In early July of 2020, Instagram announced they were rolling out pinning comments. You might have noticed these little pins 📌 pop up on the gram, but do you know what it actually means and what the purpose of using a pin is? Instagram says they allow you to pin up to 3 comments so you can better manage the conversation. It works similar to how you can pin posts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube but let’s jump in and examine what it means exactly.
What is the point of pinning comments?
What a crazy year it’s been overall (to say the least) and social media trends have gone haywire. With so many people forced to spend more time at home, the internet has become a billboard and therapeutic space for all thoughts- good, bad, and ugly. Instagram stated that the point of pinning comments is to help you better manage the conversation on your post. It’s essentially a tool for the account owner and/or brand to highlight positive comments and help steer the comments section.
Because you often see the first comment on every post (or at least the first few words of the comment) when scrolling through your Instagram feed, pinning is actually a really powerful tool. If you use Instagram for marketing purposes and get a lot of great comments, you might consider pinning the best feedback or most relevant comment first.
How do I pin comments?
It’s actually quite simple to pin comments. You can pin up to 3 comments to the top of your comment section and the way you do it is by swiping left on the comment you choose and hit the thumbtack (pin) icon. Et voila! That comment is pinned! To unpin simply swipe left and click the thumbtack again and confirm that you’re removing the pin.
This new feature is for every user both business and personal. If this is still not working for you, make sure you’ve updated your Instagram app to the latest version.
Are there any negatives to pinning comments?
The idea behind pinning comments is to drive the conversation, but that doesn’t mean you can necessarily control the conversation. Some might think that by pinning specific things they are influencing comments but keep in mind it’s just reordering what people say rather than changing what/how they think.
Another thing to note is that users will get a notification if you pin their comment. So, if you just like what they said and pin it to remember it, just know that they’ll get a notification saying you liked it so much you pinned it!
One really cool thing to know about these pins is that Instagram released them as part of their continuing work to fight online bullying. These awesome new tools are intended to combat cyber bullies and allow users tools to positively drive conversation. Pretty amazing right?
What about hashtags in comments?
A lot of times brands or businesses don’t like to use hashtags in their posts because they feel it makes them look “spammy”. While it might look a little awkward if you don’t find a good way to space out your content, using hashtags is an awesome way to reach new followers. One trick I often tell my clients is that you can easily hide these hashtags in the comments section. It leaves your post looking fresh while also applying hashtags so your intended audience can find you.
Another trick is to put a few lines with periods or dashes directly in your caption and then the hashtags at the bottom to give yourself space. Whichever way you choose make sure to at least keep using them, because why not up your chances of reaching your target market? To learn more, check out my blog on how to use hashtags on social media!
I definitely think the best thing you can do for social media marketing is to take advantage of new cool features. The apps and platforms want you to use them and therefore your chances of better organic placement and looking super hip to your audience are much better. Overall, whether you’re a hobby Instagram user or a big time social media marketer- pins can be a really cool way to drive positive conversations on your posts. If you consistently have multiple comments, why not take advantage of this free, easy-to-use tool?
VZ Creatives 