Whether the comments section of your YouTube video is a lovefest or Snark Metropolis, the fact is, information technology'south a place where conversations virtually your brand are going to be happening — good, bad or ugly.

YouTube comments are an opportunity for the site's 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors to share what they love, hate or only must troll. It'southward like the internet's own personal Thunderdome, just while it tin can be a place for negativity, YouTube comments can as well exist a powerful opportunity for positive customs building and engagement.

So! If YouTube is office of your social media strategy and you want to brand the nigh of your presence in that location, managing your comments finer (with moderation, replies and assay) is disquisitional.

Not only does it show your fans and followers that you lot care nearly what they take to say, engaging with comments has the added benefit of boosting yous in the YouTube algorithm. Videos with lots of likes, replies and moderation tend to bear witness up higher in search results.

Desire to become the master of moderation? Read on for everything you demand to know virtually comments on YouTube, and become that conversation going.

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Moderating comments that appear on your video is of import (and we'll get to the details of that in a minute) but as a brand, you'll want to piping up with your ain commentary, too.

Why? YouTube comments are an opportunity to show off your dazzling wit… or sophistication if you're ane of those serious brands who prefers making tear-jerking ads over extreme bike trick videos. And comments from a make account specifically are a chance to infuse your brand with a sense of actuality and humanity.

After all, each comment yous leave is some other reference and exposure to your make (and a chance to brand a great impression on the YouTube algorithm). Get chatty! Showtime a conversation (on your own video or in another user's comment section) or chime in with your (on-brand) ii cents elsewhere.

To make a comment:

  1. Underneath the video itself, find the comment section.
  2. Type your bulletin in the Add a comment field. (If you're writing on your phone, you can tap the comment section to expand it.)
  3. Click Comment to post.

example of YouTube comments

Keep in heed that a) you tin only annotate on public videos (or unlisted ones). And b) once you lot post your comment, it will be public, too, and associated with your YouTube account. So if you're representing your brand, make certain your message is the correct tone, similar this one from a meditation studio on a chillhop playlist.

Highlighted comment Healing Vibrations YouTube channel

Considering knowing how to brand a comment is just one part of the equation; how to brand a good comment is some other. A successful YouTube comment from a brand should offer some value, and go beyond trying to make a auction.

Attempt sharing an interesting observation, cracking a joke, revealing helpful data or showing compassion or treat a fan. And if you can't turn on the charm (we all have off-days, it'south OK!), a humble thumbs up or heart can yet go a long way to testify that you're listening.

A highlighted annotate in YouTube is an automated feature, 1 intended to flag the content creator's attention.

If you receive a notification virtually a answer to one of your comments, or a notification about a new comment on one of your videos, y'all'll click through to the comments section and find that specific comment highlighted for piece of cake reference.

In other words: YouTube highlights noteworthy comments for yous to help make certain new messages or important responses don't get lost in the oversupply. The highlight will disappear once you lot've seen the comment or engaged with it.

Video makers tin can as well manually highlight comments, to flag them for ease of replying later. Just click on the timestamp (located next to the commenter'south username) of a comment to do so. Ta-da!

This comment from an Fauna Crossing fan, for instance, was made a month agone, only clicking on the timestamp highlighted it right at the peak of the comments section, making it easier to review and respond to.

Highlighted comment from Animal Crossing fan

If you lot're craving a trip down YouTube retention lane (oh, you were and then young!), looking back on comments you've left on YouTube is like shooting fish in a barrel.

  1. Become to Annotate History.
  2. Click or tap the content to go to the original place y'all posted your comment.

Google My Activity your YouTube comments

Note that if you've commented on a deleted video, or your comment has been removed for violating YouTube'due south code of conduct, you won't encounter information technology logged here. Your trolling is lost in the sand of time. Lamentable!

Not to brag, just comment moderation is what Hootsuite's YouTube integration really excels at.

Hootsuite helps social marketers efficiently manage their YouTube community by making it uncomplicated to engage with comments.

Via the Hootsuite dashboard, you can:

  • Delete comments on your own videos.
  • Block specific users from commenting on videos on your channel.
  • Delete your own comments from any video at any time.
  • Publish your own comments on your moderated videos without going through the moderation process.
  • Answer to comments on your videos.
  • Approve comments on your videos.

Hootsuite Streams

Here's how:

  1. Go to Streams, so go to a YouTube Moderate or Likely Spam stream.
  2. Select Approve, Delete, or Respond below the annotate.

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How to reply to comments

If someone has asked you a question or left a passionate note, don't exit 'em hanging. Reply to comments and keep the conversation (and engagement) flowing.

On YouTube, head to your YouTube Studio page and choose Comments from the left-hand carte du jour. If yous've gear up comments to machine-publish with no moderation, y'all can review them via the Published tab.

YouTube Studio channel comments and mentions

If comments demand approving, they'll exist lingering in the Held for Review tab. (Brand sure you corroborate or delete them within 60 days or they'll be deleted automatically!)

The filter bar at the tiptop of either tab allows you to filter by specific text, by comments with questions, by unanswered comments, and more — an extremely helpful tool if you're dealing with a chatty audience.

channel comments and mentions filter bar

In YouTube Studio, yous can reply with the smart reply feature (in which YouTube machine-generates responses), or hitting Reply to blazon a unique message in response. While you're hither, you can likewise requite comments a thumbs upwardly, thumbs down or a heart icon. Here, yous can as well pin a comment to the top of your video's watch page.

How to answer to YouTube comments in Hootsuite

If you'd rather employ Hootsuite Streams for your YouTube comment moderation (nosotros love to see it), you accept a couple of options for replying:

  1. Enter a reply in the text box beneath the annotate, and so press Enter.
  2. Alternatively, you may select More Actions next to the annotate, select Respond, enter your respond, and so press Enter.

More Actions option next to YouTube comment

How to search for a YouTube comment

  1. In YouTube Studio, tap Comments on the left-hand of the folio.
  2. Select Search from the carte du jour on the Published tab and type the text yous're hunting for.

Using Hootsuite? It's like shooting fish in a barrel to simply add a search stream to your dashboard. This tin can help you lot pull up comments you desire to either revisit or respond to in moments.

Hootsuite edit YouTube search stream

You can search for content using keywords and sort the information by date uploaded, relevance, view count and rating. If you want to revisit a nigh liked YouTube comment on one of your videos, this is the feature to employ. Get your hunt on!

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How to delete comments

Want to go rid of a comment that you've written (sometimes emotions run high when yous're watching weiner dog races, we get information technology!), or an unsavory comment someone has left on your video?

  1. Hover over the meridian right of the annotate.
  2. Select Delete (the trash can icon) to remove the comment.

delete YouTube comment

That beingness said: your audition will notice when comments are deleted, and some brands tin go a bad reputation for shutting down audience complaints or dialogue. Censorship is rarely a good look, and so use this ability with discretion. With great power comes great responsibility.

How to report comments

If a comment is in violation of YouTube's community guidelines — think threats, spam or harassment, phishing, or inappropriate comments — you lot can report information technology to the head honchos for removal and disciplinary action (a.k.a… JUSTICE!)

Log into your YouTube Studio account and click the three dots right next to the like, dislike and centre options. From there, you'll have the pick to click the blood-red flag and report a comment.

click red flag to report comment

If y'all do then, make sure that the mail service is in clear violation of YouTube'south guidelines, otherwise, the platform is unlikely to take action.

How to turn on comments on YouTube

  1. Caput to YouTube Studio and click on the gear icon (Settings) on the left-paw side.
  2. Select Customs.
  3. Choice your preferred comment selection.

Settings hold all comments for review

The default setting is for potentially inappropriate comments to be held for review before publication, but yous can switch settings to allow all comments, concord all comments for review, or disable comments altogether.

If y'all choose the "hold all comments for review" setting on your channel, you'll be able to approve YouTube comments right from Hootsuite.

Or, if you lot choose to leave the automatic filter on, you lot tin can customize the filter to your liking by adding moderators, blessing or hiding specific users or setting it to block certain words.

How to turn off comments on YouTube

See above! In YouTube Studio's Community settings, modify the comments setting to "disable comments" to prevent the public from posting comments at all.

If yous've got a typo to fix or a clarification to make, it's simple to edit a annotate you've left.

  1. Hover over the superlative right of the comment.
  2. Select Edit (the pencil icon) to brand changes to your comment.
  3. Revise history!

Now that you're a comment whiz, you lot'd better give your audition something to talk about. Check out our complete guide to YouTube marketing, and then explore keen tips for getting more than views and building your YouTube subscriber base.

Permit Hootsuite make growing your YouTube channel easier. Schedule your videos, moderate comments, and promote your work on other social channels—all in one place! Sign up free today.

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