The article below is from the Video Ideas email list. This edition focuses on how best to use audience comments.
Audience comments are one of the things that makes YouTube different to traditional TV and platforms like Netflix. Often producers aren’t sure what to do with comments apart from maybe read or reply to them, so thought I’d look at five ways you can use audience comments in your videos. There’s some good ideas below, but definitely don’t miss Player Two at the bottom of this list – it’s a film I think about often.
Host spends second half of each video responding to comments left on the previous video
If you leave a comment on a YouTube video all you’d probably expect from the channel is a thumbs-up or short reply. However in this series Mike Rugnetta responds to the comments by talking about them in the video itself, which gives them a much higher level of recognition. Also I think he does it well – just a quick summary with a screenshot, leaving viewers to pause the video if they want to read it in detail. (For example here’s Mike responding to the comments on a previous video about Jurassic Park. In this instance he also ropes in other YouTubers to reply to the comments — a good example of audience-boosting collaboration.)
The downside of this approach is most viewers will stop watching when he gets to these comments sections (well-executed though the approach is) and this will affect how the algorithm treats the video. However with YouTubers increasingly relying more on the “1000 true fans” business model (ie. a small but highly engaged number of fans), this approach is a good way of deepening the relationship with an audience.
“Compliment Battle” – two celebrities take it in turns to read to the other adoring comments from fans
There’s lots of videos featuring responses to rude audience comments – most famously Mean Tweets from Jimmy Kimmel Live. But I think this “Compliment Battle” format from Teen Vogue is a nice contrast to that approach. (See also “Thirst Tweets” from Buzzfeed)
Celebrities log-in to social media platforms and leave real replies to the comments and questions found there.
Actually Me is a clever interview format, and well executed. Also I should mention AMA IRL (great title!) from Netflix, which is similar idea. By the way, if you want more interview format ideas, check out the video ideas lists on my website.
Two actors reconstruct a comments-war between two One Direction fans.
Funny, clever idea, since turned into a series.
A dramatisation of a story an audience member left in the comments of a YouTube video.
The story behind this film begins with a video made by PBS Game/Show which asked, “Can games can be a spiritual experience?”. In response to that question someone in the comments told a story about their father that filmmaker John Wikstrom turned into a short film. I recommend watching the film first, but if you want to read the original comment it’s here. Also after the film was published, the person who first told the story left another comment, this time thanking Wikstrom for making the film.
A star (⭐) means particularly recommended. While all the films I include in these emails are worth knowing about for some reason, these are the ones you definitely don’t want to miss watching.