YouTube Community Posts and How to Use Them Well

Most small channels treat YouTube as a place to upload videos and nothing else. Between uploads, the channel goes quiet. Community posts fill that gap: short updates, images, polls and quizzes that appear on your channel and can show up in your subscribers' feeds without you filming anything. For a Canadian creator or small business with limited time, they are one of the cheapest ways to stay in front of the people who already chose to subscribe. This guide covers what community posts are, what to post, how often, and the mistakes that make them feel like noise.

What community posts are

A community post is a piece of content published to a tab on your channel page instead of as a video. Depending on your app version and region, that tab may be labelled Community or Posts. Posts can be plain text, one or more images, a GIF, a poll, a quiz, or a link to one of your videos. Viewers can like and comment on them, much like a video.

Who can create posts, and which post types are available, has changed over the years and can depend on the channel's settings and standing. Rather than rely on an old rule you read somewhere, open YouTube Studio or the create button in the YouTube app and see whether the option is there. If it is not, check YouTube's help centre for the current eligibility requirements.

Why they are worth the effort

Videos take hours to plan, film and edit. A good post takes ten minutes. That difference matters for a bakery in Halifax or a hiking channel run from Kelowna on weekends. Posts help in a few practical ways:

• They keep the channel active between uploads. If you publish one video every two weeks, a post or two in between reminds subscribers you exist.
• They let you ask before you film. A poll can tell you which of three video ideas your audience wants first, so you spend your filming time on the topic people asked for.
• They give regular viewers a reason to talk. Comments on posts are often more personal than comments on videos, because the question is direct and the barrier is low.
• They point people back to videos. A post that links an older video can give it a second chance with subscribers who missed it.

Posts do not replace videos. A channel with great posts and weak videos will still struggle. Think of them as the conversation that happens around your main content.

Post types and when to use each

Eight post ideas you can use this month

1. Topic poll. Offer three video ideas and let subscribers pick. Then make the winner and mention the poll in the video.
2. Thumbnail preview. Share two thumbnail drafts for an upcoming video and ask which one people would click. Our guide to YouTube titles and thumbnails explains what to look for in their answers.
3. Behind the scenes photo. Your filming setup, a messy desk, a cold morning shoot in Winnipeg. People like seeing how things are made.
4. Question from a comment. Quote a good question a viewer left and answer it in a few sentences. Credit them by first name or username if they are comfortable with it.
5. Seasonal reminder. Tie an older video to the season: tax season, cottage opening, back to school, the first frost.
6. Quiz on a past video. Ask a question answered in a recent upload and link the video. People who get it wrong may go and watch.
7. Schedule update. Tell subscribers when the next video is coming, especially around holidays like Canada Day or Thanksgiving when your rhythm may change.
8. Bilingual check-in. If part of your audience is French-speaking, ask in both languages whether they would watch French subtitles or a separate French video.

How often to post

There is no official number, and anyone who gives you one as a rule is guessing. A sensible starting point for a small channel is one or two posts a week, timed between uploads rather than on the same day. That keeps the channel active without competing with your own videos.

Watch how your posts perform in YouTube Studio and adjust. If posts get steady likes and comments, you can post more. If they are being ignored, post less and make each one more specific.

Timing follows the same logic as videos. If most of your subscribers are in Ontario and Quebec, a post at 7 p.m. Eastern lands at 4 p.m. in Vancouver. Our article on the best time to post in Canada covers how to plan around six time zones.

Writing posts people respond to

The posts that get replies usually share a few traits:

• One clear question. "Thoughts?" is too open. "Would you rather see the full build or a five-minute summary?" gives people something easy to answer.
• A short first line. Posts are often cut off in the feed, so put the point in the first sentence.
• Something visual when possible. An image makes a post easier to notice while scrolling, even a simple phone photo.
• A reason to care. Explain what you will do with the answer. "I'll film the winner next week" makes a poll feel worth voting in.

Then reply. If someone takes the time to comment on a post, a short reply in the first few hours shows that the channel is run by a person.

Mistakes to avoid

• Only posting links to new videos. Subscribers already get notified about uploads if they chose to. A post that says only "new video" adds little.
• Running polls you ignore. If you ask which video people want and then make something else without explaining, they stop voting.
• Posting too much at once. Several posts in one day can feel like spam and bury the one that matters.
• Using posts for hard selling. A business can mention a product or a seasonal offer, but a feed of ads gives people no reason to stay subscribed.

Measuring whether posts help

YouTube Studio shows engagement for posts, such as likes, comments and poll votes. Look at them once a month next to your video stats. Useful questions to ask: Which post types get the most responses? Did the videos chosen by poll hold viewers better than others? Our guide to audience retention explains how to read that second number. Did linking an older video lead to more views on it that week? Keep a simple note of what you posted and when, so patterns become visible over a few months.

Where subscribers fit in

Community posts reach the people who already subscribe, so they work better once a channel has some base to speak to. If you are just starting, the YouTube services page lists the free guides and options we offer for Canadian creators. Some new channels also use a package of YouTube subscribers so the subscriber count does not look empty to a first-time visitor. Be clear about what that does: it shapes the first impression of your channel page, but it does not mean those accounts will vote in your polls, comment on your posts or watch your videos. Engagement still comes from content people want to see. If you order, the channel must be public, you pay by card through a secure checkout with prices in USD, you can track the order with your order number, delivery timing varies by package, and we never ask for your password.

A simple weekly routine

1. Monday: publish a poll or question related to your next video.
2. Midweek: upload the video and mention the poll result if relevant.
3. Two or three days later: share a behind-the-scenes image or link an older video that fits the season.
4. Reply to comments on every post within a day.
5. Once a month: review which posts got responses and plan the next month around what worked.