Predominantly, growth comes to those who already have a substantial audience. It’s easier to grow if you have people watching already. However, YouTube have created Hype to help those smaller channels.
YouTube has been the start for many large creators. As the platform has risen in popularity, so have the creators within the platform. Many well known creators started on YouTube and now are across multiple social media sites. However, how do the little people get started?
It’s no secret that starting out is incredibly daunting. How are you supposed to get the views when no one knows your channel exists? It’s harder these days with more and more individuals starting up their own platforms. YouTube has become saturated.
There is of course still room for new creators. However, unless you have a really specific niche, it can be hard to find your place amongst a sea of creatives. That’s why YouTube created Hype. The idea behind the feature is smaller creators have a chance to be seen.
Typically, the way the algorithm works, unless you’re an already popular channel, your videos probably won’t be pushed by YouTube. Meaning, bigger creators get more views and the smaller ones stay in the background. Hype, however, is for the small creators.
Hit half a million to start earning
It’s been found that once a YouTuber reaches 500,000 subscribers, their revenue tends to increase, and it’s a lot easier for them to continuously grow. The director of product management at YouTube had a lot to say about the matter.
Bangaly Kaba said “We just saw a disproportionate growth in earnings.” Since the guys at the top have noticed it, it’s unlikely creators themselves haven’t. Thankfully, YouTube decided to act on their findings and that’s where Hype was first created.
Hype has been designed to focus on the growth of smaller channels. It’s there to help viewers discover creators, and is a promotional element of the much loved platform YouTube. Similar to Trending, however, this feature is aimed at smaller channels.
YouTube developers have been working on Hype since the start of 2023 and have taken a lot of creators and also viewer feedback on board. This has helped them shape the product. YouTube viewers have said they want a more aggressive way of helping creators succeed.
Fans are brought closer to creators
By this, it’s suggested they want more recognition for being the first to share, or comment on, videos. You’ve likely seen comments saying “First” and this is because there’s something powerful about being the first person to view a video and leave a comment.
Kaba has said, “We really wanted to allow the fans to lean in as community members, to help support their favourite creators.” This is where things like pinning comments, stitches and remixes came from. All in the aim to bring fans and creators closer together.
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The concept of Hype works by allowing video to be hyped within their first 7 days of being published. For any creator under half a million subscribers, 3 hypes are available each week. Each hype is worth a certain number of points relating back to the amount of subscribers.
A channel with more subscribers will likely earn fewer points per hype. Smaller channels should, therefore, be able to hit the leaderboard. By allowing smaller channels to collect more points per hype, YouTube are encouraging the growth of these channels.
This has been designed with the aim to avoid larger channels taking over the leaderboard. Videos in the top 100 for points, will be at the top of the leaderboard. Each country will have its own leaderboard, so videos will be more relevant to each region.
Over time, the plan is that YouTube will allow personalised sections. So, no two users Hype will be the same. Hype is said to not affect the overall YouTube algorithm, but these videos will appear under a new section within the recommendations feed.
When will the hype button appear?
Once you start liking videos, you will notice the hype button appear. This is a way to provide a boost to the video content and the creator themselves. If you choose to hype a video, you will see how many points it has and whether it is on the leaderboard.
Hype will take away some pressures put on creators when it comes to promoting their videos, and earning money for their work. Creators earn a bonus when their videos are hyped, but no one is sure just how much. It wouldn’t surprise us if other social platforms adopt this idea.
