Instagram recently rolled out a new feature that could transform the way you promote your creative work on social media: pinned comments. If you missed it, you'll want to pay attention now because this currently little-used feature will give you greater control over every post you create.
Designed as a way to stop abusive or trolling comments from taking centre-stage, the ability to pin comments has particular use for artists and designers, as it enables you to curate the conversation underneath your work. This not only helps to promote conversation (just one great way to boost your Instagram engagement), but also lets you frame your work in the way you want it to be seen – whether through specific praise, critique or explanation.
Instagram kickstarted this feature back in July but, so far, it's widely underused on the platform. Users can pin up to three comments at the top of their comment feed, so whatever is posted afterwards will automatically be shown underneath these comments.
Utilise it by swiping left on a comment and pressing the pin icon that appears (see it in the above tweet). You can use it for any comment left on the post, even if it is a reply to a different comment.
Other ways to take advantage of the feature could be to answer specific questions you want everyone to take note of, or to stop endless emojis from sitting at the top of your comment feed. It's definitely a more useful update than the unwelcome addition of a Comic Sans-like font, and it may even turn out to be surprisingly game-changing – much like the ability to change the font in your Instagram bio.
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