YouTube launched “Hype” globally to promote smaller creators. Fans can actively promote videos from producers with fewer than 500,000 followers, helping them gain exposure.
Hype up to three weekly videos to reach a unique leaderboard and grow their viewership. YouTube now lets communities support creators they believe in, levelling the playing field.
Hype puts power in fans’ hands
With Hype, users have direct control over how much they want to promote something. Fans can make a video more visible by hitting the “hype” button below the “like” button.
Videos that get a lot of attention get points that help them move up in a new ranking system, which can be found on the Explore page. The more buzz a video receives, the more views it gets without using YouTube’s formula.
Smaller makers get extra points, which helps those with fewer followers even more. YouTube says, “the fewer subscribers a channel has, the greater the bonus.” This means that new creators have a better chance of becoming famous.
How Hype Encourages Community Engagement
With this feature, fans can participate in a creator’s success. When a video gets a lot of attention, it gets a special “hyped” badge, and people can sort their YouTube feed only to see hyped videos.
People who help promote videos may also earn badges, like monthly “hype star” names, encouraging them to keep doing it. YouTube says that “fans can hype up to three videos weekly.”
This creates a feedback loop where community enthusiasm directly affects finding. When people do this, they become more loyal and connect in ways that go beyond views and likes.
YouTube is committed to helping smaller creators get noticed on a site usually dominated by bigger channels.
The global rollout of Hype in 39 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Japan, and India, shows this.
YouTube is changing how small creators get seen by getting fans involved in promotion. This helps them stand out and grow their audiences in a crowded market.