By Claire Sprague | February 7, 2023

Right in the middle of the Twitterverse blowing up, YouTube has decided to release some fun, non-controversial news: the powers that be are giving brands and users the chance to create a YouTube handle! Let’s dive in to why the feature was introduced and how to make the best use of it!

Introducing: The handle

Up until October 2022, users had to have at least 100 subscribers on YouTube to become eligible for a custom URL. This doesn’t mean 100 people that watch one of your videos — it means convincing at least 100 people to hit that subscribe button and be notified when you put out new content. That 100-person requirement was hard for some small businesses to achieve, especially startups.  

YouTube erased that requirement with this new update and created username handles that are intended to be short, making it easier for people to discover you. Handles must be no longer than 30 characters and need to follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines (play nice, people). 

Channel name vs. handle

Previously YouTubers relied on channel names — so what is the difference between a channel name and a handle? A YouTube handle is totally unique to you or your brand, which makes it easier to find YOU and a lot harder to impersonate you. Much like other platforms, once a name is chosen, it cannot be chosen by another person. If you’ve ever accidentally engaged with the wrong person because they have the same channel name, you know how awkward this can be! Handles also make it easy to tag and notify other users right in the comment section. This has existed for years on other platforms, so it’s nice that YouTube is finally jumping on board. 

How to change your handle

After announcing the launch, YouTube gave creators a few weeks to decide on and claim their unique handle. If you didn’t make a selection by November 14th, the AI bots automatically assigned you a handle based on your previous channel name. Did you miss the deadline for claiming your brand name? No worries! You can change your handle at anytime by going to youtube.com/handle. Make sure your handle relates to your brand and is appropriate for your niche! If you have second thoughts about a name, you have 14 days to claim your previous one. 

Your new handle is also a part of your YouTube URL, so be sure to update any links that drive people to your channel like: 

• Your website

• Your LinkTree/Koji/LinkInBio

• Pinterest links

• Facebook live links

• Digital ads

• Email signature

If you haven’t jumped on board with YouTube, why wait? According to Kepios, YouTube has at least 2.476 billion users as of July 2022, and we are pretty sure that you can find your ideal audience there. If you need help navigating a strategy for YouTube, or you aren’t sure how to get started creating video content, be sure to reach out to us and we can level up together!