Content creators on YouTube will be happy to hear this, as the Google-owned video service has announced its newest feature dubbed “Super Thanks”, as the fourth installment in its Paid Digital Goods series, which allows fans to pay their favorite creators directly, as a way of supporting their work.
What makes this new tool different from the other three services on Paid Digital Goods (namely, Super Stickers, Super Chats, and of course, the familiar channel subscriptions), is that Super Thanks allows users to tip creators for their individual videos, instead of just on their livestreams.
Four pre-set amounts have been made available, which users can choose from, while tipping any creator. So far, the tips range from $2 to $50, and that too, in the local currency of the users. People opting to use Super Thanks on any video will also be able to leave a message, which will appear highlighted in the comments section. This is quite alike the Super Chats feature, with the difference that the latter highlights messages sent during livestream chats (or Live Chats).
This new offering, while being extra beneficial for creators, might also do well to make the YouTube platform itself, more popular. This is because while all other livestreaming platforms, from market leader Twitch to the more laid-back Instagram, till now have brought in only those features which would allow users to tip creators while livestreaming. But with Super Thanks, YouTube is opening up a new avenue of paying creators even for their permanent videos (the ones that are posted as such on the platform in the conventional way, instead of being livestreamed).
In fact, experts are even saying that this new tool is a much more organic, and an overall better way, to show support to creators, as compared to the e-commerce options available on Instagram.
This new product comes after 2020 turned out to be the best year that Paid Digital Goods has ever had, with over 10 million users purchasing Super Chats, Super Stickers, or the simple channel subscriptions for the first time on the platform.
Super Thanks has been in beta for around 2 years, and was originally put forward in 2019, under its then name, “Applause.” Suggestions arising during the period included a change of names, an increased tipping range, and highlighted comments, all of which seem to have brought the feature to where it is now.
Neal Mohan, the Chief Product Officer at YouTube, has expressed his views on the newest offering, saying, “At YouTube, we’re always looking for fresh ways creators can diversify their revenue streams. That’s why I’m excited to unveil our fourth Paid Digital Good — Super Thanks. This new feature gives creators yet another way to earn money while also allowing them to strengthen relationships with viewers.”
