YouTube provides a new way for users to find and interact with creators directly by tagging their handles. Advertise on a video sharing platform News and events pageit allows channels to use unique identifiers in username format.
These handles will appear in comments, video descriptions, and on channel pages, among other places, allowing users to quickly tag others.
“Soon it will be easier and faster to mention each other in comments, community posts, video descriptions, and more,” YouTube said via the announcement. “For example, referring to creators can be yelled in the comments or tagged in the title of a recent collaboration, which helps them increase their visibility and reach new audiences.”
Handles will be released over the next month and creators will be notified when they can choose their handle. If the channel already has a custom URL, this will be the indicator by default, although it can be changed for a short time after receiving the notification.
“The timing of a creator’s access to the handle selection process depends on a number of factors, including their overall presence on YouTube, number of subscribers, and whether or not the channel is active,” YouTube said in the announcement.
Treats associated channel names as a unique identifier
In early 2022, YouTube began allowing creators to change the name and URL of their channels. These provided branding opportunities to help channels define and differentiate themselves.
However, unlike channel names, each handle will be unique, allowing content creators to further differentiate their distinct brand. This is similar to handles and usernames commonly used on other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Prior to this update, YouTube only provided limited support for using the format. Users can use it in YouTube Live chats to tag others, or creators can use the @ format to indicate channels and video titles, but they can only tag another user by replying to their comments.
The @ username format seeks to compete with TikTok
with more than 1 billion users around the worldShort video platform TikTok has become a major player in the world of social media. As such, other social media platforms have been looking for ways to compete with Facebook by launching Reels and YouTube by expanding into Shorts.
One of the features offered by TikTok is the ability for users to participate in conversations through posts, resulting discussions, and results. By adding username handles to both channel and short story pages, YouTube hopes to create similar usage.
Featured image: Shutterstock/PixieMe
