How many YouTubers would not appreciate a boost in comments? Notonly does it increase your ranking, ultimately resulting in higherexposure and increased views, comments also show that your fanbaseis engaged and interested in your content.
According to brain dean’s study on YouTube Ranking Factors afteranalyzing 1.3 Million YouTube Videos, comments are strong indicatorthat people are engaging with your video, the more engagement youget, the higher youtube pushes up you in ranking.
Source Backlinko
As you can see the chart above, the more comments you get, thehigher you rank in YouTube.
Your audience provide constructive criticism, aiding you inproducing better and more creative content, and vital motivation -you will instantly feel energized and more ready to work afterreading positive feedback.
Using this guide, you can learn reliable methods to gainingcomments and watch your channel reap the benefits.
Here are few methods you can use to increase comments on yourvideos.
1. Offer something in exchange forcomments
Many YouTubers use this method in various forms. For example,you could pledge to do a challenge, a Q&A or increase uploadfrequency – be creative!
To engage your viewers further, you could also ask what theythink you should do in an upcoming video. In particular, gamingchannels often ask viewers for recommendations for new games orchallenges. A YouTuber called Kubz Scouts had a popularseries where viewers in the comments submitted challenges for himto complete in game.
Checkout this video by video inflencers. Great Tips forincreasing your engagement on YouTube.
Takeaways from this Video:
a) If there is a great comment, pin that to the top ofcomments area.
b) Heart all comments to let the user know that you actuallyread the comment and do care about them. Consider goingto post videos and liking all comments to re-engagethem.
c) Add Time Stamps in your comment to refer back to the portionof the video. This really help you to build high qualityengagement.
d) Give a thumps to positive comments and Thumbs down to allhaters.
Goal based Comments
A good tactic is to set a certain goal. This should behigher than the amount of comments you are averagingbut not excessively so – if you are unrealistic it isunlikely you will reach your goal and it may actually result in adecrease in comments. Alternatively, you could host something thatgets your viewers directly involved.
If you are a gaming channel, you could play some games withviewers based on comments (either in a lottery form or the mostcreative/exciting). Directly interacting with their favoriteYouTubers is a dream of many viewers and it also makes you seemmore humble and down to earth; these are desirable traits asviewers will feel more connected if you feel relatable.
2. Replying to comments personally
Replying to comments is a great way to show that you care aboutyour fan base. It proves that you read comments which gives viewersthe reassurance that there is a point to commenting.
Side Note: You will literally double your commentsby just replying to every comment, which doubles yourengagement.
Double your Comments without asking for newones.
if you have 10 comments on your video and you reply to allcomments, YouTube sees that as 20 comments.
I see lots of Youtuber do not reply to their comments. it’s aneasy way to double your engagement over time.
It’s also a good way to share an opinion and help your audiencelearn more about you as a person – this helps you appear more humanand open.
Receiving a response makes viewers feel validated and it mayeven improve your content. Viewers may give suggestions or advicewhich can help you in the future.
Depending on the size of your following, it may be impossible topersonally respond to every comment but be sure to read as many aspossible and reiterate this fairly often in your videos.
If viewers know that their comments are being listened to andknow that you appreciate it, they are more likely to continue.
One word of caution is be careful when responding to hatecomments. If you insult, harass or are immature in your response itmay make the situation worse.
Not only does it make you seem irrational and childish, you maycome across as a cruel person which may drive away people whootherwise enjoy your content.
In addition, if your channel were to grow in the future, itwould be embarrassing if anyone were to show evidence of you actinginappropriately and it may result in a drastic loss of fans.
For negative responses, either respond positively withoutinsults or malice or simply ignore them.
Further Reading: How to Deal With YouTube Trolls
3. Ask a question at the end of yourvideo
The best way to engage your audience is to ask them tocontribute. Viewer requested content or content where they wereinvolved typically does better as it feels more personalized.
This strategy is typically used in videos such as hauls,shopping sprees or arcade wins however it can be adapted to fitalmost everything.
For example, Game Theory had a small end card competition (SuperAmazing End Card Tournament) where they would ask viewers variousquestions relating to the theme of the video: favorite character,excitement for the new game etc.
Ask viewers their opinions on a currently populartopic in your genre; this is doubly effective because it can sparkdebates and lead to huge amounts of replies.
You can further add to this effect by acknowledging some of theresponses at the start of your next video. By doing this, themethod will still remain valid across many videos as it shows youcare about what your audience has to say.
However, be careful of bringing up heavy content (unless that isyour channel’s general theme) as you may create backlash ordisputes.
This could also be merged with Option 2 by responding to somecomments personally. As long as you’re mindful of others opinions,this can boost your reputation and in turn your following as youappear respectful and interested in hearing others points ofview.
It is important for your question to be relative to your targetaudience: if your target appeals to children do not ask anythingtoo complicated and vice versa. By matching the complexity of yourquestion to the age of your audience you are more likely to havehigh response rate.
Ask Questions in Comments
Similarly to asking a question at the end of the video, asking aquestion in the comments can encourage viewers to respond.
You will see in many videos that YouTubers will pin theircomment asking a question such as people’s opinion on the video,suggestions for future uploads or about a related topic.
One of the advantages is you can see exactly how many people areresponding to your question as it will show up as a reply.
Also, you can edit it at any time and delete it if necessary. Toincrease the effectiveness, you may wish to respond to some repliesto show you are reading them.
You could also ask something that would cause speculation (aboutnew content, branding etc) which could spark conversationstheorizing about what will be announced.
A form of this is tricking your audience, ask something thathints towards something negative, such as a hiatus or leaving theplatform, and then surprise them with positive news.
4: Mention commentators in videos
The ultimate validation as a fan is having your comment read outby a YouTuber you enjoy.
Many YouTubers have series where they react and respond tocomments, and it’s because of the uniqueness of the internet thesesorts of videos can become extremely popular.
You may not wish to do full videos on comments, but starting avideo with a shout-out can really make a subscriber’s day and willmake them more likely to stick with your videos.
It will also encourage others to comment as many people enjoyfree exposure and feel proud that they were chosen. This methodworks very well when combined with a question; it is a good way toguarantee some interesting responses.
You may want to shout out people who are being particularlykind, distinctive or those who have wrote something tooentertaining not to share.
Not only will this increase comments, it will uplift youroverall mood and lead to more motivated content. Alternatively, ifit fits your brand and overall channel genre, you may want to showa hate comment (it’s best to blur out the name) and either roastthem or pretend to have an overblown reaction.
For example, PewDiePie had a series where he read out‘mean’ comments and responded in an entertaining way. This canprevent you from feeling badly about hate comments as it allows youto view them in a humorous manner instead of a cruel one.
This can also work well for challenge videos/viewer suggestedvideos; you could show their comment and original idea before youbegin the video.
5. Ask your Viewers to achieve a comment goal
Whilst this can be seen as cheap and uninspired, it is commonfor YouTubers to achieve a (realistic) goal as long as it is notoverused.
When asked sparingly, this feels significantly less sleazy,however asking every video can quickly become irritating at bestand a joke at worst.
Typically, YouTubers will offer something in exchange forcomments specific number of comments. For Example:
Extra video
Doing a challenge or a giveaway.
Alternatively, more satire based channels may make a sarcasticpromise or a purposefully unrealistic goal – it depends on yourtype of content.
They may also portray it in a different way, saying that theywill not upload until they have reached their goal. As with everyother option, if you are not realistic with the amount of commentsyou may find that you simply never hit it.
Occasionally, YouTuber’s will work together to gain comments.They will create a cover, such as one of them hacking the othersaccount and only releasing it after a certain amount of likes,comments and views on both channels.
However, this usually only works for channels aimed at children.Be careful not to use this method in more than around 20% of yourvideos: any more and you may appear desperate and begging forcomments.
6: Use comments exchange websites
If you are looking to guarantee an increase in comments, youcould use an exchange website.
They are simple to use: you sign and leave comments on videosand in return other users will leave comments on yours.
There is a large selection of websites to choose from includinguTubeX and ytmonster. Whilst these comments are notfrom your viewers so do not have the benefits associated with them,it does help to increase your ranking in the YouTube algorithm andmay encourage genuine comments as viewers see an activesection.
Pros:
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Virtually guarantees comments
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Increases promotion in the YouTube algorithm
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Free and little effort required
Cons:
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You may have to write comments on videos you wouldn’tnormally
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Not all sites are reliable
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Comments are not real fans so do not contribute to yourfollowing
7. Buying comments
If you are desperate for a quick boost in comments, there isalways an option to buy them.
Some sites include mrpopular andbuyyoutubecomments. There are 3 main methods sites willuse.
The cheapest options will use a bit to create comments. The riskwith this is it may not end up sounding organic – it may even be ajumbled mess of letters. This makes it obvious that you have boughtcomments which may turn off potential viewers and prevent them fromleaving real comments.
Other sites may have you write the comments yourself and thenhave accounts post these on your video. The most expensive optionis pays real people to write comments and post them; this assurethat their comments will sound natural however they may not saywhat you would like them to. Prices typically range from $0.21-$3for 10 comments.
Pros:
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Fast – usually less than an hour depending on the size of yourorder
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Guaranteed (as long as you use a safe website)
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Cheap
Cons:
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Comments may not sound sincere/potential for garbledcomments
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Potential to be scammed
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Could result in a decrease in fans as buying comments is lookeddown on
