If imitation is the best form of flattery, TikTok must be absolutely delighted when it surveys the social media landscape. We’ve already seen Meta jumping through hoops to add TikTok-inspired features to Reels, and now YouTube is doing the same!

An incredibly popular feature on TikTok is replying to comments with video. As you might have guessed from this intro, YouTube has taken a look at it and decided to implement it in Shorts.

What is YouTube’s update for Shorts?

YouTube has called its new feature comment stickers, which is in its testing stage and is only available to iOS users at the moment – which seems a bit odd given that YouTube is owned by Android giants Google.

Creators have been calling for this feature for ages because it’s brilliant for engagement and helps them maintain a regular publishing schedule. As a bonus, it can also give content more than one round of life, which is never something to turn down!

YouTube Help

“Invite your audience to connect with you via this new feature by answering their questions in your Shorts, taking content requests, reacting to comments in your videos, and whatever else you come up with!

This launch is the first of many for the comment experience on Shorts – we’re also exploring ideas like notifying commenters when their comment is highlighted, so stay tuned for more news from us.”

Easy to use

It’s pretty easy to use this feature. For a step-by-step guide, we’ll turn to a YouTube help article.

1. From the watch page of your Short or video, tap ‘Reply’ on a comment.
2. Tap ‘Create a Short’.

The comment that you’re replying to will appear over the top of your video as a sticker. However, the feature is still a bit limited. For example, comment stickers won’t have any information about who left the comment or what video they were commenting on.

That’s it. There are only two steps, so you’ve got no excuse not to give it a go if your videos get lots of juicy comments.

Shorts reaches 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users

In the race for short-form video domination, YouTube’s Shorts is a bit of a forgotten child – but should it be taken more seriously?

Well, for a start, YouTube says that it generates 30 billion views per day with 1.5 billion monthly logged-in users, while the $100m Shorts Fund is working to achieve long-term monetisation for creators. So, errr, that would be a yes, then.

Those numbers aren’t to be sniffed at, and if YouTube can throw its weight behind Shorts, it’s a matter of time before it’s seen as a serious rival to TikTok – all of which means it will pay to get yourself on Shorts sooner rather than later.

What’s it like on TikTok and Reels?

But back to the feature. Over on TikTok, it’s incredibly popular. There have been more than 1.8 billion views of #replytocomments. It works in much the same way as YouTube’s version: you pick a comment to reply to and then record a video overlay. Except on TikTok, you can see who left the comment, while the comment also links you back to the original video.

It’ll be no surprise that Instagram has also copied this feature. It works in much the same way on Instagram:

1. Tap Reply below the comment you want to reply to and tap the camera icon on the left.
2. Record your reel or tap the square icon in the bottom left of your screen to select a video from your gallery. You can also record a reel using the green screen option.
3. Tap the comment sticker to change the background colour or tap and hold to move it.
4. Then share by tapping next to take you to the edit screen and then share.

How might businesses use a feature like this?

The feature is really useful if you get asked the same question over and over – now, you can record a video in reply and use that as a motion-picture FAQ page!

You could also use it to show off your latest products and directly reply to questions about them. For example, if you’re a fashion company, you could reveal your next design on TikTok and then when people ask to see it in different colours, record a reply video showing how good it looks across your whole range.

As mentioned at the top, it’s great for engagement and a useful way to keep that content flowing – so try to experiment with them to see how it works for you