Things like collaborations, shoutouts and crossovers are a vital part of YouTube. It’s true that many popular channels are run by solo ventures (or at least piloted by one star + unnamed assistants), but the YouTube scene is more than just individuals making content, it’s a community of content creators working with and competing against each other to make the best content for millions of viewers all around the world. Understanding what a YouTube shoutout contest is, is vital to growing on the platform. Many YouTubers seek to help each other grow by running a YouTube shoutout contest. But what are shoutouts exactly, and why are they such a big deal in the YouTube community?

What are shoutouts on YouTube, and why are they important?

Shoutouts on YouTube occur when one content creator shouts out another in order to bring attention to their channel or content. These shoutouts can take multiple forms, but they usually occur when a creator links to another person’s channel or videos during their own. Links in the description work, too, and oftentimes shoutout contest videos can be composed of multiple shoutouts bundled into the same video. Shoutouts have a few other forms, too, like social media posts, liking/favoriting videos publicly for channel viewers, and also simply linking to related videos and channels in the description beneath the video. The importance of YouTube shoutouts involves the growth of the community, and the channels within that community. No top dog channel on YouTube has gotten there alone, and nowadays the people who are rising up just below them are doing so with help from above. Sharing and advertising other people’s videos and channels gives them traffic, which can earn them subscribers from the giving channel’s original audience. Exposing two audiences to each other is a great way of boosting both channels’ viewership: this is why YouTube collabs, cameos and shoutouts are so common cross the platform. There’s huge benefits to working together, but going totally solo is a near-guaranteed downside in comparison. Whether you’re a smaller channel that wants to learn how to get shoutouts or a larger one that wants to know the contests are made, stick around.

What’s a YouTube shoutout contest?

A YouTube shoutout contest is when a YouTuber, typically a fairly large one, runs a shoutout contest. The winner(s) usually receive a shoutout during one of their videos, and the contests vary from true tests of skill to get their attention or luck through things like random drawings. There are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches. With the luck-oriented YouTube shoutout contest, the reward typically goes to a larger number of randomly-selected people in the comments. This can also be done on a more regular basis, since there’s no need to individually review each and every submission thaat is given. Meaanwhile, the proper competitive version usually rewards one or just a few people. These people often have to show off work on their channel, or make a chaalalenge video that meets certain requirements. This requires a lot more work on the part of the creator, since the work needs to properly be reviewed, nd for those with a fairly large audience, the amount of submissions might be a little bit overwhelming to get through.

Examples

PewDiePie and Jacksepticeye

Pewd’s Video: [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnEXnReSZRo&width=400&height=250[/embedyt] Jack’s Reaction Video: [embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhjYqLgJnUA&width=400&height=250[/embedyt] This is a great example. Nowadays, jacksepticeye is a YouTube staple, with 11.5 million subscribers to his name. At the time of the contest, though, he onlly had two thousand subscribers. Thanks to PewDiePie’s boost, he received a massive surge of recognition, which allowed him to grow from a relatively small YouTuber to one that’s totaally massive. In fact, PewDiePie at the time of running the contest was below 2 million subscribers, a far cry from his current count of 47 million. It just goes to show how much YouTubers can grow when they work with each other. Thanks to the PewDiePie boost and Jack’s own hard work, Jack took the shoutout boost and skyrocketed in popularity more than anyone else on the list of winners.

TeamFourStar and TIBA

TFS’ Announcement Video: [embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfa6zIS-zpI&width=400&height=250[/embedyt] Now, this contest is still running at the time of writing, and isn’t a contest for shoutouts necessarily- it’s a contest for critique and exposure. However, it’s still worth talking about. The Abridging Community is a relatively small community on YouTube, but it’s also very old, and because of this it’s very hard for newcomers to penetrate the scene and get recognition for their work. The goal of the TIBA contest is to allow these people to get the recognition that they deserve- like Pewd’s shoutout contest that he ran on YouTube and his own personal forums. Despite being a smaller scene, TFS are easily one of the biggest names in abridging, and a YouTube shoutout contest run exclusively for their scene is exactly what it needs to get a new shot of life.

What can I learn from these examples?

For one, the importance of YouTube shoutout contests. If you’re entering into them, now you have an idea of the stakes you’re going for. If you’re running them, now you know how much you can grow both your channel’s audience and your own audience’s audience (bear with me). Now, for people entering into these contests, it’s important to put forth your best effort, or submit the video that you’re the most proud of on your channel. That’s what people who submitted to PewDiePie’s competition did, and he presumably watched most of the entries before picking out his top ten. In cases of random-entry-selection shoutout contests, this doesn’t apply, but if you’re entering into these contests anyways you’re going to want your channel to be prepared for a potential new wave of viewers. For people running these contests, it’s important to establish rules or guidelines. PewDiePie restricted his range to channels that were small, while TFS has strict dates and deadlines set for the creation and submission of the material they will be judged upon. Establishing rules and guidelines will stop people from making zero-effort submissions into your YouTube shoutout contest, and should challenge the creators in interesting ways.

How else can I grow my channel?

Of course, running and entering into YouTube shoutout contests isn’t the only way to grow your channel. Here at Grin, we offer many articles on our blog all about the best tips for growing as a YouTuber. This includes our guide on YouTube collab ideas, on YouTube networks, on Fan Funding options, and a lot more! Additionally, our app, Grin, gives you access to a wide network of content creators just like you who want to grow their channels into something greater. You can click here to download it for free. Finally, there’s our new feature, the Grin Platform. On the Grin Platform, you can find creators who are willing to give you shoutouts, you can find artists, designers, composers and editor to work with you on your videos, and you can even find people who are looking to collaborate with smaller YouTubers so you can find new fans and establish better connections in the community. Here at Grin, our goal is to help you grow into your greatest potential. For more on YouTube shoutout contests, growing on YouTube and other related topics, stay tuned!