YouTube rolls out customizable Handles for creators to have better visibility and reach. This new feature also helps direct fans to their favorite content and makes them interact with their beloved YouTubers.
Every social networking site, from Instagram to Twitter, has already established the practice of mentioning and tagging users or communities by typing an “@” followed by the name of the person you are tagging. Inspired by these networking sites, the biggest video site- YouTube has finally introduced handles for its own users.
Quick Facts
- To increase users’ visibility among creators, YouTube has launched a unique handle for its users
- These handles exist alongside channel names and custom URLs
- Promoting heightened recognizability, the feature can help users to mention each other in community posts and comments with more ease
- Users can now get tagged in the title of a recent collaboration with another artist
- According to YouTube, the handles will be accessible to all users over time. The most prominent areas supporting the change are video descriptions.
Creating your own YouTube handle
YouTube mentioned earlier that “every channel will have a unique handle, making it easier for fans to discover content and interact with creators they love.” Handles exist alongside channel names and custom URLs. So a page with a custom URL can easily reach the address along with a new youtube.com/@xyz address as well.
If you have uploaded at least one video or left at least one comment on other channels, you will get a handle eventually. The time required for this process will depend on your subscriber count and your frequent activities on the platform.
How to choose your own Handle?
YouTube has been differentiating on giving away handles slowly to the less popular channels while the popular ones have easier access to them.
- When you are about to get your own handle, you will receive an email in your inbox mentioning the account that you’ve registered on YouTube with.
- The mail will include the subject, “You can now choose your YouTube handle.”
- Upon logging in to YouTube Studio, you will see a prompt telling you that it’s time to choose your handle.
- To get started, select the Choose Now button on the page or the Choose a Handle link that you received in your email
- Think about the handle well because it will appear on all mentions, comments, and videos.
- YouTube also creates a default username for you based on your username or existing channel URL. If there’s a handle given to you by default, you can either confirm the choice or you can click on Change Handle.
- When you are done choosing the handle name, click Confirm Selection. You will then see a confirmation screen and a new URL that is linked to your channel.
What users get from the introduction of Handles
YouTube claims that a user can change their handle whenever they want but there’s uncertainty about the number of times the change is allowed. There is also a policy against “violent, offensive, sexualized, or spammy” handles so one must be careful before creating a handle.
Handles will now be easily and consistently recognized. So it will be easier and faster for users to mention other users on the app. The new feature will facilitate tagging of users who have collaborated with another artist.
Tagging users in comments and video posts increase the visibility and reach of the channel among new audiences. Using channel names is one way to identify a YouTube channel, but handles are truly unique to every channel. This helps creators create their own distinguished brand and presence within the YouTube community.
YouTube says that the handles will be shown to all users over time as the feature gets more traction. The most prominent areas you’ll be able to see handles are video descriptions. Here the YouTubers can mention other collaborators and give a shout-out to other users in the comment section of videos.
The video-streaming website will create a matching URL (example- youtube.com/@(your handle) whenever a creator chooses their handle. This will make it easier for creators to direct people to their content when somebody is not a YouTube user.
If a channel has a personalized URL, they do not need to update links as they will be automatically redirected to the new, handle-based URL. This helps the users create a much more unified presence on YouTube.
YouTube says, “We want to ensure creators can craft an identity as unique as their content while giving viewers the confidence that they are interacting with their favorite creators.” This new feature will help budding creators in the long run.
This introduction has given users an easy way to communicate with each other, appreciate other creators’ content by crediting them, and generally keep in touch with one another.
