YouTube started testing Instagram-like Stories section earlier this year as an imitation of the same feature that’s available on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and WhatsApp. The video-sharing platform is now expanding the Stories feature to a wider creator-base and anyone with over 10K subscribers will now be able to use the tool.
While the fundamentals of the feature remain the same, there are a few little differences in YouTube’s version of stories. Stories on Instagram last up to a day but YouTube Stories will last for up to seven days on the mobile app. A creator’s story will be available to subscribers as well as non-subscribers and will also be displayed in the “Up Next” section beside the main video tile.
Viewers of a story can comment or ask a question on a story and creators can reply to them; all of which can be seen by everyone who gets to view the story. YouTube appears to be aiming channel promotion and community engagement for having developed their own Stories sections.
The Stories can also be a short snippet into a content creator’s daily routine or a behind-the-scenes clip or a teaser to an upcoming video. With YouTube Stories moving to any channel with over 10K subscribers, there’s a chance that more stories will start to pop on YouTube mobile.
In a blog post about the announcement, YouTube Stories Product Lead, Todd Sherman said “As a creator, you’re always looking to strengthen your relationship with your audience. Through testing the Stories format with a small group of you over the past year, we’ve seen you do just that, from FashionbyAlly giving updates on what’s coming next, to Colin and Samir bringing their fans into the creative process. We applied feedback that we got from you to build a product specifically designed with you, the YouTube creator, in mind. And starting today, we are excited to announce that we are rolling out YouTube Stories to all eligible creators with 10K+ subscribers”.