Most business owners in today’s social media dominated world know that to reach their ideal client they need to be on many different platforms. Humans are visual learners inherently, and demand for video content is on the rise – especially since many studies have shown that videos are consumers’ favorite content on social media. That makes YouTube a great way to reach potential clients, especially since it’s the 2nd largest search engine and the 3rd most visited website worldwide, behind media giants Google and Facebook.
With over 1 billion monthly users, YouTube reaches a huge amount of US adults in the coveted, decision-making 18-34 age range, making it an attractive option for many businesses. And, as if all of that isn’t enough to get you running to YouTube to create your channel, YouTube is owned by Google, which means the more relevant, helpful content you post on your channel, the better your SEO (Search engine optimization) will be – score!
However, because their channel can be so difficult to find – with a long, generic, auto-assigned, and unpersonalized handle like “www.youtube.com/channel/UCWtEWmiAGfmupmf1lWCDOVQ“, as opposed to short, personalized handles/user names like “www.facebook.com/obsessedwithsuccessllc” – many businesses either don’t create or don’t spend time populating a YouTube channel.
But all that is about to change with YouTube’s announcement of rolling out handles – a new way for people to easily find and engage with creators and each other on the platform. Your handle will be unique to your channel, making it easier for other users to mention you in comments & community posts, discover your content, and interact with your channel.
What is a YouTube Handle?
For many creators, YouTube isn’t just a place to upload and comment on videos, it’s a community and home base. A YouTube handle is a unique, short name or phrase that you choose and personalize, similar to an Instagram handle, beginning with “@” – such as “@yourhandle”. This provides a new way for people to find and connect with you on the video platform. Unlike channel names, handles are unique to each creator, making it easier for you to establish a distinct presence on YouTube.
Your new handle will become a part of your channel URL. In most cases, your personalized URL will become your handle. You can use your handle to direct people to your channel when they’re not on YouTube. For example, if your handle is @user123, your channel URL will be “https://youtube.com/@user123.”
Handles join channel names as another way to identify a YouTube channel, but unlike channel names, handles are truly unique to each channel so creators can further establish their distinct presence and brand on YouTube.
Where Will My YouTube Handle Appear?
YouTube is rolling out handles gradually to all channels over the next few weeks. According to YouTube, if a channel already has a personalized URL, there’s no need to update links: they’ll automatically be redirected to the new, handle-based URL to create a better, more unified presence for creators on YouTube. Once it has been rolled out to all users, your handle will begin appearing in a few places across YouTube, including:
- The Shorts tab
- Search results
- Comments and mentions
With handles now appearing on channel pages and Shorts, they’ll be instantly and consistently recognizable. It’ll soon be simpler and faster to mention each other in comments, community posts, video descriptions, and more. For example, creators can be shouted out in a mention in comments or tagged in the title of a recent collaboration, helping them increase visibility and reach with new audiences.
In some places, YouTube will display your handle alongside your channel name, such as on your channel page. In the future, you may see your handle shown in even more places across YouTube.
What You Need to Know
Over the next month, YouTube will notify creators when they can choose a handle for their channel. In most cases, if a channel already has a personalized URL, that will automatically become their default handle, or they can opt to change the handle for their channel as soon as the notification in YouTube Studio comes through.
Because handles must be unique and every channel on YouTube will have one, YouTube is rolling them out gradually. The timing of when a creator will get access to the handles selection process depends on a number of factors, including overall YouTube presence, subscriber count, and whether the channel is active or inactive.
In most cases, if you already have a personalized URL for your channel, YouTube has reserved this for you as your handle. If you want a different handle from the one YouTube has reserved, you can change it. If you don’t already have a personalized URL today, you’ll also be able to choose a handle for your channel. When a creator chooses their handle, YouTube will also create a matching URL (ex: youtube.com/@handle) so creators can easily direct people to their content when they’re not on YouTube.
Starting on November 14, 2022, if you haven’t yet selected a handle for your channel, YouTube will automatically assign you a handle, which you can change in YouTube Studio if you’d like. You can also click here to learn more about YouTube Handles and all the things you’ll be able to do with them.
If you’re interested in maximizing your brand and reaching your ideal clients, we are here to help! Book a free, no-pressure, no-obligation strategy call today and we’ll help you craft a marketing plan that works for you.
