YouTube Collab Ideas - 9 Good Collaboration Video Options
Jan 3, 2021
Collaborating with other content creators is a great way to attract more attention to your YouTube channel. The thing is, finding good YouTube collab ideas can be difficult. Luckily enough, however, enough collabs have been done on YouTube over the years to be able to put together a list of great YouTube collaboration ideas!
Some good YouTube collab ideas include cross-channel video hosting, collaborative Q&A videos, tutorial videos, and challenges. Ideally, each channel should benefit during a collaboration, so making sure that both channels are featured prominently in collab videos is very important.
Certain video ideas will be more effective in certain niches. So, make sure that the video idea you select for your collaboration is one that will work in your niche. After all, one of the best ways to make a collaboration effective is to create a good video, and good videos are often created using good ideas.
Collab Video Ideas
Many collab video ideas have been used on YouTube over the years. Some ideas have worked very well, whereas others have not been effective. Since collaborations have become so common on YouTube, however, it's now possible to remove the bad ideas and only use good ideas.
Here are 9 YouTube collaboration ideas:
- In-video shoutout
- Cross-channel video hosting
- Collaborative question and answer (Q&A)
- 2-part series
- Collaborative tutorial
- Themed video
- Response video
- Product review
Let's discuss each of these ideas in more detail.
1. In-Video Shoutout
An in-video shoutout is a great way to bring attention to another YouTube channel. In-video shoutouts are done by simply telling viewers about another channel in a video. Ideally, the channel being shouted out should be a channel that viewers watching the shoutout video will enjoy, as bringing awareness to irrelevant channels usually delivers poor results.
Channels should be shouted out organically, as shoutouts that are forced tend to be less effective. This is why only relevant channels must be shouted out- they are easy to bring attention to organically. With this said, don't over-complicate the process. The goal is to bring awareness to a channel- that's it.
2. Cross-Channel Video Hosting
A collaboration method that has become popular in recent years is cross-channel video hosting. Cross-channel video hosting is essentially when both content creators taking part in a collab upload a relevant video to each other's YouTube channel. This is a great way for both creators to get in front of each other's audience directly.
One of the big benefits of this collab idea is how easy it is to pull off. Uploading a video from another creator is easily done. Of course, you must ensure that the video you are publishing to your channel (and your video being published on the other channel) is relevant, as you don't want to upset the audiences at hand.
3. Collaborative Question and Answer (Q&A)
Question and answer (Q&A) videos have been uploaded to YouTube for many years now. Recently, creators have discovered that multi-person Q&A videos are a great way to collaborate. With this type of video, each creator taking part in the collaboration can answer a question. What's great about these videos is, they aren't limited to 2 creators at a time.
An example of a collaborative Q&A video is this video. As you can see, each individual featured in the collab answers a question or gives their input on a question, leading to different perspectives and answers for viewers to listen to. This is a great way to involve multiple people in a collaboration.
4. 2-Part Series
Creating a series of videos is a great way to entice people to return to your channel. It is also a great way of getting people to visit another channel. A 2-part series is a great option for content creators looking to collaborate. By publishing part 1 to a channel, and part 2 to another channel, you can ensure that both channels in the collab get visited.
Typically, videos presented as a story work well when it comes to creating a 2-part series. Often, part 1 of the series is devoted to introducing the characters, environment, scenario, etc., and part 2 is devoted to completing the story introduced in part 1. Splitting a story into 2 parts allows each channel involved in the collaboration to have a part on their channel.
5. Collaborative Tutorial
Collaborative tutorial videos work extremely well in how-to niches. Many content creators have used these types of videos to great success when collaborating with other channels. Having each member of a collaboration contribute to a tutorial is a great way for both creators to provide value and gain attention.
An example of a collaborative tutorial could be a video about how to create a website. One creator could show viewers how to sign up for a website hosting service, and another creator could show viewers how to design their website. This way, both creators can work together and provide value to viewers.
6. Challenges
Many YouTube users use YouTube to find entertaining videos. Some of the most entertaining videos on the platform are challenges. Challenges work well during collaborations, as each channel involved in the collaboration can offer a unique approach to the challenge at hand. No matter your niche, there are always challenges that can be used to create videos.
A big benefit presented by challenges is flexibility. Challenge videos work well for long-distance collabs in certain niches- gaming, for example. These types of videos don't need to be extreme and often result in an entertaining viewing experience for viewers. Even if your niche hasn't featured many challenge videos in the past, they're still worth creating.
7. Themed Video
When certain topic trends on YouTube, many creators create videos about the trending topic. Themed videos work similarly to this, however, the topics mentioned in themed videos do not need to be trending. Using themed videos in collabs is simple- creators taking part in the collab all create a video about a certain theme and shout each other out.
Often, these types of videos work well for in-person collaborations. Usually, each content creator involved in the collaboration will offer their perspective on the events that take place while with the other creators. For example, 2 content creators might go to an amusement park and record their experiences, and bring attention to each other's videos.
8. Response Video
Responding to a video that is posted on YouTube is a great way to give your thoughts on a particular subject. Since multiple viewpoints can be presented about a certain topic, response videos are a great way for content creators to collaborate. A response video collaboration can be done by responding to each other's videos- plain and simple.
For response videos to work the best in a collaboration scenario, creators should communicate what they are going to say in their videos before they are uploaded. Collaboratively responding to videos can only happen if both creators respond to each other's videos- not just 1 creator to 1 video.
9. Product Review
As time goes on, more content creators are beginning to create their own products. Product review videos are some of the most popular videos on YouTube. Naturally, reviewing a product created by another content creator is a great way to collaborate, as this typically leads to a shoutout for your channel.
Product review videos are also a great way to make money on YouTube. Most of the time, affiliate codes will be given to reviewers so they can earn a commission whenever someone purchases the product they reviewed. This way, not only does the product owner benefit, but the product reviewer does as well.
Conclusion
One of the best ways to get more exposure for your YouTube channel is to collaborate with other content creators. Any of the YouTube collab ideas on this list will work well, but be sure to select an idea that has been proven to work well in your niche. After all, different audiences will respond better to certain types of videos.
