Connect a YouTube channel and it joins Instant Post, Comments, Your posts and Analytics. YouTube has no private messages, so it is about your videos and their comments.
Connect the channel
- Open Channels › Connected and press YouTube. Owners, admins and managers can connect it.
- Google’s screen opens. Pick the YouTube channel, leave every permission ticked and allow. You come straight back, with “YouTube is connected … Videos go out from Instant Post; comments arrive in Comments.”
Post a video or a Short
- In Social Studio, press New Instant Post, pick a video and tick the YouTube channel on Accounts.
- On Text and place, the YouTube box asks for a Title (up to 100 characters; left empty, it takes the first line of the caption), Who can see it — Public, Unlisted or Private, starting at Public — and Made for kids?, Yes or No, which you answer for every video.
- More YouTube options holds Altered or synthetic content, Notify subscribers (on to begin with) and Playlists — tick up to 10 of the channel’s playlists.
- Press Post now, or choose Later for a time up to a year ahead.
A vertical video of up to 3 minutes goes up as a Short; a longer or wide one as a video. The caption becomes the description, as written, with the account’s hashtags added at the end when it has any. Photos can go as a Short from photos, chosen on What goes out.
After it is out
- Comments: the channel’s comments come in with the others. Reply posts under the comment as your channel. Under •••, Hold for review hides a comment from everyone except its author (Publish again brings it back) and Delete… removes it.
- Social Studio › Your posts: under Details, owners and admins can Edit on YouTube (title, description, who can see it), change the Thumbnail or Delete from YouTube.
- Analytics › YouTube: views, watch time, subscribers, average view duration, likes and comments, as YouTube gives them — 2–3 days late, each channel on its own.
Comment automations
YouTube asks the channel’s owner to allow them first. In Automation, create an automation that starts when Someone comments on a post. Under Where should it run? each YouTube channel shows Allow automations: read YouTube’s rules and press I allow it on this channel (owners and admins). Replies go out in public as your channel, at most 20 automated actions a day on each channel. Withdraw stops them at once, and so does disconnecting the channel.
Good to know
- YouTube has no private messages and doesn’t let apps like comments — those steps are skipped on YouTube.
- New comments arrive within about 10 minutes, every 2 minutes on a channel with a comment automation.
- The Publishing API does not post to YouTube: YouTube’s rules for apps don’t allow it. Post from Instant Post.
- A YouTube channel can be connected to one MirageCHAT workspace at a time, and counts as one of your package’s accounts.
- If a permission is unticked on Google’s screen, the channel is not connected — connect again and leave them all ticked.
- To disconnect, press ••• on the channel’s card in Channels › Connected, then Disconnect. MirageCHAT’s access at Google is revoked too.
- The phone app has the same YouTube choices in Instant Post.