Hype is a new feature announced at the just-concluded Made on YouTube 2024 event. With Hype, YouTube aims to help smaller creators get their channels and content discovered.
The concept behind Hype is to help “emerging YouTube channels grow by connecting them with new audiences.” Additionally, YouTube says it’ll allow passionate fans to get involved in their favorite creators’ success stories.
YouTube Hype is essentially an audience-led promotion of content by small-to-medium-size creators—channels with 500 – 500,000 subscribers. Hyping a video earns it points required to feature on a weekly hype leaderboard. The more Hype a video gets, the higher its chances of climbing (further up) the leaderboard.
Leaderboards are country-specific and consist of the top 100 most hyped videos, with the top-hyped videos earning a special badge. For creators, the key benefit of being featured on these leaderboards is exposure to a potentially new audience.
Hype has a 7-day availability window on new videos. Viewers or fans can only hype a video within its first week of publication, and videos older than seven become Hype-ineligible. The 7-day window and leaderboard, according to YouTube, are elements that give Hype a “perfect balance of urgency and flexibility.”
To create a level playing field, smaller channels with fewer subscribers can use a “small creator bonus” to multiply their points. That’ll help boost their chances of making the leaderboard.
Viewers can only Hype a video up to three times weekly. However, YouTube plans to let fans or viewers extend this limit by purchasing additional hypes. That’ll open up a new monetization opportunity for YouTube creators as they can earn from hype purchases.
Hype is currently a beta feature on YouTube mobile in Taiwan, Turkey, and Brazil. YouTube’s official blog post about Hype provides more information about the feature. Other tools and features announced at this year’s Made on YouTube event include an Inspiration tab, Communities, Community Hub, Auto-dubbing, Gifts, and more.
