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When watching videos by various Ukrainian authors, you often hear calls to leave a comment and subscribe, but this often doesn’t work. Viewers simply watch the video and move on without interacting with the channel. This is critical for YouTube: comments, likes, and subscriptions form the engagement metric, which directly determines the promotion of videos in recommendations.
In this article, we will look at how to work with your audience correctly: what questions to ask so that people really want to answer, what YouTube tools help stimulate comments, and what practical examples work best. We will pay special attention to research and advice from YouTube Creator Academy, Think with Google, and Hootsuite to show real data, not just theory.
Why interacting with your audience on YouTube is so important
YouTube’s algorithm and engagement rate
YouTube has long been working not only on the number of views, but also on the quality of interaction. The promotion algorithm takes into account the following factors:
- number and rate of comments;
- ratio of likes/dislikes;
- average viewing time;
- subscriptions after watching the video;
- clicks on end screens and prompts.
According to Think with Google, videos with high engagement rates are 2-3 times more likely to appear in recommendations and on the YouTube homepage. This means that comments and audience interaction are often more important than the ‘dry’ number of views.
How comments and likes affect video promotion
Hootsuite, in its guide ‘9 Tips and Tricks to Increase Your YouTube Engagement Rate’, emphasises that comments are a sign of an active community. If viewers write their thoughts, YouTube interprets this as an indicator of the value of the content.
Also, according to research by Creator Hearts (2024), even a simple ‘heart’ from the author on a comment significantly increases the likelihood that the user will write subsequent comments. This means that the author’s activity in the comments directly affects the growth of the channel.
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Basic tools for working with your audience
Building an active community on YouTube requires not only interesting content, but also the right tools. Fortunately, the platform itself provides authors with a number of opportunities for constant interaction with viewers. Using calls to action, the Community tab, streaming formats, and Shorts helps not only to increase the number of comments, but also to create the feeling that the channel is ‘alive’ with its audience.
The more effectively the author combines these tools, the higher the level of engagement and loyalty of viewers. Next, we will look at how this works in practice.
Using calls to action (CTA) in videos
A simple ‘subscribe to the channel and leave a comment’ is often ignored. Instead, contextual calls to action work better when the request is related to the topic of the video.
- Example: in a video about an Opel test drive, it is better to ask ‘What is the cheapest car repair you have ever had to do?’ than ‘Have you ever dreamed of owning an Opel?’.
- It is important that the CTA is short, natural and comes at the right moment (for example, after a key fact or emotional story).
Community Tab and polls
The Community tab allows you to stay in touch with your subscribers even without new videos.
- Polls collect dozens and hundreds of responses because they are quick to complete.
- This is a way to understand what content viewers are waiting for, and at the same time, the algorithm sees the activity of subscribers.
- Example: tech bloggers often ask questions like ‘Which smartphone should I test next?’, which directly shapes the content plan.
Live streams
Streams create the effect of a live presence. Here it is important to:
- actively engage with the chat (answer questions, comment on jokes);
- do small interactive activities (for example, ‘Put a + in the chat if you also have a diesel car’). According to Hootsuite, live streams increase audience retention because viewers stay longer than with recorded videos.
Shorts as an engagement tool
Short videos help you quickly reach a new audience.
- The format works well for questions and answers. For example, a car reviewer can make a series of Shorts: ‘Top 3 budget cars for the city. Which one would you choose?’
- Shorts often bring new viewers to the channel, who then move on to longer videos.
- According to Think with Google, combining short and long videos increases subscription conversions by up to 30%.
How to ask viewers questions correctly
The phrase ‘leave a comment’ no longer works today. Viewers need a reason to respond — and that reason is hidden in the correct wording of the question. The question itself becomes a kind of bridge between the author and the audience: it provides an opportunity to share experiences, express opinions or tell stories.
Poorly formulated questions — too narrow or banal — inhibit activity. Successful examples, on the other hand, open up discussion and encourage dialogue not only between the author and the viewer, but also between users themselves.
Examples of ‘bad’ questions
There are formulations that do not stimulate discussion:
- ‘Was Opel in your dreams?’ — too narrow and irrelevant a question.
- ‘Did you like the video?’ — obvious, the answer will be ‘yes/no’, without details.
- ‘Will you subscribe to the channel?’ — looks like coercion, not engagement.
Such questions do not encourage people to share their experiences because they are either banal or alienating.
Formulations that stimulate comments
The right questions:
- appeal to personal experience;
- have no ‘right’ answer;
- open up space for emotions.
Examples:
- ‘What is the longest trip you have taken in your car?’
- ‘What is more important to you: fuel economy or performance?’
- ‘What book would you recommend to someone just starting to learn programming?’
- ‘What is the funniest moment from your travels that you remember?’
Cases from different niches
Car reviews
- Instead of: ‘Have you been dreaming about this car?’
- Better: ‘What is your favourite budget car brand?’
- Or: ‘What reliable car would you recommend to your friends?’
Educational content
- ‘What topic would you like us to explain in the next video?’
- ‘What is the most difficult thing for you when learning English?’
Entertainment videos/blogs
- ‘What part of this video made you laugh the most?’
- ‘What other Ukrainian channels do you watch?’
- ‘How would you react to this situation?’ (attached to a funny episode).
Real-life examples of successful interaction
Theory is important, but real-life cases work best. Let’s see how popular Ukrainian and international YouTube channels build contact with their audience. Their methods prove that there is no universal approach, but there is a pattern — where the author is open to dialogue, the channel grows faster.
From humorous appeals on Toronto Television to MrBeast’s provocative experiments, all these examples show that actively engaging with viewers creates a sense of involvement and forms a community that keeps coming back.
Ukrainian YouTube channels and their approaches
- Toronto Television — in satirical videos, the hosts actively encourage comments through irony and humour. For example, episodes often feature questions such as, ‘Do you also feel like the country is living in a TV series?’. This provokes discussion because the question touches on a shared experience.
- Zagin Kinomaniv — film critics use questions to viewers such as ‘What film has impressed you the most recently?’ This is a simple and understandable formulation that stimulates discussion.
- Geek Journal — the author actively works with comments, often responding to the first reviews after publication, which increases viewer loyalty.
The experience of international bloggers
- MrBeast — integrates viewers into the content. His videos often have a ‘participation effect’: the viewer imagines themselves in the participant’s place (for example, surviving 24 hours in a store). This motivates them to write comments with their own ideas (‘I would try to do this…’).
- Casey Neistat — asks questions that appeal to life experience (‘What does freedom to travel mean to you?’). Such topics evoke an emotional response and encourage a large number of comments.
- PewDiePie — builds a community through inside jokes and direct appeals to fans. His audience feels like they are part of a private club, so they actively engage in the comments.
Research and analytics
- According to Think with Google, videos where authors ask questions and respond in the first few hours after publication receive 25–30% more comments.
- Research by Hootsuite showed that videos with polls in the Community Tab have, on average, twice the level of engagement.
- Work by Creator Hearts, 2024 confirmed that even a simple ‘heart’ from the author on a comment increases the likelihood of repeat user activity by 20-25%.
Tips for different YouTube niches
YouTube is not just one platform, but a multitude of thematic worlds: car reviews, educational content, blogs, and entertainment formats. Each niche has its own specifics and approaches to working with the audience.
Universal tips are useful, but they work much more effectively when tailored to the channel’s theme. Next, we will look at how to formulate questions, build dialogue, and encourage comments in different areas so that you don’t get lost among thousands of other authors.
Car reviews
- Instead of generalised questions such as ‘Have you dreamed of this model?’, use the viewer’s experience:
- ‘What was the cheapest repair you had to do on your car?’
- ‘What is more important to you in a car: fuel economy or reliability?’
- Tip for comments: create a “battle” between car brands (‘Opel or Volkswagen for the city?’). This immediately starts a discussion.
- Shorts format: ‘Top 3 budget cars of 2025. Which one would you choose?’
Educational content
- Questions should encourage knowledge sharing, not ‘yes/no’ answers:
- ‘What was the most difficult thing for you when learning English grammar?’
- ‘What free learning resources would you recommend?’
- Community Tab: Conduct a poll on the topic of the next lesson (for example, “Which English tense should we explain next?”).
- Interactive video: Ask viewers to write their own example sentence/task in the comments — this creates a mini-discussion.
Entertainment videos and blogs
- Use emotional questions:
- “What part of this video made you laugh the most?”
- “Who is your favourite Ukrainian YouTuber?”
- Live streams: actively engage with the chat (respond to messages, highlight the most interesting ones).
- Inside jokes: create memes or slogans that only your audience understands (like PewDiePie). This forms a ‘closed club’ and encourages people to write comments.
For all niches in general
- Be the first to comment — leave your own pinned comment with a question. This sets the tone for the discussion.
- Respond to at least the first 10–15 comments after publication — YouTube sees that the discussion is active.
- Use analytics: see which questions generate the most responses and repeat them in new videos.
Conclusions
Working with your audience on YouTube is not just a ‘nice bonus’ but a key factor in channel growth. The platform’s algorithm directly takes into account the level of interaction: comments, likes, subscriptions, viewing time. Therefore, a well-posed question or a quick response from the author in the comments can influence whether the video will be recommended.
What you can do today:
- Change your CTA: don’t ask people to ‘leave a comment,’ but ask specific questions that appeal to the viewer’s experience.
- Be the first to comment: pin a comment with a discussion question.
- Use the Community Tab: publish polls and short posts to keep things lively.
- Respond to viewers: at least in the first few hours after publication — this creates a dialogue effect.
- Add interactivity to formats: streams and Shorts are a quick way to attract new subscribers.
Successful examples of Ukrainian and international channels show that viewers stay where they are heard and engaged. If you make interaction an integral part of your content, YouTube will promote your channel, and your community will become more active and loyal.
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