Yes. That is old school Youtube which is more about building community. Another tip (that goes along with it) is to leave comments on really big channels in your genre. Your comment might get lost, but just keep watching & commenting. You can subscribe and hit the bell to the popular channels to get there early. That increases the chances that your comment will be seen. But (as you said) - no spam. Actually watch the video. Think about your comment before you write it. Talk about something you saw in the video. Humor often works. (Nice humor not insulting humor.) It might go along with a funny moment in the video, so you are laughing along with the creator. As you get likes, your comment goes to the top of the list. If you get subs in this way, try to sub them. As you keep commenting on each others' videos, it draws more traffic.