YouTube is launching a series of new features which aim to make community posts more engaging and give creators data on how their community posts are performing.
Since their creation in 2019, creators have had very little information on how many people are seeing their posts, instead having to rely entirely on likes, dislikes, and comments directly on the posts.
Along with finally providing analytics data on these posts, YouTube is adding the ability to include more images in community posts, as well as letting iOS users schedule their posts ahead of time.
Let’s explore all these new updates in more depth:
YouTube Community Posts Get Analytics Data
Creators can finally see data on their community posts directly in YouTube Analytics, after years of waiting.
Specifically, the analytics suite will start showing information on how many times your posts have been shown and how the content is performing without having to look at individual posts.
For the moment, these metrics are exclusive to the desktop version of YouTube Analytics, though the company says it will be bringing them to its Studio Mobile app at some point in the future.
As the video announcing the features explained, the company wants to help creators who have been asking for community post analytics better understand their content’s performance and use this information to help create more engaging posts in the future.
Add Multiple Images To YouTube Community Posts
Since their launch, YouTube community posts have limited creators to just a single banner image which was used as a thumbnail for each post. Thankfully, that is starting to change.
Creators can now add up to 5 pictures per each community post, allowing you to express yourself more, better engage readers, and create an experience more in-line with other social platforms.
For example, you can use a post to tease an upcoming project with preview images, show the process behind your videos, or even showcase your experiences interacting with fans or clients directly in your content.
At launch, this ability will only be available to users on Android devices. Support for iOS and desktop should arrive later this year.
Schedule Community Posts on iOS
The last update is short and simple, but it has been something Apple device users have been begging for. Creators can now schedule their community posts ahead of time from iOS versions of the YouTube app.
This feature has been available on desktop and Android for some time, so this means post scheduling is now available to everyone with the ability to create community posts.
How To Create YouTube Community Posts
If you’re unfamiliar, community posts are a type of social content found in a channel’s “Community” tab which creators can share between or alongside proper video uploads.
These posts can contain images, videos, text, playlists, GIFs, and even polls – making them a great way to directly connect with your audience.
The only requirement to be able to create community posts is having 1,000 subscribers on your channel. Once you have hit that benchmark, the process to create a post is simple:
- Sign in to YouTube
- Click the “Create” button
- Click “Create Post”
Though community posts might not be the most visible content on YouTube, they allow a way to directly communicate with your community without having to stream or record a full video on your channel. Additionally, this is where many turn for information about when to expect videos, what you’re cooking up, and find out exactly what your viewers are most interested in.
That makes these new features – all of which are available now to those eligible to share community posts – a valuable tool to build a robust community around your content.
For more, check out the creator Insider video below: