YouTube’s testing another way to incentivize live-stream donations, this time via Super Chat likes, which will enable other viewers to “like” a Super Chat within the stream.
YouTube’s Super Chat, available in live-streams and Premieres, enable any viewer to purchase a Super Chat, or an animated Super Sticker, which is then highlighted with a different background color in the stream.
Super Chats also get pinned for a period of time, relative to how much you spend, and this experiment will enable other users to like those pinned comments, which could act as another means to prompt more discussion and engagement around these purchased posts.
As explained by YouTube:
“We’re testing a feature that lets users “like” Super Chat messages in a live stream or Premiere. During this experiment, only a small group will be able to like Super Chats, but we plan on rolling this out more widely in the coming month. If a Super Chat message is liked, it will appear in the live stream, however, that data is not saved afterwards, e.g., in the archive of the live stream.”
That could prompt streamers to respond to the more popular comments, while also giving commenters another way to engage, and generate interest from the viewing crowd.
YouTube’s been working to enhance its live-stream donation offerings as a means to better incentivize streaming in the app, and provide another pathway for creators to get paid by fans.
Last June, YouTube significantly lowered the thresholds to entry to its YPP program, giving more creators access to monetization tools like Super Chat, as it works to fend off rising competition for talent from TikTok and other apps.
And with TikTok set to make a bigger push on live-stream monetization this year, it makes sense for YouTube to continue experimenting with its options, as it explores more ways to keep creators aligned to its platform.
This is a smaller element within the broader scheme, but it’ll be interesting to see whether added engagement options within streaming broadcasts alter the incentives for engagement.