The Art of the Comments Section: Where Brand Growth Really Happens.

Here's a little secret: one of the most powerful social media strategy for 2025 isn't new at all – it's actually history repeating itself.

Back in the 2010s, as a social media manager for one of Australia's beloved brands, we achieved a 17% Facebook engagement rate incorporating one simple strategy: mastering our comments section. 

Now, Hootsuite's Social Media Trends Report for 2025 confirms what we knew back then: comments are making a comeback as one of the most powerful brand strategies.

Let's break down exactly how to transform your comments section from a ghost town into your brand's most valuable social real estate.

Part 1: Creating an engaging comment section

Your comment section is a valuable space for the community building of your brand and the people behind it. Here's how to make it sing.

Encourage meaningful conversations

• Craft thoughtful questions that invite genuine responses (use your storytelling to create relatability through shared experiences, and a safe space to share theirs!).

• Share insights that naturally encourage discussion (lean into valuable learning) 

• Incorporate interactive elements to welcome participation (think polls, question boxes)

Prioritise engaging after posting

• Set time to engage with comments within the first hour

• Use the video response format to generate further content and discussion 

• Your video responses can attract new audiences who then go to the original post.

• Post questions of your own in the comments to spark further discussion (great for LinkedIn).

Nurture your community

• Facilitate connections between community members

• Maintain your consistent brand tone of voice 

• Recognise and appreciate active participants 

• Let community discussions inspire your future content calendar. 

Part 2: Outbound comment engagement

Commenting on the posts of creators within your industry is a phenomenal way to increase brand discoverability. To do this, you need to focus on bringing value to the conversation and engage with content that truly aligns with your brand or industry (otherwise you look like a brand being there for clout). 

Here’s what to focus on utilising stats from the Hootsuite Social Media Trends Report:

• Craft concise comments (10-99 characters show 234% higher engagement)

• Focus on nano and micro-influencers for 1.6x higher response rates

Ask yourself these questions before engaging:

• Are we adding meaningful value to the conversation?

• Is this the right environment for our voice?

• Does this audience align with our brand's community?

Important considerations: 

Avoid: 

• Single emoji responses (they average only 24 interactions)

• Standard, templated comments (anything screaming ChatGPT)

• Participating in unrelated conversations to your brand (Ariana what are you doing here)

• Trust your instincts – if a comment feels forced, pause and reflect

P.S. With 41% of organisations already implementing proactive engagement strategies*, now is the perfect time to refine your approach.

Still figuring out how comments fit into your content strategy? Every brand's comment strategy looks different and aligns to your brand's tone of voice across platforms. 

I've helped brands across Founders, B2B, B2C, Government, Finance, Telecommunications and more.

Let's have a no obligation chat about your content marketing:

Book a Chat

Don't miss a newsletter edition, get the strategic insights, trends and industry news to your inbox: Here 

Data in this article pulled from the Hootsuite Social Media Trends Report for 2025: Read here