Introducing a Better Way to Engage With Your Instagram Audience

What if I told you engaging with your customers on Instagram can double or triple your revenue?

That’s exactly what happened to Southern Elegance Candle Co. as its founder and CEO D’Shawn Russell told us:

“Our social media makes us a lot of money… We went from doing maybe $20,000-30,000 a month just posting pretty images to well over a $100,000 a month now simply by engaging people more."

Russel and Southern Elegance Candle Co aren’t alone. Brands like Glossier (which attributes 70% of its growth to owned, earned, peer-to-peer, or organic channels), MadHappy, and Sass & Belle, focus on responding to almost every customer on Instagram.

Buffer's own research found that Instagram posts where creators replied to comments saw about 21% higher engagement on average.

So it can be incredibly powerful to focus on engagement. But how do you actually stay on top of every comment?

We have developed a solution that is truly focused on enabling you to build better relationships and a stronger brand on Instagram and all your social channels.

We are excited to share it’s available to all Buffer customers today!

(If you are not a Buffer customer yet, you can get started for free!)

Introducing Buffer Community

Every time an Instagram or other social media comment goes unanswered, an opportunity to create a lifelong customer is lost.

The problem?

Staying on top of these interactions is really hard.

Notifications from Instagram quickly disappear and important comments slip through the cracks. And we get why — no one has the time to hang out on Instagram 24/7. Your time is precious, and we’re here to help you win it back.

With this latest addition, you'll be able to reply to more comments, stay on top of important interactions, and turn your followers into fans. All from the comfort of your Buffer dashboard.

Never miss a comment

It’s really easy to miss new comments among the likes, follows, and mention notifications on Instagram. For most small business owners and marketers, this means checking Instagram regularly to keep a close eye on important comments.

We have experienced this ourselves with our own Instagram account and have heard the same from many customers. And that’s why our Community feature are built specifically to help you stay on top of all your comments from Instagram, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky.

There are all the benefits of community building and engagement but it’s also a huge time saver for me. I can’t tell you how helpful it has been.

Community makes sure every comment stays visible and actionable, so you can reply, engage, or turn ideas into content without ever losing track — no matter how many platforms or followers you have.

Prioritize important conversations

Notifications in Instagram are shown in a reverse-chronological order. So for most people you’ll see the latest notifications first and likely work your way through in the order they are displayed.

But the latest notification might not be the most important or urgent one to respond to. There could be a comment about a major issue with an order or a comment from an influencer asking about your products — hidden somehow in the middle of all your notifications. These are the comments you might want to prioritize.

Filtering in Buffer's Community is like having a smart assistant for your comments. Instead of scrolling endlessly or jumping between apps, you can quickly see which comments are unanswered, which are newest, or which need your immediate attention. It helps you focus on the conversations that really matter.

This way, you’re not just replying for the sake of it. You’re prioritizing questions, meaningful interactions, and opportunities to turn a comment into a fresh post. It keeps your engagement intentional, manageable, and way less stressful.

The fastest way to engage on Instagram

Time is one of the most important assets for small businesses. There are always so many things to do and so little time. We want to help small business owners and marketers take back their time so that they can work on other parts of their business and also contribute back to their communities.

That’s why we built Community, Buffer’s all-in-one engagement hub. Now you can see and reply to comments from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, and Bluesky in one workspace.

Comments stay visible until you act, notifications alert you to new interactions, and filters help you prioritize unanswered or high-impact conversations.

You can manually dismiss comments that don’t need replies, turn meaningful exchanges into new posts, and even track your consistency, reply speed, and response rate with Comment Score.

Build a lifetime audience

For many years, businesses have simply focused on publishing lots and lots of content. The ones that have been able to build a community of loyal following are those that understand our human instinct to connect and socialize.

While many businesses are not being super responsive on social media, this is an easy way to stand out from the crowd, impress your fans, and build a relationship.

If you have a Buffer dashboard, the Community function has been added to your account for free! Otherwise, we would love for you to try Buffer for free.

FAQs

Can I reply to Instagram comments directly from Buffer?

Yes, every comment on your Instagram posts appears in your Community tab, where you can reply, dismiss, or turn comments into new content without hopping back into the Instagram app.

Will Community show all my Instagram comments?

It will show every comment on posts published through your connected business profile. Comments stay visible until you reply or dismiss them.

Does Community help me catch comments I may have missed on Instagram?

Absolutely. Since everything funnels into one queue, you won’t lose comments in the noise of Instagram’s native notifications. You’ll see new comment alerts, filters for unanswered replies, and a tidy list of conversations waiting for your attention.

Can I turn Instagram comments into new posts?

You can! If someone asks a great question or sparks an idea, you can turn your reply — or their comment — into a brand-new Instagram post right from Community.

Does replying to Instagram comments really improve engagement?

Across millions of posts analyzed, replying to comments led to an average engagement boost of around 21% on Instagram. Community makes that easier by keeping everything in one place so you can reply consistently.

What if I get a lot of Instagram comments and can’t keep up?

Community offers filters, bulk actions, and (soon) smart triage to help you prioritize faster. Most active creators find that sorting by “Unanswered” or “Newest” helps them reply efficiently without feeling overwhelmed.

Will Community support Instagram mentions or tags?

Not yet — but @mentions support is coming soon. You’ll be able to see comments on posts where your Instagram account is tagged, even if you didn’t publish the original content.

Is Community free to use for Instagram?

Yes. With Buffer, you can manage comments across up to three social channels (including Instagram) completely free.