YouTube Adds New Option to Reply to Video Comments with Shorts

YouTube’s added a new way for creators to engage with their community via Shorts, with a new option to create a Shorts clip based on a comment posted on your videos.

As you can see in this example, the new option will provide a quick link to create a Short from a posted comment, which will then transfer that comment to a sticker within the Shorts camera.

Which is the same as TikTok’s video reply option, which Instagram (of course) also copied in December last year.

As per YouTube:

“Creators: we heard that you want to be able to feature comments posted on your channel in your Shorts content, and now you can. This launch is the first of many for the comment experience on Shorts.”

So YouTube’s looking to lean into the engagement elements of TikTok, with more interactive features in Shorts – and definitely, that has been a core part of TikTok’s massive success, inviting viewers into the experience, as opposed to simply consuming content.

Given this, it makes sense for YouTube to add the same, which could be another consideration in your Shorts strategy. If you have one – which, given that Shorts is now generating 30 billion views per day, among 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users, perhaps you should.

The new option is rolling out from today, and will be available to all Shorts creators on iOS ‘in the coming weeks’, with an Android launch to follow.