YouTube is a vast platform where content creators can make enthralling videos, entertain millions of people, and earn a lot of money. But it’s also a lot more than that. As odd as it still might seem to the uninitiated, YouTube is a social media platform too. Not only do content creators get to see their audience’s reactions to their videos, but they also get to interact and exchange ideas.
One surefire method of conversing with your favorite creator is through YouTube comments. But if the creator is incredibly popular, your question or opinion directed at them will be lost in a sea of other posts. Luckily, there is a way for it to stand out, and it comes in the form of a relatively new feature — the highlighted comment.
What Are Highlighted Comments, and How Beneficial Are They?
Before we discuss what a highlighted comment is, let’s first cover what it’s not. Lots of people see the “highlighted” part of that phrase and assume it’s referring to a super chat. But while super chats are effectively comments that are highlighted, they are not highlighted comments. They are instead a means of getting revenue on YouTube, and quite useful at that.
Highlighted comments, on the other hand, are effectively the “bookmarks” of the YouTube comment section. Their main purpose is simple: to mark a particular comment and save it for later.
Anyone can highlight a comment on YouTube. To be more specific, you don’t have to own the video to highlight a comment, nor do you have to be the original owner of the comment to do it. You can quite literally pick any post, highlight it, and be done with it.
There are a few benefits to doing all of that. Let’s list them out:
- A commenter who highlights a comment will see it near the top of the entire section;
- The content creator who highlights a comment will always see it stand out, making it easier to find;
- The highlighted comment or the reply will get more exposure and engagement regardless of its author.
How to Highlight a Comment
The steps to highlighting a comment are fairly simple and are as follows:
- Find a comment you want to highlight;
- Click on the timestamp next to the username of the person who posted the comment;
- Wait for the page to refresh; it will do so automatically;
- Scroll down; there will be a gray box above the username that says “highlighted comment” (alternatively, it might say “highlighted reply”);
- Parallel to the highlight, the comment will also get its own URL link.
How to Reply to a Highlighted Comment
If you’re a content creator, there are two ways you can find a specific highlighted comment and reply to it.
The first way of replying is via email. When a user highlights a comment, you will get an email notification about it, complete with a “Reply” prompt. Type up what you need and click on that prompt.
Alternatively, you can simply reply via the YouTube Dashboard. When you get the highlight notification, the comments will be clearly visible. Pick the ones you want to reply to, and go for it.
Can You Remove a Highlighted Comment?
Strictly speaking — no. There is no way of removing the highlight from any comments. After all, you, as a creator, did not highlight anything. However, there are ways to hide them from appearing. All you have to do is remove a particular parameter from the URL and refresh the page. Once you do, it will not show you any highlights.
