To be a social media channel, the core user function for your channel should be some level of interaction. So, I am going to loudly correct a long-standing error and just as long-standing a pet peeve. YouTube isn’t a social media channel.
The core user function of YouTube is video hosting and video broadcasting. It wins the day in that arena. Sorry Vimeo. Creators on YouTube are paid on views, not on comments or interactions.
A secondary core user function is surfacing those videos. YouTube is owned by Google, so we’re talking about the best two search engines in the world.
Since interactions are a sideshow, if YouTube is not a video hosting service, it is a search engine of its own stuff.
YouTube is Not a Social Channel