How to Expand Your YouTube Community Without Burning Out

On YouTube, there's nothing more rewarding than building a passionate community. It goes beyond likes, comments, and subscribers. When you create a movement people can get behind – especially as a source of entertainment – fans will follow you across the web.

It sounds simple, but growing isn't that easy in practice. The internet is a big, crowded place, and it's hard to be everywhere at once. You can engage with viewers on Facebook, Clubhouse, Twitch, Instagram, and Discord, to name a few options. These are powerful channels, but maintaining them is hard work.

In this episode of TubeTalk, we sit down with vidIQ Community Manager Daniel Holzhauer as he shares tips for growing a community. By far, the best piece of advice is how to manage an audience without burning out.

You'll specifically learn:

• The stages of community building. In the beginning, it's best to pace yourself and focus on your YouTube channel before branching out.
• How the Community tab accelerates your growth. This social network is built into YouTube, so use it before creating a Discord or Facebook group.
• How to enter communities within your YouTube niche. It's not about promoting your content; you should join a community to interact with others.
• How to find a balance between self-promotion and joining discussions. Hint: It all depends on the value you can add to a community.
• When to expand your social channels. Do you have 10,000 subscribers? A mental list of all your super fans? The stamina to maintain extra channels? That's a positive sign to start expanding.
• The benefit of community moderators. These are your super fans, and you're going to need them to avoid social media burn out.

Speaking of moderators, how do you choose the right ones for your community? For Daniel, the first step is identifying the leaders.

"We know they're the type of people that we want in our community," he says. "They also feel a bit of responsibility for it. They feel like they are part of the hierarchy of the community. They're the ones to set an example."

YouTube's Community Tab Is Essential For All Channels

We can't talk about community building without mentioning the YouTube Community tab. On this episode of TubeTalk, learn all the benefits of engaging with viewers through YouTube's in-app social network.

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