Facebook’s comment ranking system allows users to control the order in which comments appear on their posts. This feature gives users more control over the conversations happening on their page.
What is comment ranking?
Comment ranking refers to the order in which comments appear under a Facebook post. By default, comments appear chronologically, with the oldest comments at the top. However, Facebook allows page admins and post creators to change this default comment ranking.
With custom comment rankings, you can choose to display comments based on various factors, like prioritizing comments from friends or comments with lots of likes. This allows you to bump more relevant, interesting, or positive comments up to the top.
Why does Facebook have comment ranking?
Facebook introduced comment ranking to give users more control over the conversations on their posts. Here are some of the main reasons Facebook added this feature:
- Promote more relevant comments – Page admins can choose to prioritize comments that are most relevant to their post topic. This bumps comments with substance up to the top.
- Filter or demote irrelevant comments – Irrelevant, off-topic, or low-quality comments can be automatically ranked lower.
- Spotlight influencers and friends – Comments from verified profiles, friends, or influential accounts can be ranked at the top.
- Control negativity – Negative, abusive, or inappropriate comments can be automatically demoted to minimize their visibility.
- Reward engagement – Comments with lots of likes and replies can be ranked highly to showcase popularity.
In summary, custom comment ranking gives page owners and admins more influence over the tone, relevance, and quality of conversations on their posts.
How do I change comment ranking on Facebook?
Changing your comment ranking settings is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Go to your Facebook page and create a new post (or edit an existing one).
- Click on the 3 dots at the top right corner of your post.
- Select Edit Post.
- Scroll down and click on Comment Ranking.
- Choose your desired comment ranking:
- Chronological – Default setting. Shows comments in chronological order.
- Prioritize comments from friends of the post author – Ranks friends’ comments at the top.
- Prioritize comments from the post author’s Facebook friends – Ranks comments from your friends first.
- Prioritize comments with lots of likes – Ranks highly liked comments at the top.
- Prioritize comments with lots of replies – Ranks comments with the most discussion at the top.
That’s it! The selected comment ranking will now apply to that post.
Do I have to change the settings for every post?
No, you can set a default comment ranking that applies to all future posts:
- Go to your Facebook page.
- Click on Settings at the top.
- Select Default comment ranking.
- Choose your desired default ranking.
This default will automatically apply to new posts. You can still customize the ranking for individual posts if needed.
Can I moderate comments with rankings?
Yes, comment ranking is also useful for moderating conversations on your page. You have two options:
- De-prioritize comments from blocked users – This automatically ranks comments from users you’ve blocked lower.
- Prioritize comments I’ve replied to – Manually replying to certain comments will bump them up.
Using these settings strategically allows you to minimize visibility of unwanted comments and highlight engagement with top fans.
What’s the best comment ranking for Facebook pages?
There is no universally best comment ranking. The optimal setting depends on your goals and community.
Here are some top options to consider:
- Chronological – Works well for small, highly engaged communities who will self-moderate.
- Prioritize replies – Creates more dialogue by surfacing active discussion.
- Prioritize friends – Rewards your closest followers with visibility.
- Prioritize likes – Useful for larger pages to feature the most popular comments.
Test out different rankings and monitor engagement and tone. Optimize based on what creates the experience you want from commenters.
Does comment ranking work for Facebook groups?
Currently, custom comment ranking is only available for Facebook pages, not groups. Group admins cannot change the default chronological ranking.
However, group admins do have some options to moderate comments, such as:
- Deleting or hiding unwanted comments
- Banning or restricting abusive members
- Personally replying to highlight good comments
So while you can’t change the ranking, you can still influence the tone of discussions through active moderation.
Can I use comment ranking on Instagram?
No, Instagram does not offer custom comment ranking settings. On Instagram, comments always appear in chronological order.
The owner of the post can pin up to three comments to the top, but they cannot customize the order for all comments.
Instagram does allow you to:
- Delete or report unwanted comments
- Restrict abusive accounts
- Filter comments with keywords
So you have some moderation options, but not the full ranking control that Facebook pages provide.
Is comment ranking available on other social platforms?
A few other major social media platforms also provide some form of custom comment ranking, such as:
- YouTube – Video creators can set comments to sort by Newest First, Top Comments, or pinned comments.
- Reddit – Subreddit moderators can change comment sorting to Best, Top, New, Controversial, Old, and Q&A.
- Disqus – Website owners can change Disqus comment sorting to display newest, oldest, or highest rated comments first.
- Twitter – Tweets themselves can’t be sorted, but users can filter their feeds to see top tweets or latest tweets first.
So Facebook is not unique in offering comment ranking controls, though it provides among the most granular settings.
Pros and cons of custom comment ranking
Allowing page owners to customize comment ranking has both advantages and potential drawbacks:
Pros:
- Democratizes moderation and reduces admin workload
- Amplifies voices who add value and demotes irrelevant comments
- Keeps positive community tone and reduces negativity
- Encourages quality engagement by highlighting active discussions
Cons:
- Could be abused to silence dissenting opinions
- Reduces transparency and makes moderation less clear
- Controversial comments still appear, just lower ranked
- Doesn’t prevent trolls from posting in the first place
Page owners should use comment ranking judiciously. While it offers more control, it could backfire if people feel their comments are unfairly buried.
Tips for managing comment ranking
Here are some tips to use comment ranking most effectively:
- Explain your approach in your About section so it’s clear to users.
- Be thoughtful in how you define “priority” comments to avoid bias.
- Don’t automatically hide lower-ranked comments. Transparency is key.
- Check back regularly to ensure optimal sorting as new comments come in.
- Combine with email notifications for flagged comments so you see everything.
Used properly, comment ranking provides page owners with better tools to cultivate the types of discussions they want to see on their communities.
Conclusion
Facebook’s comment ranking settings empower page owners to shape conversations by controlling comment order. While no “one size fits all” ranking exists, matching rankings to your audience and goals allows maximizing positive engagement.
Keep in mind that comment ranking has pros and cons. Use these controls transparently and judiciously to enhance discussions, not limit speech. Test different options and optimize based on evidence of quality engagement.
With custom comment ranking, Facebook provides more ways for communities to guide conversations. This reflects an ongoing evolution across social media toward more tools for democratized moderation and curated interactions.