Just can't always take the time to do so.
ReplyDelete