YouTube Tests Community Spaces To Drive Fan Engagement

YouTube’s trying another way to integrate more social platform type elements, this time through a new Community Spaces test, which enables channel fans to engage and interact via text posts.

As you can see in this example, posted by influencer marketing expert Lindsey Gamble, YouTube’s new Community Spaces, which are now available on selected creator profiles, provide a dedicated space for fans to view text updates from the creator, while also sharing their own posts.

The feature is an extension of YouTube’s Community Posts, which enables creators to post text updates in a dedicated stream.

YouTube made Community Posts available to all channels in June last year, providing another way for creators to interact with their fans.

And now, it’s looking to get fans involved in the same, which will facilitate more engagement and interaction within the app.

Which is interesting, considering YouTube’s changing relationship with social media-like elements.

YouTube has de-emphasized video comments over time, due to the sometimes toxic nature of responses, which was arguably its most social element. But at the same time, it’s also sought to enhance engagement within channel communities, via Community Posts, which seemingly facilitates more positive engagement.

This new expansion is another step in that direction, switching the interactive elements to another part of the app, which could be more beneficial for building community, and could make YouTube a more social app.

And for creators, that could be a valuable consideration, in engaging with fans, and building connections in the app. The capacity for fans to post, and for creators to respond, could be a big update, driving more connection via YouTube clips.

YouTube’s currently testing Community Spaces with selected creators, with a view to a broader expansion in future.