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YouTube Live Streams
YouTube is trying another technique to motivate live-stream donations, this time using Super Chat likes, which allow other viewers to “like” a Super Chat within the stream.
YouTube’s Super Chat, which is featured in live-streams and Premieres, allows any viewer to purchase a Super Chat or an animated Super Sticker, which is then emphasized with a distinct backdrop color throughout the stream.
Super Chats are also pinned for a set period of time, depending on how much you spend, and this trial will allow other users to like those pinned remarks, which could serve as another way to spark additional debate and interaction around these purchased postings.
YouTube Says:
“We’re testing a feature that lets users “like” Super Chat messages in a live stream or Premiere. During this experiment, only a small group will be able to like Super Chats, but we plan on rolling this out more widely in the coming month. If a Super Chat message is liked, it will appear in the live stream, however, that data is not saved afterwards, e.g., in the archive of the live stream.”
This could inspire streamers to respond to the most popular remarks while also providing commenters with another method to engage and pique the interest of viewers.
YouTube has been attempting to improve its live-stream donation services in order to better motivate streaming in the app and provide another avenue for creators to be compensated by fans.
Small Step to a Bigger Change
Last June, YouTube drastically reduced the entry requirements for its YPP program, giving more creators access to monetization tools like as Super Chat as it seeks to combat rising competition for talent from TikTok and other platforms.
And, with TikTok likely to increase its focus on live-stream revenue this year, it makes sense for YouTube to continue experimenting with its alternatives as it seeks new ways to keep creators on its platform.
This is a minor component of the larger strategy, but it will be interesting to see how more engagement choices within streaming broadcasts affect the incentives for participation.
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