YouTube has introduced a new feature for creators with fewer subscribers, in a bid to grow smaller channels and help people discover other users. YouTube says that Hype will help emerging channels become more visible by connecting them with new audiences.

The company has been adding more features lately as it attempts to compete with the likes of TikTok. Only this week, YouTube integrated Google DeepMind AI for Shorts so that users could use the “transformative power of AI.”

How does YouTube Hype work?

In a blog post, the Google-owned company explained that if a video has been out less than seven days from a creator with under 500,000 subscribers, users will be able to ‘hype’ it, which goes beyond liking and sharing.

Using the new promotional system, users can help channels to climb on a leaderboard, and the 100 hyped videos will appear from the week.

It stated: “Anybody can hype up to three times per week. In the future, we plan to allow fans to purchase additional hypes, unlocking another revenue stream for creators, too.”

After four weeks of beta tests in Turkey, Taiwan, and Brazil, the video company said that users had hyped over five million times across more than 50,000 unique channels. They found that the largest age group hyping videos was those aged between 18 to 24, which made up over 30 percent of all beta users. Although YouTube has officially announced the new Hype feature, at the time of writing it’s not available in most countries.

The leaderboards are tailored to each country, and YouTube plans to eventually customize the Hype section for individual users. While the top 100 rankings will remain the same, YouTube is now gathering valuable data on popular smaller videos across various topics but reiterated that the algorithms wouldn’t change.

Cited by the Verge, Bangaly Kaba, a director of YouTube’s product management said: “We just saw a disproportionate growth in earnings.

“Some of the research told us that viewers want to influence the creative process.”

He added: “We also heard feedback that they want to contribute to the conversation.”

ReadWrite has reached out to YouTube for comment.

Featured image: YouTube

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