Hype: Giving fans a stake in the success of their favorite emerging creators
Sep 18, 2024 – minute read
Editor’s Note: Today at Made on YouTube, we announced a series of product updates to ignite creativity, drive business, and connect people on the platform. One of those updates was Hype, a new way for people to rally around emerging creators they believe in. Here, we dive into how we built Hype and why we’re excited about it.
One of the coolest things about YouTube is the incredible variety of creators. There are passionate people making videos about practically everything — from cooking and gaming to music and makeup. And every day, new creators across the globe get their breakthrough on YouTube. But we've also heard that for smaller creators, even those with dedicated fanbases, that reaching new viewers can be a hurdle.
That's why we created Hype.
First, an explainer
Hyping is all about helping emerging YouTube channels grow by connecting them with new audiences.
If a video's been out less than 7 days from a creator with under 500,000 subscribers, you can "hype" it – and go beyond liking and sharing. The more hype it gets, the higher it climbs on a new leaderboard with the top 100 hyped videos from the week. 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.
And, don’t worry, hyping videos won’t influence your YouTube recommendations and search results.
So, what's in it for creators? Well, when viewers hype your videos, it’ll earn points to help you make it onto a weekly leaderboard just for your country, potentially putting you in front of a whole new audience. And we've even got a "small creator bonus" built in, or a point multiplier to channels with fewer subscribers. We want to make sure everyone has a fair shot at the spotlight.
Hype isn't just about the leaderboard, though. It's a way for viewers to let you know what content they're vibing with most. Plus, top hyped videos get a special badge, showing everyone they're fan favorites.
In just the first four weeks of our beta tests in Turkey, Taiwan, and Brazil, users hyped over 5 million times across more than 50,000 unique channels. Plus, the largest age group hyping videos in our beta is 18 to 24-year-olds, making up over 30% of all beta users.
So, how did we get here?
The idea for hyping sparked from a simple observation: passionate fans want to be part of their favorite creators' success stories. They want to do more than just watch and like; they want to actively help those creators get discovered.
In fact, when we surveyed over 2,500 viewers ages 18-45 from the US, Japan, and Germany, over 75% of respondents and over 80% of Gen Z viewers said they would like to help small and medium-sized creators grow their channels.
I love that I can directly support the creators I care about. It feels like I'm part of their journey.”
Feedback from one of our early testers - and how we knew we were onto something with Hype!With that in mind, we dove headfirst into a user-focused design journey. We talked to creators and viewers, tested out different ideas, and kept refining until we hit on something that really clicked.
User feedback was absolutely key in shaping the final product. After pulling together some early concepts, we got the ideas in front of early research groups from people around the world to see what resonated.
Imagine viewers being able to directly contribute to hyping your video within the first 24 hours – almost like crowdfunding the hype. Or, picture this: you're scrubbing through a video and suddenly you see your name pop up, sponsoring a specific segment.
We even played around with the idea of letting viewers "cheer" their own comments, complete with animations and effects. It was all about making videos as interactive and engaging as possible.
We put these concepts in front of our testers, and while they were fun, they just didn't quite hit the mark. Some felt too complicated, 24 hours felt too rushed, and others didn't seem to fit naturally with the YouTube experience people know and love.
Another big challenge was figuring out how to make it work for on-demand videos (VOD). Unlike livestreams, where everyone's watching at the same time and there's a natural buzz, VOD can sometimes feel a bit more... solo.
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Users told us they wanted something straightforward and easy to understand. So, we landed on the 7-day window and the Hype leaderboard – a clear way for viewers to support their favorite creators and for those creators to get discovered. It turned out to be the perfect balance of urgency and flexibility.
We also heard concerns that smaller channels wouldn’t be able to compete with bigger channels with more subscribers to get on the leaderboard. That’s why we added the “small creator bonus” to help smaller creators and balance the playing field.
With Hype, we hope to make the viewing experience more active and engaging, driven by shared purpose and enthusiasm. That not only makes hyping more engaging for viewers but also gives creators a powerful new way to connect with their audiences and grow their channels.
The future of hyping
We're beyond excited about what's next for hyping content on YouTube. We're planning to expand to new markets based on what we learn from our beta tests in Brazil, Taiwan and Turkey, giving even more creators the chance to connect with new audiences, and we’ll continue to make updates based on your feedback.
At its heart, hyping is about giving fans a stake in the success of their favorite creators. So go out there, find some awesome creators, and hype them up! It's a win-win: you get to discover and hype great content, and they can find their way onto the leaderboard, helping build their audience.