“If you want engagement, do engagement.”
The simplest advice on social media I’ve seen. Hat tip to Buffer. Suzanne Kelly The following are some examples of how to get started: Carolyn Kopprasch for coining that) — and it’s 100% accurate.
It’s not just anecdotal. According to Buffer’s Data Scientist, responding to comments can boost engagement on six platforms. Julian Winternheimer.
He analyzed nearly 2,000,000 posts on Threads and LinkedIn. Instagram, Facebook, X and Bluesky. He found a pattern that was consistent and clear: The posts where brands and creators respond to comments do better.
Do you want to receive receipts? Julian’s analysis of the data is explained in detail. social media engagement Results from LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
Analysis
Julian applied the same approach across all platforms. Julian used a different method to compare engagement between accounts. fixed-effects regression models Comparing each account with itself in time is a good way to compare them. These models took account of factors including the location, size and niche.
This means that we have asked you:
“When this same account replies to comments, how does its engagement change compared to when it doesn’t?”
Also, he used Analysis of Z-score To measure the post’s performance relative to an account’s usual engagement. This gave us another check to make sure the boost we saw was not random. (If you’re interested — and want more cool graphs — check Julian’s full analyses on his blog here.)
Here are a couple of caveats to consider before you get started with the numbers.
- You can’t measure perfectly Cause and effect. It is possible that posts with high performance attract more comments (and thus more engagement), rather than vice versa.
- The sample sizes vary by platform, particularly for the newer platforms like Bluesky.
- This is what the results say Orientation evidence, not definitive truths — but the consistency across platforms is hard to ignore.
The big picture is important before diving in to each platform. Julian studied nearly 2,000,000 posts across 220,000 accounts. Across the board, social media posts with replied-to comments outperform those without — by anywhere from 5% to over 40%.
| The Platform | Engagement lift (vs. baseline) |
|---|---|
| Threads | +42% |
| The following are some of the most recent LinkedIn posts: | +30% |
| You can also Instagram | +21% |
| +9% | |
| Twitter/X | +8% |
| Bluesky | +5% |
We’ll look closer at each impact.
Threads
Numbers confirm that Threads’ platform is built upon conversations.
Threads came out on top with the most significant increase — a Engagement increases by 42% For posts in which the author has replied to comments.
Julian has analyzed the over 128,000 Threads posts and found that engagement wasn’t just slightly higher — it was dramatically higher for those with comment replies.
The Z-score, which measures relative performance across posts, while controlling for variations between accounts, shows that around The majority of the profiles had positive outcomes.
Threads, a sister platform to Instagram, has a pretty unique approach to replies — so, it’s no surprise that the platform’s design rewards active discussion. The platform’s design rewards active discussion. The same weight is given to replies as it is for posts.
“Elevating the reply to the same level as the original post allows for much more robust, diverse discourse,” Adam Mosseri is the head of Instagram. He said this in an Interview with The Verge. “Which is part of the reason we didn’t just try to shove this thing into the feed on Instagram or a separate tab.”
Threads’ original design was the inspiration for this feature, which Threads has embraced. Mosseri spoke about the importance of comments (on both your posts and other people’s) several times. This quotation from an interview with Platformer Summarize it:
“My advice is — and I think what a lot of people don’t realize, because a lot of people are coming over from Instagram — they don’t realize how important the reply game is. If you’re really trying to grow your presence, you should reply much more than you post. And the sum of all your replies is about as valuable as the sum of all the value of all your posts.”
Source: Threads: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, Buffer Data Blog.
The following are some of the most recent LinkedIn posts:
Suzanne had a point when she suggested spending time on LinkedIn. LinkedIn saw an increase in the number of professionals. strong 30% lift in engagement For posts that have been replied to.
Julian analysis LinkedIn has 72,000 posts Nearly 25 accounts, and the results were remarkably consistent — within the same account, posts with replied comments significantly outperformed those without.
This effect continued even after controlling for factors such as the number of comments received. The Z-score analyses shows that roughly 83% of profiles They responded in a way that made a difference.
Aside from your own LinkedIn posts, responding to comments has another advantage. You can also gain more followers by leaving a thoughtful comment in a popular post. This platform provides stats for the comments.
Bufferoo LinkedIn creates another creator. Simon HeatonRecently, he shared that a single comment racked up nearly the same number of impressions as his top performing post.
Source: LinkedIn: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, Buffer Data Blog2025
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Instagram has posts in which creators respond to comments. 21% higher engagement on average — even after controlling for whether the post had comments at all.
Julian’s Fixed-Effects Model compared with more than 700,000 Instagram Posts Around 68,000 profile I found a pattern that was clear:
“When creators engage back in their comments, their posts perform better relative to their own baseline,” He concluded.
The Z-score showed that comments with replies tend to score higher. Below is a list of the most recent posts. An account’s normal engagement level. Those without responses sat somewhat lower. Below is a list of the most recent posts.. Around 63% profiles Overall, the effects were positive.
Source: Instagram: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, The BlogOctober 2025
Facebook’s growth was smaller, but nonetheless significant. Facebook posts with replies saw a 7% increase. Increase of 9% in reaction ratesJulian’s model of fixed-effects regression.
It may sound modest but Facebook’s engagement pattern is broader and mature. It’s possible to see a small increase in engagement across all platforms. a million posts It is important.
Z-score analysis showed the same direction of effect — a slight but consistent bump for posts where creators engaged in the comments. The About Facebook Pages: 54% They perform better when they reply.
Source: Facebook: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, Buffer Data BlogOctober 2025
Twitter/X
The link between engagement and replying is subtler on X. Around an 8% lift in engagementJulian’s model of fixed-effects regression.
The effect of this analysis is different from the others. Only marginally significant (p ≈ 0.097, in data science terms). Julian’s dataset includes roughly 30 000 X-posts on 16,000 accountsBut only about There are 2,100 positions available. had comments that were replied to — a relatively small sample size.
Even so, it was clear that these data were in line with other platforms’ trends, as the Z-score analysis proved. Each account had a slight performance advantage over the average, as posts that received comments were about. 51 % of the accounts Showing positive results
It is worth noting that X offers multiple account tiers: Free, Basic, Premium, and Premium+, each of which has a unique algorithmic visibility. This is another of Julian’s recent studies It was found that premium subscribers get an average of 10% more views on their post.
The fixed-effects model accounts for this by comparing each profile to itself — meaning the 8% lift reflects the true within-account effect of replying, not the influence of account type or audience size.
Source: X: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, Buffer Data BlogNovember 2025
Bluesky
Bluesky’s data is just beginning. In the Out of 73,000 jobsThere are only a few around 5,000 Comments were responded to. Even in the smaller datasets, this trend was still evident: Posts with responses saw an increase. 5% engagement lift.
The effect was statistically significant but smaller than other platforms — likely due to the smaller sample size and the decentralized social platform’s newer, niche audience.
Z-score analysis showed a similar pattern. Posts with replies tended to be slightly above the normal engagement levels of each account.
Source: Bluesky: Engagement and Replies — Julian Winternheimer, Buffer Data BlogOctober 2025
Five major platforms have a pretty clear message: The engagement level of a person who replies to their comments increases.
This is one of my favorites Buffer data analyses to date. The simple act of engaging with those who have taken the time to interact with you can be beneficial. But it is not an engagement “hack.” It’s less about gaming the algorithm and more about being… human?
Although we cannot yet prove direct causality, these results are consistent across social networks of all kinds. This suggests that there is a behavioral impact.
On paper this advice seems simple, and I agree. Replying to all your comments as you grow can be really time-consuming — particularly if, like me, you’re actively creating across multiple platforms.
Buffer can help you. Free! We’ve just launched Community — a dashboard that pulls all your comments across platforms into a single place. You can also reply right there!
Another handy feature is the Comment Score — a habit-building feature to help motivate you. Comment Score helps you to make engagement on social media a habit by tracking your speed and consistency over time.
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