If you do long videos on YouTube, there’s a chance that most of your viewers tend to skip through to different parts of your videos or worse still, bounce off to other channels with shorter videos.
With timestamp feature, you can lead your viewers to particular sections of long videos so that they focus on what it is that they wish to see. Here, you will learn how to timestamp YouTube comments.
The time-stamping feature (beta) on YouTube allows you to link time to your YouTube videos via the comment and description sections. Activated video chapters via the YouTube timestamps allow users to smoothly navigate through your videos, therefore, saving time to access their preferred parts.
Adding timestamps to your videos proves that you do value your viewer's time. Would you like to improve your user’s experience by adding timestamps to your YouTube videos? In this article, we will share some insights on how to timestamp YouTube comments.
Why need to Timestamp YouTube Comments
It's quite challenging to keep users engaged from the start to the end of a long YouTube video. Content creators timestamp chapters of their videos in the comment section and pin the comment at the top. This enables users to jump to the specific part of the video they are interested in. Time-stamping YouTube comments on the web and phone is a bit different.
Therefore, it's vital to comprehend both processes for a better YouTube experience in the future.
Timestamp YouTube Comments on Web
You can Timestamp YouTube comments on your Desktop or laptop computer. All you need to do is access YouTube via the web browser. Below is the procedure to guide you through it:
Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account and launch a video of interest.
Step 2: In the video’s runtime, find the time you want to timestamp.
Step 3: Start the video, select a time and pause there. (Ensure that you capture the right time, for instance: 3:12).
Step 4: Navigate to the bottom left corner of your video. Here you will find the timestamp in this format: hours/minutes/seconds.
Step 5: At the right of the video’s Volume Icon, you will find the format and also the full length of the video indicated. The format will be according to the current timestamp/ entire video’s length.
Step 6: As per the time you selected, your format should be something like this: 3:12/5:00. In our example, there’s a different item in the video from three minutes and twelve seconds of the entire five-minute video.
Step 7: Once your desired timestamp is selected, scroll down and navigate to “Add a Public Comment”.
Step 8: In the comment box, correctly choose the timestamp as in the video. A link will be created and hence direct you to the point of the video you selected e.g. 3:12.
Step 9: Create your comment and add the timestamp link. “Types of domain hosting providers at 3.12”
Step 10: Click on the Comment option. (Here, you will have created a comment with a timestamp that turns blue, linking to the specific time you chose in the video).
Pro Tip! Timed comments on YouTube are filtered in the comments section (beta). Click on timed comments to access all comments attached to a specific time in the video.
Timestamp YouTube Comments on Mobile (Android and iOS)
Just like you can add timestamps on YouTube videos on the web version, the same is possible via the YouTube app on your iPhone or Android device.
Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account and open a video of interest.
Step 2: Play the video, find the time you want to time stamp and then pause the video. (Ensure that you capture the right time, for instance: 2:12).
Step 3: At the bottom left, you will find the timestamp in this format: hours/minutes/seconds.
Step 4: Once your desired timestamp is selected, scroll down and look for the “Add a Public Comment”.
Step 5: Enter the correct timestamp in the comment. A link will be automatically created pointing to the time you selected on the video.
Step 6: At the right corner where you wrote the comment, tap on the Post Now; you have successfully created a comment timestamp for your YouTube video. It's usually highlighted in blue.
Pro Tip! To see if a YouTube video has Timed Comments, all you need to do is launch the YouTube mobile app and then go to the comments filter option at the top right corner.
On the other hand, as a content creator, you may opt to add timestamps in the YouTube description and then and then add comment timestamps in the YouTube video. Here’s how to do that.
Add timestamps in the YouTube description.
Adding timestamps as you upload your videos is quite easy. This is all you need to do:
Step 1: On your YouTube account, play the video and stop it at relevant segments.
Step 2: Take note of the time.
Step 3: Via the YouTube description, add the notes and the time.
Step 4: Save and then check the live video and ensure that the YouTube link works.
Add comment timestamps on YouTube
This procedure works for previously uploaded videos. After you have successfully added description timestamps, if you wish, you can copy them to the comments. Proceed as follows:
Step 1: Log in to your YouTube creator Account.
Step 2: Go to the video Comment Section and paste timestamps.
Step 3: Click on Comment. Here, your timestamps should appear as links. Click on them, and you will be redirected to the relevant time in the video above.
Step 4: Click on Tip Top. This is to pin your comment with timestamps and to appear on the top.
Step 5: From the menu, you can make changes if need be.
Conclusion
Now that's all you need to know about timestamp comments on YouTube. Notice that the procedure varies slightly on both the web version and on the YouTube mobile app. For future reference, you can always refer to this post. With that said, we wrap up this article.
