by Thomas Noh, founder of Sociable AI
Most small brands still treat social media like a posting competition. Make more posts. Design better graphics. Write cleaner captions. Cross your fingers and hope the algorithm feels generous.
I understand. Posting still matters. But if you’re a small business, startup, or young founder trying to maximize a limited budget, there’s a cheaper and often smarter growth solution right under your nose: the comments section.
It almost seems too simple, which is probably why so many companies don’t use it.
But social networks have changed. Feeds are increasingly driven by algorithms, not relationships, and comment threads have become shared public spaces where people react, joke, debate, and decide what’s newsworthy. In other words, attention no longer resides only in the message. A large part lives below.
This is important because small brands don’t always need to create the moment. Sometimes they just need to show up in the right way.
Research on this topic indicates that 41% of brands already engage through outbound comments, meaning they participate in conversations outside of their own pages, often in real-time and in fast-moving public threads. This isn’t random online banter. It’s a visibility strategy.
And for small businesses, this can be very effective.
A good comment can introduce your brand to an already attentive audience. No media buys. No production schedule. No elaborate campaign deck. Just timing, judgment and a voice that fits the part.
The problem is that not all branded comments work.
People are surprisingly good at spotting when a company is trying too hard. If a comment seems forced, promotional, or strangely untrue, it does more harm than good. The same research found that relativity is the strongest predictor of brand favorability, and that acceptance trumps intrusion when people decide whether a brand belongs in a conversation.
It’s a useful rule for any entrepreneur: don’t try to distract from the present moment. Try to belong there.
So what does this look like in practice?
First, speak like a person. Not like a legally licensed robot wearing sneakers. The strongest commenting strategies tend to use a human, conversational tone and pay close attention to context, audience norms, and timing. If your brand never comes across as naturally sarcastic, don’t suddenly become the class clown because a trend gains traction.
Second, act early. Timing is a more important advantage than polish. In our own experience, a brand averaged around 200 likes per comment, and when a post really takes off, a big comment can quietly gain massive reach, as a significant portion of viewers check the comments after watching. A fun, timely response can outperform a week of carefully planned posts.
Third, think like a participant, not a presenter. The best brands in comments sections aren’t trying to “win social media.” They add something to an already lively conversation. Sometimes that means humor. Sometimes that means insight. Sometimes that just means looking awake and present.
I’ve seen how powerful it can be when the fit is right. Best example: a simple branded comment on an upwardly extracted video 62,109 likes because it felt natural for the moment and fit the tone people were already using. This is the kind of outcome that is considered luck, but it’s usually not just luck. It’s relevance, speed and restraint working together.
A light-hearted video about a creator’s father went viral after Buoy commented, “You act like we’re friends 💀,” sparking huge engagement.
The biggest lesson here isn’t really about comments. It is about where small brands should focus.
Too many businesses still spend all their energy trying to attract attention from scratch. Meanwhile, the Internet is full of existing conversations, existing audiences and existing momentum. For a small team, this is good news. You don’t always need to be stronger. You need to be more present where attention already exists.
If you’re a startup founder, solo marketer, or small business owner, remember this the next time your content calendar starts to feel like a full-time job.
Your next growth opportunity may not be the next publication.
Maybe that will be the next comment.
Thomas Noh is the founder of Sociable AIwhere he focuses on how brands gain visibility through timely, human participation in online conversations. He writes about startup growth, community engagement, and practical ways small teams can compete without behaving like large companies.
