Whether the comments section of your YouTube video is a lovefest or Snark City, the fact is, information technology'southward a place where conversations about your brand are going to exist happening — good, bad or ugly.

YouTube comments are an opportunity for the site's 1.7 billion unique monthly visitors to share what they love, detest or simply must troll. It's similar the cyberspace's own personal Thunderdome, but while it can exist a place for negativity, YouTube comments can besides be a powerful opportunity for positive community building and engagement.

And then! If YouTube is part of your social media strategy and you desire to make the about of your presence there, managing your comments effectively (with moderation, replies and analysis) is critical.

Not only does it show your fans and followers that you intendance nigh what they have to say, engaging with comments has the added benefit of boosting you in the YouTube algorithm. Videos with lots of likes, replies and moderation tend to bear witness up college in search results.

Want to get the principal of moderation? Read on for everything you need to know about comments on YouTube, and go that conversation going.

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Moderating comments that appear on your video is of import (and we'll get to the details of that in a minute) but as a brand, you'll want to pipe up with your own commentary, too.

Why? YouTube comments are an opportunity to show off your dazzling wit… or sophistication if you're one of those serious brands who prefers making tear-jerking ads over farthermost bike trick videos. And comments from a brand account specifically are a chance to infuse your make with a sense of actuality and humanity.

After all, each annotate y'all leave is another reference and exposure to your make (and a take chances to brand a smashing impression on the YouTube algorithm). Get chatty! Start a chat (on your own video or in another user's comment section) or chime in with your (on-make) ii cents elsewhere.

To make a comment:

  1. Underneath the video itself, detect the comment section.
  2. Blazon your bulletin in the Add a comment field. (If you're writing on your phone, you tin tap the comment section to expand it.)
  3. Click Comment to post.

example of YouTube comments

Keep in heed that a) you can simply comment on public videos (or unlisted ones). And b) once y'all mail your comment, information technology volition exist public, too, and associated with your YouTube business relationship. So if you're representing your brand, make sure your bulletin is the right tone, similar this one from a meditation studio on a chillhop playlist.

Highlighted comment Healing Vibrations YouTube channel

Because knowing how to make a annotate is but 1 part of the equation; how to make a good comment is some other. A successful YouTube annotate from a make should offer some value, and become beyond trying to make a auction.

Try sharing an interesting ascertainment, slap-up a joke, revealing helpful information or showing compassion or care for a fan. And if you lot can't plough on the charm (we all take off-days, information technology'southward OK!), a humble thumbs upwards or heart can still go a long manner to testify that you're listening.

A highlighted comment in YouTube is an automated feature, one intended to flag the content creator's attention.

If you receive a notification about a reply to one of your comments, or a notification nearly a new comment on one of your videos, you'll click through to the comments section and find that specific comment highlighted for piece of cake reference.

In other words: YouTube highlights noteworthy comments for y'all to assistance make certain new messages or important responses don't become lost in the crowd. The highlight will disappear in one case yous've seen the comment or engaged with information technology.

Video makers can also manually highlight comments, to flag them for ease of replying later. Just click on the timestamp (located adjacent to the commenter'south username) of a comment to practise then. Ta-da!

This comment from an Beast Crossing fan, for example, was made a calendar month agone, just clicking on the timestamp highlighted it right at the superlative of the comments department, making information technology easier to review and respond to.

Highlighted comment from Animal Crossing fan

If you're craving a trip down YouTube retentivity lane (oh, you lot were then young!), looking back on comments you've left on YouTube is easy.

  1. Become to Comment History.
  2. Click or tap the content to go to the original place y'all posted your annotate.

Google My Activity your YouTube comments

Note that if you've commented on a deleted video, or your comment has been removed for violating YouTube's code of conduct, you won't see it logged hither. Your trolling is lost in the sand of fourth dimension. Sorry!

Not to brag, but comment moderation is what Hootsuite'south YouTube integration really excels at.

Hootsuite helps social marketers efficiently manage their YouTube community by making it simple to engage with comments.

Via the Hootsuite dashboard, yous can:

  • Delete comments on your ain videos.
  • Cake specific users from commenting on videos on your channel.
  • Delete your own comments from any video at whatever time.
  • Publish your own comments on your moderated videos without going through the moderation process.
  • Reply to comments on your videos.
  • Approve comments on your videos.

Hootsuite Streams

Here's how:

  1. Go to Streams, and then go to a YouTube Moderate or Probable Spam stream.
  2. Select Approve, Delete, or Reply below the comment.

Attempt it for free

How to reply to comments

If someone has asked yous a question or left a passionate annotation, don't leave 'em hanging. Reply to comments and continue the conversation (and engagement) flowing.

On YouTube, head to your YouTube Studio folio and choose Comments from the left-hand carte. If you lot've fix up comments to motorcar-publish with no moderation, you tin review them via the Published tab.

YouTube Studio channel comments and mentions

If comments need approval, they'll be lingering in the Held for Review tab. (Make sure you corroborate or delete them within lx days or they'll be deleted automatically!)

The filter bar at the height of either tab allows yous to filter by specific text, by comments with questions, by unanswered comments, and more — an extremely helpful tool if y'all're dealing with a chatty audience.

channel comments and mentions filter bar

In YouTube Studio, y'all can reply with the smart respond feature (in which YouTube auto-generates responses), or hitting Answer to type a unique message in response. While you're hither, you tin also give comments a thumbs up, thumbs downward or a centre icon. Here, you can also pin a comment to the acme of your video's watch page.

How to reply to YouTube comments in Hootsuite

If you'd rather employ Hootsuite Streams for your YouTube annotate moderation (we honey to see information technology), you accept a couple of options for replying:

  1. Enter a reply in the text box beneath the comment, and and then press Enter.
  2. Alternatively, y'all may select More Actions next to the comment, select Respond, enter your answer, and so press Enter.

More Actions option next to YouTube comment

How to search for a YouTube comment

  1. In YouTube Studio, tap Comments on the left-hand of the page.
  2. Select Search from the menu on the Published tab and type the text you're hunting for.

Using Hootsuite? It'south easy to just add together a search stream to your dashboard. This tin can help you pull up comments you want to either revisit or respond to in moments.

Hootsuite edit YouTube search stream

You can search for content using keywords and sort the information past date uploaded, relevance, view count and rating. If yous want to revisit a nearly liked YouTube annotate on 1 of your videos, this is the feature to employ. Get your hunt on!

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How to delete comments

Desire to become rid of a comment that y'all've written (sometimes emotions run high when you're watching weiner dog races, nosotros go it!), or an unsavory comment someone has left on your video?

  1. Hover over the top right of the annotate.
  2. Select Delete (the trash can icon) to remove the comment.

delete YouTube comment

That existence said: your audience will notice when comments are deleted, and some brands tin can get a bad reputation for shutting down audience complaints or dialogue. Censorship is rarely a good look, so use this ability with discretion. With great ability comes great responsibleness.

How to report comments

If a comment is in violation of YouTube'due south customs guidelines — call back threats, spam or harassment, phishing, or inappropriate comments — you can written report it to the caput honchos for removal and disciplinary activity (a.k.a… JUSTICE!)

Log into your YouTube Studio account and click the 3 dots correct next to the similar, dislike and heart options. From there, yous'll have the option to click the blood-red flag and report a comment.

click red flag to report comment

If y'all do so, brand sure that the post is in clear violation of YouTube's guidelines, otherwise, the platform is unlikely to take action.

How to turn on comments on YouTube

  1. Head to YouTube Studio and click on the gear icon (Settings) on the left-hand side.
  2. Select Community.
  3. Option your preferred annotate option.

Settings hold all comments for review

The default setting is for potentially inappropriate comments to exist held for review earlier publication, but you tin can switch settings to let all comments, agree all comments for review, or disable comments birthday.

If you choose the "agree all comments for review" setting on your channel, you'll be able to approve YouTube comments right from Hootsuite.

Or, if yous choose to leave the automated filter on, you tin customize the filter to your liking by adding moderators, approval or hiding specific users or setting it to cake certain words.

How to plow off comments on YouTube

See above! In YouTube Studio's Community settings, change the comments setting to "disable comments" to forbid the public from posting comments at all.

If you've got a typo to fix or a clarification to brand, information technology'due south simple to edit a comment you lot've left.

  1. Hover over the summit right of the comment.
  2. Select Edit (the pencil icon) to make changes to your annotate.
  3. Revise history!

At present that you're a comment whiz, you'd better give your audience something to talk about. Cheque out our complete guide to YouTube marketing, so explore groovy tips for getting more views and building your YouTube subscriber base.

Allow Hootsuite brand growing your YouTube aqueduct easier. Schedule your videos, moderate comments, and promote your piece of work on other social channels—all in one place! Sign up costless today.

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