Whether the comments section of your YouTube video is a lovefest or Snark Urban center, the fact is, it's a place where conversations about your brand are going to be happening — good, bad or ugly.

YouTube comments are an opportunity for the site's one.vii billion unique monthly visitors to share what they dear, detest or merely must troll. It's like the internet'south ain personal Thunderdome, but while information technology can be a identify for negativity, YouTube comments tin can too be a powerful opportunity for positive community building and engagement.

So! If YouTube is function of your social media strategy and you want to make the most of your presence at that place, managing your comments finer (with moderation, replies and analysis) is critical.

Not only does it evidence your fans and followers that yous intendance near what they have to say, engaging with comments has the added benefit of boosting you in the YouTube algorithm. Videos with lots of likes, replies and moderation tend to prove up higher in search results.

Want to get the master of moderation? Read on for everything you demand to know about comments on YouTube, and get that conversation going.

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Moderating comments that appear on your video is important (and we'll get to the details of that in a minute) but equally a make, you'll desire to pipe upwards with your own commentary, besides.

Why? YouTube comments are an opportunity to evidence off your dazzling wit… or sophistication if yous're one of those serious brands who prefers making tear-jerking ads over farthermost cycle trick videos. And comments from a brand business relationship specifically are a chance to infuse your brand with a sense of authenticity and humanity.

Afterwards all, each comment you get out is another reference and exposure to your brand (and a risk to make a swell impression on the YouTube algorithm). Become chatty! Outset a conversation (on your own video or in some other user'southward annotate section) or chime in with your (on-brand) two cents elsewhere.

To make a comment:

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

example of YouTube comments

Keep in mind that a) you can only comment on public videos (or unlisted ones). And b) in one case you postal service your comment, it will be public, too, and associated with your YouTube business relationship. So if yous're representing your brand, brand sure your message is the right tone, similar this ane from a meditation studio on a chillhop playlist.

Highlighted comment Healing Vibrations YouTube channel

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

Try sharing an interesting observation, cracking a joke, revealing helpful information or showing pity or care for a fan. And if you lot tin can't plow on the charm (nosotros all have off-days, it'due south OK!), a apprehensive thumbs up or heart can still go a long way to show that you're listening.

A highlighted comment in YouTube is an automatic feature, ane intended to flag the content creator'due south attending.

If you receive a notification about a answer to one of your comments, or a notification almost a new annotate on i of your videos, yous'll click through to the comments department and find that specific comment highlighted for piece of cake reference.

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

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

This comment from an Beast Crossing fan, for instance, was fabricated a month ago, but clicking on the timestamp highlighted information technology right at the top of the comments section, making information technology easier to review and respond to.

Highlighted comment from Animal Crossing fan

If yous're craving a trip down YouTube retentivity lane (oh, you were so young!), looking back on comments you've left on YouTube is piece of cake.

  1. Go to Comment History.
  2. Click or tap the content to become to the original identify you 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's code of conduct, you lot won't see it logged hither. Your trolling is lost in the sand of time. Sad!

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

Hootsuite helps social marketers efficiently manage their YouTube community by making information technology simple to engage with comments.

Via the Hootsuite dashboard, you can:

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

Hootsuite Streams

Here's how:

  1. Go to Streams, and then get to a YouTube Moderate or Likely Spam stream.
  2. Select Approve, Delete, or Reply beneath the comment.

Try it for free

How to reply to comments

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

On YouTube, head to your YouTube Studio folio and cull Comments from the left-hand menu. If you've fix comments to auto-publish with no moderation, you can review them via the Published tab.

YouTube Studio channel comments and mentions

If comments demand approval, they'll exist lingering in the Held for Review tab. (Make sure you approve or delete them within lx days or they'll be deleted automatically!)

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

channel comments and mentions filter bar

In YouTube Studio, you can reply with the smart reply characteristic (in which YouTube machine-generates responses), or hit Respond to type a unique message in response. While you lot're here, you can also give comments a thumbs upward, thumbs downward or a middle icon. Here, you tin also pivot a annotate to the peak of your video's lookout man folio.

How to reply to YouTube comments in Hootsuite

If you'd rather use Hootsuite Streams for your YouTube comment moderation (we dearest to see information technology), you have a couple of options for replying:

  1. Enter a reply in the text box below the comment, and and then printing Enter.
  2. Alternatively, you may select More than Actions next to the annotate, select Reply, enter your answer, and so printing 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 menu on the Published tab and type the text you're hunting for.

Using Hootsuite? Information technology'due south easy to just add a search stream to your dashboard. This can help yous pull up comments y'all want to either revisit or respond to in moments.

Hootsuite edit YouTube search stream

You tin search for content using keywords and sort the information past date uploaded, relevance, view count and rating. If you want to revisit a virtually liked YouTube comment on ane of your videos, this is the characteristic to employ. Get your hunt on!

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How to delete comments

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

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

delete YouTube comment

That being said: your audience volition notice when comments are deleted, and some brands can get a bad reputation for shutting down audience complaints or dialogue. Censorship is rarely a skilful look, 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 — call up threats, spam or harassment, phishing, or inappropriate comments — y'all can written report it to the head honchos for removal and disciplinary action (a.thousand.a… JUSTICE!)

Log into your YouTube Studio account and click the iii dots right next to the like, dislike and eye options. From there, you lot'll have the option to click the ruddy flag and study a comment.

click red flag to report comment

If you do and so, make certain that the post is in clear violation of YouTube's guidelines, otherwise, the platform is unlikely to take activity.

How to plough on comments on YouTube

  1. Head to YouTube Studio and click on the gear icon (Settings) on the left-hand side.
  2. Select Community.
  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 tin switch settings to allow all comments, hold all comments for review, or disable comments altogether.

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

Or, if you cull to leave the automated filter on, yous can customize the filter to your liking by adding moderators, approving or hiding specific users or setting it to block sure words.

How to turn off comments on YouTube

See in a higher place! In YouTube Studio'south Customs settings, change the comments setting to "disable comments" to foreclose the public from posting comments at all.

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

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

Now that you're a comment whiz, you'd ameliorate give your audience something to talk nigh. Check out our complete guide to YouTube marketing, then explore swell tips for getting more views and edifice your YouTube subscriber base.

Let Hootsuite make growing your YouTube channel easier. Schedule your videos, moderate comments, and promote your work on other social channels—all in one identify! Sign upwardly complimentary today.

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