Instagram comments are an important tool for connecting with your audience. Learn how to pin a comment on Instagram and other tips for managing comments.
Instagram comments might seem like trivial details, but they’re actually a powerful way to connect with your audience on the platform.
This guide walks through all you need to know: how to pin a comment on Instagram, how to delete them, how to get more, and everything in between.
What are Instagram comments?
IG comments are messages that people can send in response to a post, video, or Reel. While DMs (direct messages) are private, comments are by default public and seen by anyone who lands on your profile. Leaving comments on Instagram is easy. Look for the speech bubble icon, write what you want to say, and post.
Why do comments matter?
Instagram is a public forum, and comments are part of that. They lend credibility to your brand and show the world how your audience engages with you. On the backend, they also affect how often your content is displayed. Let’s break that all down.
Comments engage your audience and build trust
Instagram comments are a way for you to engage with your audience and build credibility among them. Comments can ask your audience to share their experiences, ask for their opinions on your new product line, and much more. This helps them feel connected to you and the other people in your community.
When newcomers navigate to your profile and see that your audience leaves comments, that social proof legitimizes your profile. Imagine you’re using Instagram and come across two very similar profiles, but one averages 1 or 2 comments on its posts, and the other gets 20-30. Which would you trust more?
Comments can be customer service
From 2020 to 2021, the use of social messaging for customer support jumped 110%. Consumers, especially Millennials and Gen-Zers, are generally more comfortable with shooting off a message on Instagram than picking up the phone or writing an email.
So, alongside DMs, Instagram comments should be considered a viable and important channel for customer service departments. Keeping up with your comments is a display of good faith to your audience.
Comments help you get ahead of the IG algorithm
The Instagram algorithm is a complex and mysterious beast. We could spend a whole post going through how the IG algorithm works, but the important takeaway related to comments is that they’re one factor that impacts how often your content is seen.
More comments on your posts can mean your content getting in front of more people. And people who often comment on your content may see that content higher up on their feed. So long story short: comments matter.
How to pin a comment on Instagram
Pinning a comment lets you stick a specific comment to the top of your post.
Pinning a comment on Instagram is easy but it isn’t super obvious, so let’s look at how to do it.
- Go to the post you want to pin a comment to and click on the speech bubble icon. This will let you see all the comments on the post.
- Find the comment you want to pin, and swipe left. You’ll see three buttons slide out: a thumbtack, an exclamation point in a speech bubble, and a trashcan.
- Click the thumbtack icon to pin the comment.
- Instagram will show you a notification saying that you can pin 3 comments, and that the people whose comments you pin will get notified of this action.
- Pinned the wrong comment by mistake? To unpin, swipe left on the comment and click the thumbtack icon again.
How to pin a comment on Instagram, using my own account as an example. Surely you have more comments than the ones I got from these 3 people, whose usernames I’ve redacted in respect of their privacy.
Why pin a comment?
Pinning a comment gives you a bit of control over your narrative on Instagram. Pinning lets you decide which comment users see first, and helps to bury negative or nonsense comments.
Did someone leave a nice compliment on one of your posts? Or maybe you asked the audience to share and one response was particularly good. Both could be good reasons to pin a comment.
Can I pin my own comment?
No! Instagram lets you delete or reply to your own comments, but you can’t pin them. You can only pin comments from other users.
After all, pinning your own comment is more or less the same as putting a caption on your post. So if there’s important information that you want all your Instagram visitors to see, it’s best to include it in the caption of your photo, video, or Reel.
How to delete a comment
Once you know how to pin a comment, deleting one is even easier. Remember that trashcan icon?
To delete a comment, swipe left on it. Click the red trashcan to delete it. That’s it, comment deleted.
Unlike pinning, you can delete your own comments (on your profile or others’). And of course, you can also delete other users’ comments on your profile.
How to edit a comment
You can edit captions on Instagram (click the three dots at the top of a post or the bottom of a Reel). But you can’t edit comments.
If you want to change what you’ve said in a comment, you have two options:
1. Delete the old comment and leave a new, edited one.
2. Reply to your previous comment to correct your speech or to edit the message.
The first might get a bit confusing depending on the time that’s elapsed. And the second is a bit like having a conversation with yourself. But it is what it is, and these are the options we have.
How to find your comment on Instagram
Maybe you remember leaving a comment somewhere that you now want to delete or edit via one of the methods mentioned above. But what if you don’t remember exactly where you left that comment?
Thankfully you don’t have to scroll endlessly, trying to jog your memory. Just go to your profile, click the three lines at the top right of the screen, and then choose Your activity. Here choose Interactions, then Comments.
You can now see all your comments, and can even filter by specific dates. Select one or more comments and delete them right from this screen. Or, click on the post to go right to the content you commented on.
In this Interactions section, you can also see all the content you’ve liked, all the Stories you’ve replied to, and any reviews that you’ve left on Instagram.
How to turn off comments
To fully disable comments on a specific piece of content, click on the three dots at the top of a post or the bottom right of a Reel. That will open up a menu where you can control different aspects of the content.
Click Turn off comments. You’ll then see that below your caption, it says Comments are off. To turn comments back on, click the link Review controls.
In this control panel, instead of turning comments back on, you can allow comments only from people you follow and/or your followers.
How to limit comments
If you don’t want to turn off comments completely, but want to limit who can leave them, Instagram offers a solution. Limiting comments is temporary and applies to your entire account, not just a specific post.
- Go to your profile and click the icon with three lines at the top to access the IG menu.
- Click Settings, then Privacy.
- Select Limits.
This lets you, in Instagram’s words, limit unwanted reactions. If you feel like other users are harassing you, or you’re getting unwarranted comments, limiting them will hide these comments unless you approve them.
You can limit accounts that aren’t following you (which might be spam or fake created to harass you), or recent followers (people who just started following you in the last week). You can also set a custom time limit, from 1 day to 4 weeks.
How to block specific users from commenting
If you only want to stop specific people from leaving comments, you can use the block feature. This can help you fend off people who are harassing you, annoying you, or simply spamming you.
To block someone, navigate again to Settings and the Privacy tab. Click Comments, and then Block comments from.
Enter the usernames of the people whose comments you want to block. Then, they’ll appear in your list of Blocked Commenters. If you have a change of heart and want to unblock them, simply click Unblock.
No one needs Joffrey in their life.
This doesn’t actually stop the blocked people from leaving comments. But what happens is that when they leave a comment, no one can see it but them. This way, their user experience continues unchanged without interrupting yours, or anyone else’s.
How to hide offensive comments on Instagram
Instagram also lets you automatically hide comments that contain a specific offensive word or phrase. To do this, go to Settings >> Privacy and then Hidden words.
Here you can play with different settings to
- Hide comments that might be offensive.
- Turn on advanced comment filtering.
- Hide message requests that might be spam or scams.
- Hide comments and message requests that mention any word from your custom-managed list.
The last one is the most interesting here. If you click Manage custom words and phrases, you can add words, phrases, and even emojis that you don’t want people to use in the comments on your profile.
Let’s pretend there was Instagram in Game of Thrones and I’m a Stark political activist running an anti-Lannister campaign. I’ve already blocked Joffrey from interacting with me, but now I also want to hide comments promoting the idea that he’s the true Baratheon heir.
I support the King in the North!
In real-life applications, this feature is handy for users who face discrimination or harassment, or who post about more sensitive issues that can cause people to lash out in hurtful ways.
How do I get more comments?
Finally, let’s move on to something more positive. You now know all about how to manage your comments: how to pin a comment on Instagram, how to turn them off, how to block them, etc.
But another question that a lot of people ask is how do I get more comments on Instagram? Let’s look at a few tactics you can try out.
Run a giveaway
A giveaway is a great way to get a quick boost in comments, followers, and impressions. Set up your giveaway participation rules to require participants to leave a comment tagging one or two friends.
An example of the giveaway rules trifecta: follow, like, and comment.
This way, not only do you get more comments, but you might get new visitors to your profile. And some of them might follow you and leave their own comments to also participate in your giveaway.
Collaborating with another brand or with an influencer can help you get even more exposure for your giveaway. If you want to partner with another brand, you’ll want to find one that’s not a direct competitor but that complements what your brand does in some way.
And if you want to work with an influencer, just remember that it’s important to do thorough influencer discovery, if you don’t already have a collaborator in mind. Look for an influencer who matches your brand values and who has good stats when it comes to audience authenticity and engagement.
Involve the audience
Another way to encourage more comments is to ask for them! Involve the audience by asking them to answer questions or share their own experiences.
It might be a bit easier for Spotify to get comments than the rest of us…but here’s an example of how they encourage their audience to share which artists landed in their Wrapped this year.
These questions could be related to your product, like a fashion brand asking users which color variation is their favorite from your newly launched rain jackets. Or, maybe connect your content to the calendar, like a baking supply company asking visitors what their favorite Christmas cookie recipes are.
Think about what topics your target audience is interested in and might like to talk about. Then, get asking!
Spread your news
Transparency goes a long way. Keeping your audience informed will make them feel more connected to you.
So share your news. When sharing good news, people will often want to share that good moment with you, which can include leaving a congratulatory comment.
As for not-so-good news, this is trickier. But being open and honest with your audience can help them feel like they matter, and gives them the chance to ask you questions. We saw lots of this type of news during the pandemic—concerts being called off, businesses changing their operating hours, etc.
Shortly after the pandemic hit, the Primavera Sound music festival announced that its 2020 edition probably wouldn’t go forward.
While no one ever really wants to hear this type of news, I’d wager most of us appreciate knowing about it sooner rather than later. And giving users the chance to comment and ask questions can help them feel more involved in the decisions your brand makes.
Takeaway
Well, there you have it. You now know how to pin a comment on Instagram, plus so much more. So jump on over to IG and start pinning and why not try out one of these strategies for getting more comments while you’re at it?
