YouTube is constantly optimizing the user experience for creators, and recently announced three major updates: built-in promotion button, upgraded Shorts interactive notifications, and multi-language customization of video thumbnails. This not only makes content promotion easier, but also helps you better localize content and expand your audience globally.
The following article will guide you through the core changes and usage methods of these new features, helping you get started quickly and improve content exposure and conversion!
What new features has YouTube updated?
1. One-click "Promote" promotion function integrated into the APP
New feature highlights:
Promote Shorts and Long Videos (VOD) directly in the main YouTube app
You can set promotion goals directly without entering Google Ads : increase subscriptions, increase views, or guide users to visit your website
View promotion status and advertising performance in real time and easily monitor results
Targets include:
Get more subscribers
Increase video views
Direct visitors to your website
2. Shorts videos simultaneously display creators’ dynamics
New feature highlights:
Shorts viewers will receive notifications of your channel post updates
Viewers can see your posts directly in the Shorts feed
No need to leave the playback interface to interact, increasing the interaction rate
This means:
More exposure
Strengthen fan stickiness
Increase interaction (likes/comments/follows)
3. Multi-language videos support uploading thumbnails in different languages
New feature highlights:
Upload different thumbnails for different language versions of the video
Cover images that are closer to local culture can significantly increase click-through rate (CTR)
Combined with YouTube's automatic dubbing function, you can quickly create a multilingual channel
For example: your English version of the video can use an English cover, and the Chinese dubbing version can use a Chinese cover, which greatly increases the click-through rate and local audience conversion.
Practical teaching: How to use these new features?
1. How to enable the Promote function:
1. Open the YouTube app and select the video you want to promote
2. Click [More] > [Promote] below the video
3. Set your goals (subscribers/views/website visits)
4. Choose a budget and duration
5. Make a payment to get started!
Tips: It is recommended to set a small budget first to test the effect and observe the conversion rate.
2. Shorts + Posts linkage optimization:
After publishing Shorts, promptly post a community post to introduce or supplement the content.
For example: "Just released a 30-second behind-the-scenes featurette! Click here to see the full version →"
Use this mechanism to guide the audience to pay attention to more content
3. Multi-language thumbnail operation (expected to be available soon):
Although it is still in the testing stage, the preparation work can be done first:
1. Open YouTube Studio
2. Use the "Automatic Dubbing" feature to generate multi-language versions
3. Design a separate thumbnail for each language version (with local language + cultural visual elements)
4. Upload once the feature is available!
Tool recommendations: Canva, Fotor, support for quick design of multi-language covers
How can content creators make good use of these features?
This part is the key point, here comes the dry goods
1. Use the Promote function and stop posting videos in a "Buddhist" way
Applicable scenarios:
Want to quickly open cold start after new video is released
A video is already popular, and I want to enlarge it
Want to drive traffic to your service/product
Practical tips:
It is recommended to set the promotion goal to "more subscribers" so that fans will be retained for a longer period of time.
During the testing phase, the budget is controlled at $3-$10, and then increased after observing the ROI.
Try to use videos with hooks as promotional objects, such as "You've never seen..."
2. Shorts + Posts linkage to create a "short + social" combination
Operation suggestions:
Every time you post a Shorts, you should post a community post, for example:
"Can you guess the ending? Watch the full video here →"Ask questions, post polls, and let users stay and leave messages
Post Behind-the-scenes, polls, or Easter eggs regularly to build emotional connections
This can increase the audience's familiarity and stickiness with your channel, which is conducive to building a "loyal fan group".
3. Multi-language thumbnail layout, win global traffic starting from the "cover"
Prepare content localization in advance:
Design cover pages in the main language of your audience (Chinese, English, Spanish, etc.) using Canva or Figma
The keywords on the cover should be localized. For example, "Vlog" may be more effective as "daily record" in the Chinese context.
Combined with multi-language settings for titles and subtitles, a complete international matrix is formed
Which type of creators is it suitable for?
Educational, drama, and lifestyle content that has the potential to expand overseas
Creators who want to expand into Southeast Asia, North America or South America
Creators who have started the YouTube Partner Program (YPP)
What do these features mean for creators?
1. One-click promotion
Even with a small budget, you can easily promote videos and increase the speed of increasing fans
2. Shorts+Posts Linkage
Enhance fan interaction and retention, expand exposure
3. Multilingual thumbnails
Better serve global audiences and increase international click-through rates
Whether you're just starting out or a content creator with a certain fan base, now is a great time to leverage YouTube's official tools to increase the impact of your content.
Conclusion
This wave of YouTube updates is a signal that the platform encourages creators to commercialize, internationalize, and build communities. Whether you are making Vlogs, knowledge, entertainment or short videos with goods, you can now:
With the one-click Promote function, you can test video ads with a low threshold and quickly obtain accurate traffic;
Use Shorts to link with community posts to enhance fan stickiness and increase user interaction rate;
Create localized visual content by uploading multilingual thumbnails to attract clicks and attention from overseas audiences.
Have you already learned to use the "Promote" feature on YouTube?
