How to Increase the Number of Comments on Your Social Media Posts

 

 

If you're not a Kardashian, your followers probably don't shower you with rave comments under every post. In fact, even polished-up texts and cool pics of your kitty sometimes go unnoticed. "Why does this happen and how do you deal with it?", you might ask. We're about to tell you. 

 

Before we start discussing the basics, there will be a little sobering information. Ask yourself the question: why do you need to increase your numbers? Is it really reasonable to expect a large number of comments in your niche? Let's explain with an example.

 

Let's say you have your own Instagram store where the feed is a storefront. It's silly to hope for active discussion under your posts, and in your case, you don't need it. The main task here is to sell, and comments do not play the most important role.

 

The success of the chosen strategy has long stopped being measured by likes and comments. Firstly, because they cannot be predicted, and secondly because they are not the main indicators of effectiveness. So if you think that by increasing these figures, you will solve some problems in business, you are wrong. It’s better to spend time and effort studying marketing as a tool to increase sales. 

 

If, on the other hand, you want to engage your audience, create a community, collect information for researching the target audience or improve statistics a little bit, then the tips from this article will definitely help you.

 

WHY ARE THERE NO COMMENTS?

 

We don't begin to solve a problem before we know the reason for it - that's our motto. So the first thing to do is to understand why people are in no hurry to express their thoughts on your posts. 

 

Non-target audience. Suppose you started following an Interior Design & Renovation profile expecting that there will be a lot of information on interior decoration. Instead, you see posts about power wiring, which you are totally uninterested in. Will you leave comments? Not likely. Instead, you will go looking for an account that meets your requirements.

 

And the problem here is not that the blog owner isn’t good at writing or offers poor-quality information. Rather, it's more likely that the ads weren’t set up properly and that you're simply not their audience and they’re not the blogger you need. So the lack of feedback can be a signal that it's time to change your ad targeting manager or re-do an analysis of your target audience. 

 

And don't forget that some of your followers might be bots. They may, of course, comment on your posts but you'll hardly be satisfied with the quality of those comments. 

 

Unengaging content. People comment on posts without being prompted if they see something cool. So here's the hard truth: If you don't get a lot of feedback from your followers, your content is probably not very good. 

 

Another reason is that the content you post doesn’t invoke people's emotions. Usually, we want to put in our two cents if a topic strikes a chord with us. We might have had a similar experience and so we share our story. Or we might fundamentally disagree with the author and want to let them know.

 

Regardless of how we feel about the content (whether our reaction is positive or negative), the point is that it touches on something important, and so we want to let our opinion be known. So it's worth learning how to get the point across so that it touches the reader's heart and soul. Or alternatively, you can post cats and dogs — it always works without a hitch. 

 

People don’t like commenting. There is a separate group of people who are comfortable being as quiet as the grass. They watch your Stories and read the posts but do not want to show their presence in any way. Any profile has followers like this, and at first, their number can exceed the percentage of an active audience. Surely there are some profiles you follow but rarely comment on. 

 

There is no need to remove these users from your followers. Their low activity does not mean they won’t buy your products or sign up for a service. Your task as a blogger is to keep building up the audience so that the number of silent users and active ones balances out. 

 

Fear of negative reactions to comments. For some blogs, this is a big problem. You can't express your opinion without all kinds of trolls swooping down on you. If this sounds familiar, work on keeping a peaceful atmosphere in your comment section. Don't throw controversial and harsh statements left, right, and center, delete inappropriate comments, and finally define blog rules so that followers know what they can get banned for.

 

Lack of time and energy. After a hard day's work, you might want to express your opinion on someone else's post, but you simply can’t muster the energy. So you just silently like the post, watch some TikTok videos, and go to sleep. 

 

For a blogger, this is a reason to reconsider the time of posting. For example, if your target audience is moms, they're unlikely to comment in the mornings and evenings when the whole family is together and everyone needs attention. Lunchtime, on the other hand, is their free moment in which they can chat online. 

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

 

SHOW THAT IT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU

 

The first non-obvious step you need to take is to post regularly. This will show your followers that this kind of content is important because you are so invested in its creation.

 

If you publish one selling post a month and don't bother with the feed, don't expect comments either: people will perfectly understand that you're not doing it to get feedback, but to remind them about your product/service once again. So decide on a publication schedule and stick to it. 

 

Don't be shy about asking for comments. People may not think that it really matters to you, so they decide to keep their opinions to themselves. You don't want to turn into a beggar here, pleading for them to like every post. You also don't need to manipulate your followers by telling them that if they don't do what you ask of them, there will be no more content. 

 

Some Instagram experts even say it's a kind of energy exchange: I give you content and you give me likes and comments and then you get a bit of my energy as a successful person. Don't play with your audience's trust and emotions — they will sooner or later notice it and it will stop working. 

 

The best way to ask for more engagement is to explain why you need it. Some explicitly say that motivation and desire to generate content depend on it. Others explain the principle of post ranking in the feed and what role comments play in that. That's why we talked about the importance of understanding why you need increased metrics earlier. Be honest with your audience and then they'll come around. This screencap is a great example of how you can unobtrusively ask subscribers to leave a comment. 

 

Respond to comments. If a blogger gives answers every once in a while, then people lose the motivation to comment on their posts. It just seems that nobody needs their opinion. So reconsider your latest posts: do they make it clear that subscribers' feedback is important to you? Even if you don't feel like there's anything to respond to, you can still give a "like" or send a smiley face in response. This will show that you read the comment. 

 

Responding is also important because it builds audience loyalty and creates a sense of intimacy. There's a cumulative effect here: today you'll say a few words, and a week later the person will want to express an opinion in more detail.

 

CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT

 

Do you know what engaging content is? Maybe it's content that your literature teacher would give you an "A" on? Or a picture that your mother and all your co-workers liked? Not really. Engaging content is the posts that meet the needs and match the values of your audience, and you should be guided by that when creating a content plan.

 

So the first step you need to take is to update the information about your target audience. We won’t go into detail about what exactly this involves because we’ve got a cool article on the subject, which we recommend reading. With this knowledge, you can understand whether your posts really cover your subscribers' questions and match their worldview. 

 

After that, it's worth introducing changes to your content. By this, we mean a change both in themes and in format. For example, you run a construction store profile and you really want people to engage with it. In that case, shift your priorities. Don’t post only about your products’ specifics but also useful tips on the selection of materials and layouts. Add an “Ask an expert” category.

 

Add two or three topics to your monthly content plan that are 100% likely to provoke discussion due to the ambiguity of the issue. For example, a marketing expert came up with a post about whether or not you should write product prices, or whether a “DM for prices” will do. There are a lot of comments on this post and the discussion is very lively: users actively share their stories. Another expert challenged the opinion of a well-known blogger and offered to discuss it.

 

 

If you've relied on large posts before, try publishing Reels and adding four or five sentences to them. This will simplify the perception of the information and may encourage people to leave a comment.

 

The next tip is about the message of your posts. You do not need to write perfect texts trying to fit all your knowledge in them. Leave room for questions and additions.

 

 

By the way, the same advice can also be applied to stores. Offer the basic information in the product description and answer additional questions (manufacturer, quality, etc.) in the comments. 

 

Earlier in this article, we mentioned the importance of emotion. If your niche doesn't involve publishing heartwarming stories, you can choose a different strategy. 

 

First, post about something that invokes people's feelings, so that when someone reads your post, they want to say, "Wow, that's about me!” Most of the time,  you can see this kind of comments on posts written in simple words, without complicated wording or embellishments. 

 

 

Second, use humor. This is a great way to evoke positive emotions and create an appropriate atmosphere. After all, if two people are laughing at the same thing, it means they are similar in some way. If you're not sure you can handle writing a funny story, use Reels. Capture life scenes, talk about funny things that happened at work, and share stories about all those times you screwed up. 

 

On TikTok, they really love videos involving spicy correspondence with store managers or customers. There are always a lot of comments under these videos: some condemn the poster and some support them. If you want to use this idea, be prepared for the fact that not everyone will agree with your position. But the number of comments will definitely increase.

 

Third, make use of hype. This, too, arouses the emotions of the audience and many will want to argue with you. Do not be too quick to give up on this idea. It’s not always bad to hype up a topic and it really depends on how you present your ideas. 

 

It's one thing to burn a car to get attention but it's another thing to discuss some important news. For example, right now, everyone's talking about the Twitter purchase by Elon Musk. An investment blogger could make assumptions about why the richest man in the world decided to buy a company whose numbers are plummeting. We, by the way, talked about this too.

 

Another option for attracting attention is to discuss controversial topics. Some are all about feminism, some are justifying cheating, or promoting childfree ideas. If you decide to go this route, be careful: the method certainly increases your reach, but it doesn't work in the long run and can do more harm than good.

 

HELP YOUR SUBSCRIBERS

 

Not everyone has an extensive vocabulary and eloquence, so they hesitate to comment. Help your audience by asking questions at the end of your posts.

 

If subscribers are not at all talkative, offer to react to your content with emojis or post simple answers like yes/no, agree/disagree. Don't be afraid to ask simple questions. 

 

 

Give people the opportunity to choose what to talk about and how to talk about it. In the first example, the blogger offers two options for comment topics, and in the second, the questions are asked in such a way that the person doesn't have to worry about the choice of words. 

 

 

When selling a product, service, or webinar, motivate people to give feedback. Notice how when promoting a free event, the author mentioned follower support at the end and framed it as an easy question. By doing so, he solved two problems: he presented the project and increased the content engagement.

 

Another way to motivate your audience to leave comments is to make it a positive experience. Run interactive events that will be useful to the audience or evoke positive emotions.

 

Some bloggers post introduction publications once every few months where everyone can promote themselves and their services. The idea of a "What's wrong with me?" game, where participants give advice to the previous commenter, remains relevant. This trick is especially important if you’ve built a professional community around your blog. In this case, interaction will be really useful for your subscribers. 

 

 

 

Do quizzes that are thematically related to your niche and invite the audience to provide answers in the comments. Note the examples: well-known bloggers use game mechanics and humor to natively promote their projects or draw attention to their expertise.

Some motivate subscribers with gifts. For example, they choose a random person in the comment section or determine the most active subscriber and give them a gift. By the way, if you're trying to grow your Facebook presence, the social network recently introduced an update that will show the most active subscribers on your group page. 

 

Interactive events are good at getting subscribers excited and helping them make the first step post the first comment. But in the long run, only a comprehensive approach will produce permanent results: you must use all the methods described in the article to do so. 

 

WRAPPING UP

Here are all the most important thoughts of the article collected in a short memo - use it.

 

• Update your target audience data and see if your content is relevant to their interests.

• Post regularly.

• Ask subscribers for engagement (just don't try to manipulate them) and respond to all comments.

• Revise your content plan: post content that invokes emotions and test various formats for presenting the information.

• Don't be afraid to express your opinion and be honest with your subscribers: this kind of content usually has a positive effect on your numbers.

• Use humor and hype. 

• Ask questions: easy or difficult, offer answer options, and use clear wording. 

• Introduce entertaining mechanics and interactivity to encourage subscribers’ engagement.