In this article, find out what types of YouTube channels you can connect, how to make sure you have the correct access, and how to connect your channels to Social Media Management.
Note: The features mentioned in this article are only available to Social Media Management users with a user role of Team Leader or Admin.
What types of YouTube channels can I connect?
It’s possible to connect any public YouTube channel to Social Media Management.
What access do I need on YouTube?
To connect a YouTube channel to Social Media Management, you will need to have access to the Google account associated with the channel or have owner-level permissions for the channel.
During the connection process, you will be asked for the Google account’s email/phone number and the password.
Note: YouTube Brand accounts support multiple owner-level users, allowing the existing owner to assign owner-level access to others.
If your organization has a YouTube Brand account, see our FAQ below for information on how an existing owner can grant owner-level permissions for others to access the account.
Connecting your YouTube channels to Social Media Management
Note: If you need to reconnect a YouTube channel, follow the steps in our Reconnecting Channels article.
In Social Media Management's left-hand navigation sidebar, click the Manage settings (gear) icon and select Channel admin.
Click Connect channel in the top right.
Select YouTube, then click Connect.
You can either connect your own YouTube account, or invite another user without Brandwatch access to connect their channel. To proceed with connecting your own Facebook account, click Connect to YouTube.
When the Google authentication popup appears, enter your Google email address/phone number and password followed by Next.
If already logged into your Google account, you can simply click on the applicable account.
On the following screen, click Continue to grant Brandwatch access.
Within the Available to connect/reconnect, check the box beside any channels you would like to connect and click Connect Channels.
Specify the level of access you would like to grant to the channel. You can choose between Admins only, Specific teams, or All teams. Click Finish.
Tip: Please visit our Managing Teams article for instructions on setting up a team in your organization.
When complete, you will see a confirmation indicator that your changes will be saved and SMM will refresh.
After, your channel will be available in your channels list with a Connected status.
Inviting another user to connect their channel
During the channel connection prompt, select Invite another user to connect if you would like to invite another user without Brandwatch access to authenticate their owned account with Brandwatch.
This option will generate a link you can share with the user to authenticate their account with Brandwatch.
Stay on the connection screen when you share the link with the user. The link will expire within one hour. After the user has successfully authenticated their account and sees the “Connection” message, click Done on your view of the connection screen to finalize the process.
FAQs and troubleshooting
I received an error during the connection process.
If you have received an error at any stage of the connection process, please check out our System Requirements to make sure your system is compatible. Please also consider reaching out to our Support team for help diagnosing the issue.
I’ve added my channel but I can’t see it in Social Media Management.
If you have switched your view in Social Media Management to Team View, the channel may not appear (if it’s not included in your chosen team). Please either switch to Admin View or select the correct Team View. If you’re in Admin View, or in the correct team, already, please contact the Support team.
How do I manage owner-level permissions for a YouTube Brand account?
If you are an existing owner of a YouTube Brand account, use the following steps to manage owner-level permissions for your account and grant owner permissions to other users:
Open YouTube Studio for the channel.
Navigate to Settings (bottom-left corner).
Click Manage permissions to open the Google permissions page. Brand accounts support multiple owner-level users, allowing you assign owner-level access to others if needed. Add any other users as needed as owners.
Once those users have been granted owner-level access (or access to the linked Google account), they can connect the YouTube channel to Brandwatch.