Sharing is caring, so stop your staring …
When my wife and I are on our phones, I can tell when she's diving into the comment section on an Instagram reel.
I hear the reel restart.
And again. And again. And maybe a third or fourth time.
The better the comments, the more times I hear one of those tired reel backgrounds play.
Keeping the conversation going
User-generated content (UGC) draws eyeballs and keeps people engaged in an app or on a website.
Creators looking to build credibility and trust with their audience can do this naturally by adding to the conversation on other complementary channels.
Once in a while, adding to the conversation can include a relevant link / video / whatever back to their channel. How often “once in a while” is depends on the site.
But if their handle (username) on the site is descriptive of what their channel is about, then they don't have to promote as hard. The common interest speaks for itself.
That's where the referrals happen
Tonight I got another subscriber to my currency-collecting YouTube channel.
He started his comment by saying he'd heard about me from another channel I commented on.
Then he told me about one of the currency videos on his channels. I checked it out, subscribed to his channel, left a comment, he loved it, and we're now supporting each other.
That's the way it's supposed to work!
Tips for using comments to promote your stream
Here are some tips for how to use comments to promote your stream.
Contribute to the conversation going on
If it's a YouTube video, your comment should be on-topic for the video or another comment in that thread.
Avoid hijacking the thread by completely changing the subject to your own interests. It's disruptive and doesn't reflect well upon you.
Make the comment interesting
One way to make a comment interesting is to highlight a detail within the post or video. This usually means watching the video in detail
Supportive is good
I've seen other creators do comments completely the wrong way.
They could be doing great things for their platform, but instead they're just becoming a cautionary tale and providing raw material for more savvy creators.
You have a choice between being negative and critical, and being positive and supportive.
I think the choice is clear. There's usually something good to be said if you look for it.
Avoid drop and dash
Continue the conversation if someone (especially the channel owner) responds to your comment.
A conversation will be better received than a drive-by.
Consider choosing a name that suggests the content of your channel
On YouTube, for example, you can comment under your channel's handle. This helped me I'm sure. Most people, I'm sure, didn't think that my actual name was Cool Serial.
This advertises that you're “in business” just by itself and encourages people to check out your account.
Thanks for reading!
Hi, I'm John and I encourage entrepreneurship in people, including myself.
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Header photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦
It’s wonderful that you are getting thoughts from this article as well as from our dialogue made here.
Appreciate it!