YouTube introduces “Super Chat”, a tool for creators to make money

YouTube has launched “Super Chat” feature for the fans and creators to connect with one another, by allowing fans to pay to pin their comments on top of the live stream to get the attention of their favorite creators.

“Super Chat: A highlighted message in the chat stream that stands out from the crowd to get even more of your favorite creator’s attention. And Super Chats remain pinned to the top of chat for up to 5 hours, giving more airtime for your messages.”

The color of Super Chat, the period of time it stays pinned in the ticker, and the maximum message length are determined by the amount of purchase. Users can make a purchase from YouTube or YouTube Gaming on a computer or in the Android app. iOS purchases are not currently supported.

Super Chat will serve a two-fold purpose: It will allow the fans to get special attention of the content creators they like and it will give creators a new way to earn money.

When the transaction is complete, your public Super Chat will be sent to all viewers in the live chat and a receipt will be emailed to you as a record of the purchase.

Super Chats are non-refundable. Once a Super Chat is purchased, a countdown ticker displays the remaining time for which your Super Chat will be pinned in the ticker. The creator may end the live stream before your time in the ticker has completed. Super Chats do not transfer between streams.

YouTube launched Fan Funding in 2014 to let viewers make voluntary payments to support creators directly but it didn’t get much attention and hence it will be discontinued from now on.

The rivals Facebook and Instagram have also recently introduced new marketing tools for businesses.

YouTube aims at strengthening the creators-fans relationship and providing new marketing tools for businesses. YouTube will test this feature with a few creators in the beginning before rolling out to everyone on January 31.