Google Creator Playbook Version 4 - Manual (Page 65)

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Build Your Community
• Spur conversation. Create relevant content that
generates conversation among your community.
Ask for their opinions and feedback. Remember,
good debates are a part of a healthy community;
only remove / flag hateful comments targeted at an
individual or group.
• Use off-platform social tools to engage with
your community. Do some research and figure out
which social platforms your community is actively
involved in. Jump into the conversation on those
social networks.
• There are many social networks that YouTubers
use as part of their social strategy. Some popular
platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Pinterest, Reddit, and Google+.
Community building fundamentals
• Develop relationships with top contributors.
Think of each viewer as an individual. Respond to
frequent commenters, and take a genuine interest
in them.
• Respond to comments in the first few hours after
you publish a video. These first commenters are
your loyal community members, so keep
them engaged.
• Your own comments on your uploaded videos
get pinned to show up at the top of the
comments section, prominently featuring your
engagement with the fans.
• Recognize the contributions of individuals in the
community. People love to be recognized;
responding to first-time contributors is a way to
encourage ongoing engagement. Consider
recognizing your community through in-video
shout outs, or by offering other rewards like fan
merchandise or exclusive content shared through
unlisted videos.
• Create content about your community.
Whenever possible, include your community in the
video content itself. Shout them out by name,
acknowledge that you’re reading their comments,
or even let viewers choose the direction of a special
feature. Many creators find ways to work-in their
fans, letting the whole community know how much
they appreciate their viewership.