This post was inspired by @acidyo’s question What's your comment to post ratio like?
I thought it was rather interesting and wanted to know what mine was. With 14,000 comments and 550 posts mine averaged out to be 1:25 meaning 25x more comments than posts. If you’d like to know more about this and how to find out your ratio please visit his post.
There were quite a few people in the comment section responding that they wanted to improve on their comments and engagement. It was nice seeing that people wanted to make more of an effort to connect with others.
So why don’t they just do it?
There could be multiple reasons why, one being that they may not have figured out a strategy that works with their schedule. Another could be they struggle with finding the words to say to make their comments meaningful and genuine.
Everyone has different levels of comfort when it comes to communication. For some it’s easy peasy and comes out naturally while for others it may take some extra effort.
I thought it would be a good idea to expand on this and come together as a community to help each other out.
For those of you who have figured out a way to publish content and comment on a regular basis your input would be greatly appreciated here. This includes responding to comments on your posts as well as commenting on other’s posts.
I will start with sharing my own strategies:
I publish my posts in the mornings right before my kids awake and it’s time to get ready for the day. Some days are slower than others and I might have time to respond right away but most of the time I respond to comments during my breaks. If I don’t get to them on my breaks I’m reading and commenting back after dinner.
I really don’t like getting so far behind on replying to comments. When this happens I end up missing some that I totally forgot were there 🤦🏽♀️. To help with this I decided not to publish a new post until all the remarks have been answered on my previous one.
This has really helped me keep up better. Of course I still fail at times and may miss some in between but my goal is to always try my best to get back to them as soon as I can.
If I don’t have the time to respond or can’t find the words to say I will upvote a comment to acknowledge I have received it and show my appreciation for their time and attention to my post.
I go by one general rule when commenting on other’s posts and that is:
Comment how I would want others to comment on mine.
One of my biggest pet peeves when reading comments is when it’s clearly obvious a person didn’t read a lick of the post. Maybe they read just the title and tried to find a way to comment that would make sense but it still doesn’t. 🤨
If I am commenting on your post that means I have read your entire article and am clear on what the article is about in order to make a relevant response. Putting thought and effort into your response really stands out. Authors can easily tell those who really enjoyed and appreciated their work by the feedback they provide.
I manual upvote everything so sometimes when going through my feed I’ll upvote posts from the authors I’m following and then come back later when I have time to read and leave a comment. If I can’t find the words to say that I think would be supportive and beneficial I’ll just leave it at an upvote.
IMHO it’s better to not comment at all instead of leaving no effort generic responses that will only get ignored by authors anyway. If you think a post is great please don’t just respond “Great!” How about give a reason or two why you thought the post was great so your comment won’t be mistaken for spam but instead be valuable feedback for the author ;)
I’ve talked enough. Now it’s time for you to share your comment strategies if you will!
Mine is simple, I always post my comment on the posts that care to come to my posts too. Would you believe that I have noticed that people post just one comment on newbies and then forget them? But I keep my favorites in my favorite feed and answer their posts.
To be totally transparent and honest yes, I do believe that because I am one that needs improvement on that aspect. I thank you for bringing this point up.
I always have intentions on keeping up with new folks I meet and checking in on their posts. It helps when I’m out curating and intentionally looking for newer users to nominate but I do want to get in a better habit of taking extra time to browse through my comment section and visit newbies I have interacted with.
On the flip side of that I do want to share something from my beginning experiences. I approached it exactly as you are doing at first. But then I realized that if everyone had the same approach as me, none would comment on each other’s posts because we all would be waiting for comments to come. Instead I just put myself out there and started visiting all sorts of authors and eventually start making connections and meeting like minded people where the support became a mutual enjoyment and not even a second thought.
Your comment just inspired me to try something. Thanks again for it ~ 😊
@crosheille You're most welcome. I am active on this site for the last 5 months (I joined in September last year though) I have so far posted 2000 comments and received almost the same. I am not a new user of the web but online on various sites for more than a decade and believe in interaction because I believe that my comments work as backlinks for me. Thank you!
It's good to hear you have received a nice amount of comments.
To be frank, I only post comments on posters that believe in interaction. Thanks for response :)
I definitely understand ;)
I always say if someone expects support and interaction then it only makes sense for them to also give support and interact as well.
So nice of you :) 🎉
And some people are surprised why there were/are literally hundreds of thousands of disappointed users. Why they left the platform over the years. It is simple. Because of the general lack of real human engagement. But if I write this, then some people say that I am complaining, but I am obviously not. This is a clear fact about this platform. The truth.
It's not a matter of complaining or ranting but the fact is people do not write comments because they believe this is not an earning feature so why waste time. I always comment back on comments which are aimed at me.
Woah. I honestly didn't even think that commenting strategy exists! Haha I thought it's natural that people leave comments after reading the entire post or if they enjoyed the post. 😅
And I agree with you when you said that it's nice to leave the type of comments that we would also like receiving from others.
It should be natural. At least that is how a proper social network works.
You'd be surprised @herkeepsake. Everyone's not a social bug so for some this type of socializing is more work because they literally have to work at their responses. I have people in my family that struggle at gatherings because they just don't know how to start conversations or engage with the ones already going on around them.
But I was mostly looking for time management ideas and ways to fit in time to comment as well as ideas to help others be more engaging.
Yes, I always go by that general rule. Thanks so much for chiming in ~ 😉
For mine, I stay away from the topics that I am not interested in or might as well not be able to have a proper conversation with the author.
I would agree with you about not leaving a comment if a generic response will be given as it doesn't add value to the original post especially if I do not know the content creator personally.
That makes sense. Comments and conversations usually come easier when you’re already interested in the topic.
Exactly! Thanks for adding your input and providing feedback ~
Looks like I make an average of twenty comments for every post.
I guess strategies for commenting depend on what you want to achieve and things like whether you have a role in a community. For myself, I'm interested in engaging with like-minded people and building a network of friends; when I'm looking after a community role, I like everyone to feel welcome and enjoy being part of the community.
That's a great average!! 😍
Very true and good point. Thanks for sharing this. You have always been great at making people feel welcome and included, I appreciate that about you. ❤️
I comment ten times more than I publish myself. The main thing for me is that the post is sincere.
OCD I try to skip it
That's a great ratio @bammbuss!
Could you elaborate more on the OCD part? I don’t quite understand what you meant or about what you are referring to. My assumption is you are speaking of posts published in the OCD community.
Great post! haha no just kidding, I honestly haven't thought about my post to comment ratio, but it is an interesting metric to measure how I actually engage with the community.
Hahaha good one! Let's just be glad I kept reading further. 😂
Yes it is very interesting. Have you checked yours yet? I think it’s nice for everyone to know what their engagement looks like.
I also do this once in a while. Although my upvote does not have a huge impact on the rewards I think it will leave an impression to the author that they are doing a good job.
That’s great you do this too @afterglow! I felt the same way about my vote (and still wish it was way more but I’m working towards that) but knew it would still show the author that I am supporting their content.
Thanks for adding your input ~
You're always welcome @crosheille
You're welcome
I too working on this one, so that I can help more.
😉
I try to add information, humor and share ideas in my comments.
For example: It officially takes 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Well, at least according to engineering students' scientific endeavor at Purdue University, who used a proprietary "licking machine" rather than a human tongue. ( https://tootsie.com/howmanylick-experiments )
And this is the best licking machine youtube I could find because, yes I wanted to know what a proprietary "licking machine" looked like. ( Safe for work ):
I like to do this as well :)
Thanks for sharing that tootsie pop info. It was pretty cool seeing that licking machine.
Thank you. I learned so much just now I need a nap.
Ever since I got here I'm so nervous to click reply. My all-time low engagement level is a direct reflection. Somewhere between these butterflies and rapid heart beat I FREEZE!
💖
It's what I do best, put people to sleep. Enjoy your nap! 😄
YOU, butterflies? Rapid heartbeat? I wouldn't even guessed it. To be honest I sometimes break out in a sweat before I hit the publish button. I am always hoping people correctly perceive what I'm trying to say. 😬😵💫😓
Hard to expect you take me seriously at this point but there hasn't been one article I've published ever that didn't involve sweaty palms pre post button click—fact.
Your content's always so refreshing. Hey, really! I'm still being serious.
I believe you. It's actually nice to know I'm not alone and crazy (not calling you crazy but this justifies I'm just a normal person).
I really appreciate that - fact! Thank you so much. You already know how I feel about your posts, that's why I am now frequently in your comment section. 😄
I don't get much comments on my posts but I hope to..
Hi @milezofplay. I see you just joined this month but already commenting on other's posts and being active. I encourage you to continue in that direction and hopefully soon more will come to visit you and comment on your posts as well :)
Thanks for reading and commenting here ~
Hola, normalmente dejo comentarios en post de mi interes o los que me recuerda alguna vivencia personal, en esos me inspiro.
No he revisado la cantida de comentarios que he recibido y dejado a otros, tendre que hacerlo para saber la relación aunque trato de mantenerme activa diariamente pero es cierto que a veces leo publicaciones que no encuentro que comentar entonces solo la voto.
Hello @beysyd. It's great to hear that you are staying active and making comments on posts :)
I appreciate you reading and responding to my article, thank you ~
Eso trato de hacer diariamente, soy relativamente nueva, abri mi cuenta en hive en mayo.
Revise los comentarios que he dejado y me han dejado y tengo 400 y 400, después de leer los comentarios en tu post creo que son pocos.
Well you're just starting out so it can only get better. I think the more comfortable and familiar you get with the platform that number will grow in no time ;)
Do it naturally, genuinely, honestly, as a proper social network should be used.
Yes, yes and yes! Well put! Thanks for adding your insight ~
It's really a great idea I think it's a best way of communicating and also sharing ideas
I certainly agree. I have learned so much and gained ideas from other’s comments ;)
Thanks for chiming in ~
One of the most important approach of HIVE is that it is a social media so you definitely have to handle it likrvthsg , drop some comments is part of it so the best way to do it it's the way you find more appropriate, finding content that fits with you is helpful cuz it will be easier to come up with the right words, it's not a good idea to comment something that you didn't understand or like
Thanks for the highlight ☺️
Yes, I agree that commenting on content you already understand will definitely be easier and come more naturally. I usually asks questions when I comment on the ones I’m not quite familiar with 😄.
Thanks for your input ~