Are Social Media Comments Sections a Worthwhile Brand Playground?

In a recent report outlining the evolution of the retailer or brand playbook when it comes to social media marketing, Modern Retail's Gabriela Barkho underscored the continued appeal of perceived authenticity to today's consumer.

"One reason brands are leaning into a comment-driven engagement strategy is that audiences are no longer enamored by highly polished social media posts," Barkho wrote, noting that while previous eras of social media marketing had seen companies -- perhaps most notably, Wendy's -- offering clapbacks and snappy comments on Facebook, Twitter (now X), or Instagram.

But things have changed somewhat since a decade or so ago, with most brands now hopping into comments sections to make social media commentary a core part of their advertising strategy rather than an on-again, off-again distraction. Among the reasons: an increased demand for a sense of personality and authenticity coming from brands, as far as shoppers are concerned; and the simple fact that social media is where consumer attention lies nowadays, often for many hours at a time.

“On platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok, people scroll straight to replies looking for something entertaining,” said Ryan Meegan, chief marketing officer for Dude Wipes, as cited by Barkho.

“Back-and-forth conversations, especially ones that feel unscripted, tend to travel further,” he added, noting that algorithmic changes across social media platforms had shifted to reward these sorts of discussions versus more polished, crafted material.

There's also the bandwagon effect, wherein brands or retailers hitching a wagon to viral moments or posts see massive returns. Jane Prior, chief marketing officer at Vita Coco, stated that the company saw 400,000 likes on a post it had made attached to a Billie Eilish TikTok Video.

“A well-placed comment on TikTok or Instagram takes up some of the most valuable real estate brands can leverage,” Prior said.

“[This is] where brands and consumers engage in real time. These interactions are more likely to spark a larger conversation or moment the brand can own,” she added, also highlighting that the nature of this engagement was interactive, taking place within a two-way conversation.

Social Media Comments, Conversations Have Upsides (and Risks) for Brands Who Engage

There are a lot of obvious upsides to social media marketing efforts via comments and replies -- it's cheap, gets results, and often humanizes a brand in the mind of onlookers. It takes far less time to craft a quick comment or naturally engage with an on-brand reply than to create and publish a more polished post, as well.

However, cynics and critics also have a place within this larger dialogue -- and not everyone is completely satisfied with brands making an entry into a comments section initially intended for individual users.

Nate Rosen, of marketing newsletter Express Checkout, cautioned that there were also risks involved with the practice: Providing an example, Rosen pointed to pushback coming from those either tired of, or baseline simply annoyed by, brands playing at being people (complete with quirky personalities). With a common refrain being "silence brand" on social, a "Silence Brand!" newsletter has started to gain attention on Substack.

Megan agreed that discretion was often valuable in terms of knowing when to abstain from participation.

“If something starts to feel overdone or predictable, we pivot. The goal is always to feel like a brand you’d actually want to hear from, not one that’s trying too hard to be in on the joke," he said.