Your Brand’s Comment Strategy is Blending in—Here’s How to Stand Out

It’s hard enough as it is to stand out online. Lately, there’s been a lot of conversation about community engagement, specifically proactive engagement. Social isn’t just about the content you post anymore. It’s about where you show up and how you participate.

Brands have figured out that commenting on viral posts is a shortcut to visibility. At first, it was fun. Seeing your favorite brands flex their personality in the comments felt fresh and entertaining. But now that everyone is doing it, the novelty has worn off.

Engagement is starting to feel repetitive, forced, and maybe even a little cringey.

But let’s be clear: brands should be in the comments. The real question isn’t whether to engage, it’s how to do it in a way that actually contributes to the conversation. And that doesn’t mean only chiming in when something directly relates to your brand. Community building doesn’t work like that. Like any individual trying to grow a presence online, brands need to be intentional about where and how they engage. When you try to talk to everyone, you end up talking to no one. And if your contribution to a conversation is just “yasssss,” what’s the point?

So, think of this as a reset. A chance to step back and be more intentional about how your brand shows up in the comments, because engagement isn’t just another box to check.

The Overload Problem: When Every Comment Feels the Same

Brands have flooded the comment sections of viral videos, and it’s leading to a new kind of content fatigue. We’re no longer just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of posts, we’re now drowning in repetitive, low-effort brand engagement.

You’ve seen it firsthand. You’re scrolling through TikTok, spot a video with sky-high engagement, and check the comments because, let’s be honest, the real entertainment is often there. But instead of sharp, original takes, you see 20 brands saying the same thing with a slightly different twist.

The problem is that it’s predictable. What started as clever brand engagement has turned into a copy-paste playbook.

Nowhere is this more obvious than on TikTok, where brands bend over backward trying to sound Gen Z. The result is forced relatability that reads as try-hard. And when it feels forced, it flops.

It’s one thing to have a distinct brand voice. It’s another to force an identity that doesn’t fit. We all know proper punctuation is out, but does a tax services brand really need to comment in Gen Z lingo? Having a personality doesn’t mean being unhinged. The best engagement isn’t about jumping on a trend just because it’s trending, it’s about knowing when and how to show up in a way that actually makes sense for your brand.

How We Got Here: From Clever to Copy-Paste

At some point, every social media team has had this conversation: "How do we sound more like Duolingo?"

Ask a social media marketer which brands they respect, and you’ll hear the same names—Duolingo, Ryanair, Wendy’s. These brands rewrote the rules for how companies engage online. They moved away from the sterile, corporate tone that once dominated brand social and leaned into humor, unpredictability, and personality.

Naturally, other brands wanted in. But instead of adapting the approach to fit their own identity, many defaulted to imitation. The lesson became: be chaotic, be unhinged, speak in lowercase, make absurd jokes.

The result? A wave of brands all sounding exactly the same.

The Duolingo owl “death” post was a tipping point. When every brand flooded the comments trying to outdo each other, it didn’t feel relatable, it felt excessive.

And this is the real problem—chasing trends instead of shaping them.

When 50+ companies jump into the same viral moment, it stops feeling fresh and starts feeling formulaic. What was once a way to stand out has now become the quickest way to blend in.

The unhinged, Gen Z-coded approach was never the secret sauce. The real differentiator was having a distinct voice, and when that gets lost, the comments become just another overcrowded marketing channel.

When Commenting Works vs. When It Doesn’t

Not every post is an invitation. Social media managers need to know when to engage and when to sit one out. Just because a video is viral doesn’t mean your brand belongs in the comments. Intentionality is everything.

We’re not saying don’t proactively engage. You should. But the key is knowing when it works and when it doesn’t.

When It Works: You’re Invited In

People love when brands engage when it feels natural. The best community engagement is reactive, not intrusive. Creators like @acquiredstyle and @notnataliejbenson actively ask brands to comment. When a brand steps in, it’s a two-way exchange:

• The brand gets organic reach without forcing its way into the conversation.
• The creator gets engagement and clout without feeling like their content was hijacked.

This is what good engagement looks like. It’s not just about visibility, it’s about participation.

When It Doesn’t: You Force Your Way In

Where things go wrong is when brands jump into viral moments uninvited. We’re in an era where people are hyper-aware of marketing plays, and forced engagement feels more like a stunt than a conversation.

The worst offenders? Brands with millions of followers competing with individual users for attention, dominating top comments, and making the space feel less personal. When engagement starts to feel performative instead of participatory, that’s when audiences tune out.

At a certain point, it’s not engagement—it’s just noise.

Engage Better: How to Stand Out Without Being Annoying

The question isn’t whether brands should engage, it’s how they can do it without becoming part of the noise. Here’s what actually works.

1. Comment With Intent—Not Just for Visibility

• Before jumping into a conversation, ask:
  • Does this add something to the conversation?
  • Does this fit with our brand voice?
  • Would we say this if there were no likes or visibility at stake?
• If the answer is no, sit it out. Engagement for engagement’s sake isn’t a strategy.

2. Read the Room

• If the comments are already full of brands, maybe sit this one out.
• Sometimes, silence is a better strategy than forced participation.

3. Find Your Own Tone

• Not every brand needs to be Gen Z unhinged.
• The best brands stand out by leaning into their own personality, not mimicking everyone else.

4. Track What Works and What Doesn’t

• Likes on a comment don’t automatically mean good engagement. If a comment gets 10,000 likes but no responses, it’s just empty engagement.
• Pay attention to impact. Are people responding? Are they mentioning your brand later?
• Use tools like Plot to track outbound engagement and measure what’s working over time.

To Win: Don’t just show up often, but show up smarter

The brands that win aren’t just present. They engage with purpose. They add value. They understand that visibility alone doesn’t make an impact. Resonance does.

So take the pressure off commenting just because everyone else is. Instead, focus on showing up in a way that makes people remember you.

If your goal is to stand out, copying others is the last thing you should be doing.

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