YouTube wants creators and fans closer than ever with its new Communities update

Sharp-eyed YouTube users might have spotted some changes to channel this week. The “Community” tab, where creators could publish text posts, has been renamed “Posts.”

But that small change is due to a much bigger one–a change that’s part of YouTube’s ongoing efforts to introduce more space for fans to interact with creators.

YouTube has put a big spotlight on fandom over the past year or so, recognizing that giving creators multiple ways to engage with fans plays a significant role in keeping audiences strong.

And it scrapped the “Community” name for text posts because it just introduced Communities–a new, dedicated hub where creators and their viewers “can start and join conversations, share updates, and build relationships,” YouTube said in an update.

For the first time, creators and fans have a single, two-way space where they can share things like fanart, posts from other social media sites, and forum-style thoughts. It gets YouTube closer to the immediate creator-fan interaction offered by livestream platforms like Twitch and microblogging platforms like X (formerly Twitter). Creators can get direct feedback from their viewers, and viewers can not only interact with one another, but maybe even get some one-on-one chat time with their favorite YouTubers.

“We’ve been testing Communities with a small group of creators and have heard positive feedback, which is why we’re excited to keep expanding access,” YouTube said.

One of those test creators is Animal Crossing

YouTuber @froggycrossing, who said, “Since I started using Communities, I’ve seen heartwarming connections between my viewers that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. It’s such an awesome space for my audience to connect with each other and me in a more personal way–all right on YouTube! My Community makes it easy to keep my audience engaged, and I love that it’s a safe and wholesome place for them to hang out and get to know me and each other. Communities have definitely helped strengthen my channel and my personal brand and I’m so excited to have a dedicated space on YouTube to build deeper connections with my audience.”

These tools could encourage creators to keep more of their interactions with fans within YouTube, instead of community-building on discussion sites/services like Reddit and Discord or using third-party platforms like Patreon or Ko-fi to set up subscriptions that offer extra content and face time.

Although, speaking of subscriptions, while we here at Tubefilter were scoping out the new Communities (which for now are only accessible on mobile), we also noticed some creators have a shelf on their channels where they can spotlight specific Channel Members. A YouTube spokesperson confirms this is also a recently introduced feature–and, again, is one which helps foster that crucial fan-creator relationship.

“We are focused on community-building features to help creators connect with their fans in more powerful ways and to foster a sense of belonging,” the spokesperson says.