62% of US internet users access YouTube on a daily basis, indicating that this platform has become a key part of many people’s lives. In order to maintain this incredible level of success and engagement, YouTube is constantly improving its wide portfolio of features. To delve into this further, Netinfluencer has everything you need to know about YouTube’s Community Tab updates. 

What Is the Community Tab?

The YouTube Community Tab encourages creators to engage with their audiences outside of traditional video content. As such, this tool allows users to post a variety of rich media content such as photos, text, and GIFs. 

Creators mostly use this tool to update their audience on various changes to their channel or to just interact with them on a more personal level. This content is presented in a separate section of a creator’s channel and also allows audiences to comment and react to the media shown.

Users can also schedule certain posts and make them visible to certain individuals such as paying members. In turn, creators have the opportunity to create exclusive content for their most devoted followers and have more control over their content schedule. 

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Why Was It Launched?

The Community Tab was first released in September 2016 as a way to transform the platform into a more comprehensive social media network. This tool was originally created to stop influential creators from posting on other platforms, helping to retain its best talent.

Many also believe that the Community Tab was launched in order to cover up the mistakes seen throughout YouTube’s partnership with Google +. This unfortunate collaboration caused a mass exodus from the platform due to the lackluster features and performance issues.

Nowadays, the Community Tab is seen more as a simple social media platform, encouraging creators to post simple content that engages their audiences and diverts them away from competitors such as Facebook and Instagram. 

Who Has Access to the Tool?

Currently, the Community Tab is only available to those who have a minimum of 500 subscribers. In addition, creators must be able to show one of three verification details including channel history, video verification, and a valid form of ID.

If your channel is operating under the Made for Kids audience, your viewers will not be able to see your Community Tab posts. This is to help protect minors from viewing inappropriate content. Moreover, audiences can only access this tool via select mobile and desktop devices.

What New Features Are Available?

Additional Moderation

As a way to better protect its creators, YouTube allows users to disable comments at any time. This is useful for influencers who do not wish to see hateful content or are looking to maintain a more balanced relationship with their follower base.

In June 2022, YouTube also began testing a disappearing community post feature. This tool allows users to post a variety of content on their community tab, which would then be removed after 24 or 72 hours. 

This feature, which is currently still in its early stages, encourages audiences to interact with content as quickly as they can, whilst still allowing creators to eliminate content that does not serve them in the long run. 

Quizzes

One of the latest additions to the YouTube Community Tab is the introduction of quizzes. This interactive tool gives creators the ability to pose questions to their audiences, which viewers then have to solve for themselves. 

This feature was introduced to support the growth of educational channels, particularly in line with the new Learning on YouTube initiative. Thus, creators can test their viewers’ knowledge on certain subjects, whilst also directing them to their latest videos to help them to discover more about the topic. 

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Image Editing Tools

In order to expand its image-based content, YouTube now allows its users to implement a vast range of editing tools. In a similar vein to platforms such as Snapchat, creators can now add an array of visual overlays to their images. Thus, they can add text, filters, and stickers to their existing images to help engage their followers even more. 

This feature is currently only available to a small group of iOS users but the platform is hoping to roll this feature out to more people in the next few months. 

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Benefits of Using Youtube’s New Community Tab Tools

The YouTube Community Tab expands the platform’s capabilities and aids creators in boosting their engagement rate. Moreover, the threshold for this tool is quite low, meaning that users only have to have 500 subscribers to gain access. As a result, the Community Tab has the potential to support a plethora of smaller creators, ensuring that they can extend their reach. 

The newly launched quiz feature enables educators on the platform to offer more comprehensive support for their students. This feature helps to broaden a viewer’s knowledge and ensure that they fully understand the topic at hand. As such, creators can make these quizzes a key part of their content strategy, ensuring that they can communicate with their audience on a regular basis. 

The image-editing tools inspire creators to amplify their content, providing their followers with a wealth of rich images. By adding a few simple lines of text, or an array of stickers, creators are working to add value to their posts. This can also help them to secure prosperous brand partnerships and encourage more loyal viewers to become channel members. 

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The YouTube Community Tab tool may be considered a bit niche but it has the potential to reach viewers in a way that is quite novel to the platform. Therefore, creators can interact with their audiences in a wealth of new ways without having to move over to other platforms.