Pinned comments on Instagram: what are they, and how can you use them strategically?

pinned comments how to use them

Instagram, the platform that first comes to mind when creators, artists, freelancers, and business owners think about content marketing, has many features that help us manage our online presence. There are countless ways to use them. Do you know that almost every feature of the Gram can be used to market yourself and/or your brand more effectively?!

Today we’ll discuss the highly practical one. The one that has been launched July 2020. Can you already guess which one we’re talking about? This riddle can be a bit difficult without any further hints, so okay – this time, we’ll solve it for you. We have pinned comments feature in our minds!

Want to pin a comment or learn more about how you can use this feature to make it work in your favor? You’re at the right place!

What you’ll learn today?

  • What exactly are pinned comments, and why Instagram implemented them?
  • How to use them in practice (with a step-by-step tutorial, of course!)
  • What type of comments should you pin?
  • Why does Instagram focus on the community’s safety?
  • Why can pinning comments be REALLY strategic?
  • Can you unpin the comment later?
  • How many comments can you pin?
  • Do you need a business account or a particular number of followers to use this feature?

 

Instagram Guide how to grow on instagram 2021

 

What exactly are pinned comments, and what is this feature about?

Here we go. Instagram’s pinned comments are a simple moderation tool – easy to use, user-friendly, and highly convenient. Why? It allows you to select and pin up to three most valuable comments – they’ll be visible at the top of the post’s comment section. 

You can’t pin your own comments (that’s not a huge surprise, but it’s worth mentioning as it can not be so obvious because this feature works differently on other social media platforms), but you can pick other users’ comments really consciously. What would we recommend? Focus primarily on precious insights, positive feedback, and conversation-starters. As you already know, comments are a crucial part of Instagram engagement — they allow you to deepen the connection with your tribe, get to know them better, and answer burning questions. And – that’s probably the best news – pinned comments can help you moderate the communication and make it more optimistic. By pinning the best comments, you often set the tone for future discussions!

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So once again, this time in a nutshell: you can pin up to three comments which will appear instantly right under your post, with a “pinned” label underneath it, next to the “like” and “reply” labels. What makes it even more strategic? The three comments you pin can mask all other comments, which can only be seen by clicking on “view all comments,” so they make all other comments less visible. The pinned ones have the spotlight. 

Instagram focuses on the safety of the community. 

Let’s use this chance to remind (you and all of us!) that last year, Instagram released a few new options that limit hate speech, passive aggression, harassment, and bullying that – as you can easily guess – happens mainly in the comment section. Apart from pinned comments feature, you can bulk delete comments and choose who can tag and mention you in their content. It’s a game-changer for many creators who face attacks of haters all the time. 

The platform also uses Artificial intelligence to detect suspicious behaviors, block offensive comments automatically, so creators don’t have to do it manually, and warn the users about potentially offensive or harmful mentions. 

Effective communication is one of the keys to maintaining the profile reputation – and that’s why the pinned comments feature can make it easier to focus on the positive feedback and hide less agreeable comments – without the need to delete them permanently (which could make the authors angry or even more desperate for attention in some cases). 

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How to use pin comments?

We don’t like this overused saying, but here it fits just perfectly: it’s a piece of cake! Just take a look at our visual step by step tutorial: 

 

Pinned comments let you moderate communication below the post – can we give you more reasons to use them? Sure thing!

#1 – It’s a great way to focus on the positive feedback

The three comments you pin can set the tone of the WHOLE discussion in the comment section as positive. Moreover, the rest of the comments, which can be harmful or abusive, will be much less visible. Win-win. Pinning a comment gives it immense visibility. So it’s the first thing that gets the attention of anyone diving into your post comment section! Yup. The feature can be used by everyone: social media managers, creators, influencers, brands, and business owners to spotlight positive feedback, combat hate speech, answer FAQs (and prevent answering the same questions all over again). 

 

 

#2 – Make the valuable voices easier to find!

Which comment provides unique insights? Which of them surprised you the most? Pin it to make it more visible, because there are high chances that most people will like it too and it can contain information that might help them too!

#3 When you use pinned comments feature, you give your followers the motivation to write longer, and more thoughtful feedback

Not only do pinned comments help strengthen positivity in your comment section, but they will also probably lead to a higher amount of exciting comments – your followers will write them with the sincere hope of seeing them pinned! We’ve also found some forecasts that brands will start gamifying pinned comments to maxify the encouragement. Sounds inspiring and invoking positivity, right?

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Short FAQs about pinned comments!

Can I unpin the comment later?

Anytime, with one quick click.

Why can’t I pin comments?

If you are having trouble pinning comments, check if you have the updated Instagram app – that could be the case 🙂

How to view someone’s pinned comments? 

To view someone’s pinned comments, you need to scroll down to the comment section. The first three comments would be the pinned comments with the label “pinned”. If you find no label, that person hasn’t pinned any comments, then!

How many comments can I pin?

 You can pin only THREE comments. So, make sure that they have the maximum impact!

Do I need a business account or a particular number of followers to use this feature?

Sigh with relief. No! Anyone can use this feature, and it is not limited to popular creators and agency marketers.

Instagram Guide how to grow on instagram 2021

To wrap-up!

Pinned comments are helpful to grab attention, and if used wisely, they could help you a LOT more than just unmoderated discussions. 

Here are a few things to remember!

  • When you pin someone’s comment, they get a notification — just like when you’re tagging or mentioning them
  • You can pin up to three comments 

Not only is it a practical moderation tool, but it’s an easy way to combat misinformation, spotlight the members of your community who are loving your profile, answer the crucial questions and make these key answers highly visible!

 

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