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“Like, comment, and subscribe!”
Anyone who has ever watched a youtuber knows this phrase.
Obviously, when you subscribe it helps build their channel, but why do they ask for likes and comments?
There is usually only one reason why YouTubers ask for likes and comments: for channel engagement.
Asking for likes and comments increases your engagement and thus makes it more likely for the Youtube algorithm to push it out.
A comment misconception is that the most important metric on youtube is the subscriber count.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Engagement is far more important than how many subscribers you have and if you keep reading, you will find out why.
Why Youtubers Ask For Likes And Comments
Growing a youtube channel nowadays is no longer just a matter of uploading a cat video and hoping someone sees it.
You have to build momentum, work on your SEO, make enticing thumbnails, and produce high-quality content.
Gone are the days when the audience will stick around for bad audio or video quality.
But even with all of these things in place, you still may not get the attention of the dreaded youtube algorithm.
This is why YouTubers have to take matters into their own hands.
Youtubers will generally ask for likes and comments to be able to boost engagement on their videos.
YouTubers want to grow on the platform but they also want to be able to engage with their audience. The best way to be able to do both of these things is by asking people to like their videos and leave comments.
Why does engagement matter for youtubers?
Engagement is important because it is one of the main things that shows the algorithm whether or not a video is worth pushing out onto the home feed or on suggested videos.
There are 4 main metrics that boost engagement:
- Click-through rate
- Watch time
- Amount of likes
- Amount of comments left on a video
CTR (click-through rate) is something that YouTubers can directly affect with their titles and thumbnails.
However, when it comes to likes and comments, it is fully up to the audience. The more the audience leaves comments and likes a video, the more the algorithm is more likely to push it out.
Building a Core Audience
YouTubers know that there is no way that they can build a core audience if they are not able to engage with them.
This is also why a majority of YouTubers will take their time after uploading a video to make sure that they reply to some of the comments left on their videos.
The person who has watched a video and made the effort to leave a comment (whether good or bad) is also the one who is more likely to be interested in your channel in general.
Do Bad Comments Hurt Your Videos Performance?
Absolutely not.
A bad comment is only seen as a comment in the eyes of the youtube algorithm. Meaning it doesn’t care whether it’s “bad” or good.
It’s a comment.
So if anything, it will count towards your engagement and help your video.
Unfortunately, this is also why you see people that “troll” the internet. They know that people will leave dislikes and comments responding to the troll.
Which in return is only going to help build up their content and push it out more.
Do Youtubers Get Paid For Likes
There is a common misconception that YouTubers get paid more money when they get more likes on their videos.
YouTubers do not get paid by how many likes are on a video. It actually has no effect on how much the video is valued.
When YouTubers get paid in ad revenue, it is determined by how many people watch and engage with the ads that play on the videos.
The amount of likes doesn’t matter.
But there are also several other ways that YouTubers get paid on youtube so you can read more about that on my blog.
Do Dislikes Hurt A Video?
Dislikes in and of themselves do not hurt your video’s performance in any way. Especially since youtube’s new update where the dislike count was no longer public.
However, having a lot of dislikes on your video will probably show you that there is something that is not resonating with the audience.
There was a huge plea from the youtube community to leave the dislikes and make them public again but youtube has yet to do that.
Either way, if a youtuber notices that a video is getting a lot of dislikes, then they should analyze why it is and what is making the video off-putting to the audience.
Because even if it doesn’t hurt the video they uploaded, it could reflect poorly from a viewer’s point of view.
The Risk of Having Dislikes and Bad Comments
When a person likes a video or leaves a positive comment, they are more likely to go off to other videos from that channel and watch them.
However, if someone doesn’t like it and even makes the effort to leave a bad comment on the video, most likely that person is a lost viewer.
More likely than not, they will also click off of the video before it ends.
This is going to reflect badly on the watch time for that video and that is something that may be a red flag for the algorithm.
Final Thought
If you are watching a youtube video and you like what the person has brought to the table, leave a like on the video.
When YouTubers tell you that it helps support the channel, they really do mean it. Leaving a like will help the algorithm know that people are watching and liking this video and it is worth being pushed out.
If you are willing to take the extra step, then leave a comment as well. It is the best way to engage with your favorite youtuber and to get their attention.
Being a youtuber is hard work. I should know because I am one. Nothing makes me happier than uploading a video and going back to see that people have left comments that I can reply to.
It really is a great way to engage with people.
