I’ve at all times handled developing with content material concepts as a little bit of a solo sport.
Most days, I’ll sit with my very own ideas, remix a format I’ve bookmarked, or scroll by means of outdated notes till one thing clicks. It really works, but it surely additionally retains me in my very own head.
In some unspecified time in the future, I spotted the most effective concepts aren’t at all times in my drafts. They’re within the conversations already taking place with the individuals studying my work. The primary time I examined that idea, I requested my neighborhood one easy, open-ended query and was blown away by the considerate, particular replies that was weeks of content material.
Extra not too long ago, I attempted it once more, this time by sharing a milestone about incomes $2,000 from LinkedIn model partnerships and alluring individuals to ask me something. The end result was a flood of tactical, no-fluff questions that grew to become the muse for an entire new wave of posts.
The shift from sitting alone with concepts to creating alongside my neighborhood is what satisfied me that the remark part is a goldmine for creativity. And now, with Buffer’s new Neighborhood characteristic, turning feedback into content material is simpler than ever.
On this put up, I’ll share what occurred in each experiments, the practices that made them work, and the way you should use Buffer Neighborhood to maintain the loop going — from reply to thought to put up.
What occurred once I first tried this
The primary time I ran this experiment, I stored it easy. As a substitute of brainstorming in isolation, I posted a single, open-ended query to my viewers:
“What’s a problem, second, or query you’ve confronted associated to non-public branding or profession development that you simply’d like to see me unpack in a put up?”
The replies lined extra floor than I anticipated. Some have been tactical, like staying constant whereas working full-time or pitching successfully. Others have been extra private, like balancing an organization model with your individual, or realizing if you’re “skilled sufficient” to show.
Every response sparked an thought for me. Some grew to become precious frameworks, and others was reflections that resonated with extra than simply the particular person I used to be responding to. And the most effective half? I didn’t should guess whether or not the subjects would land as a result of somebody had already advised me they mattered.
Wanting again, that experiment grew to become proof that if you ask a transparent, open-ended query, your remark part can develop into a pipeline of ready-made concepts, straight from the individuals you’re attempting to achieve.
The latest experiment
After I tried the experiment once more, I approached it otherwise. As a substitute of asking a broad query, I shared a milestone on Threads and LinkedIn: incomes $2,000 from LinkedIn model partnerships this 12 months. Then I added a easy immediate — “Ask me something.”
The response was rapid and particular. Over 30 feedback got here in, starting from seasoned entrepreneurs interested by workflows to newer creators determining their first steps. The questions weren’t imprecise — they have been focused, tactical, and sensible:
- What number of of those partnerships got here from pitching vs inbound leads?
- How a lot time does a typical model partnership take from pitch to publish?
- What dimension following did you’ve got earlier than manufacturers began reaching out?
- What errors ought to somebody keep away from when attempting to monetize on LinkedIn?
- How would you place your self should you needed to begin from scratch at the moment?
Some replies opened the door to deeper sources — one particular person requested for my precise LinkedIn pitching playbook, whereas others wished a breakdown of metrics and positioning. What struck me most this time was how targeted the questions have been.
Individuals weren’t simply asking to interact or as a result of I requested them to; they have been asking particular questions that had a transparent throughline to their subsequent alternative.
This realization unlocked the second lesson of this method: if you floor an experiment in one thing concrete to you (like a milestone or knowledge level) and precious to the viewers (a possible alternative), the standard of responses will increase exponentially.
Each experiments proved one thing vital: your finest concepts are hiding within the feedback. However managing these conversations throughout platforms will be messy. Notifications slip by, threads get buried, and nice questions danger being misplaced. That’s precisely the issue we constructed Neighborhood to unravel.
With Neighborhood, each remark from Threads, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Fb, and Instagram comes into one calm area. So as an alternative of chasing engagement throughout a number of feeds, you possibly can give attention to offering the most effective responses.
Right here’s the way it makes the workflow simpler:
- By no means miss a reply: Notifications and filters imply you possibly can see unanswered, latest, or oldest feedback at a look. No extra questioning should you forgot to reply.
- Flip feedback into content material immediately: With the power to create a put up proper within the feedback, your exchanges develop into drafts you possibly can publish.
- Spot the themes sooner: Insights allow you to use AI to spotlight patterns, so that you don’t miss alerts of what subjects your viewers collectively cares about.
- Keep constant with out burning out: Neat options like Remark Rating assist hold consistency up with a transparent visible marker, whereas Saved Replies assist with effectivity whereas retaining your voice genuine.
- Work the best way you need to: Whether or not you favor replying natively or straight inside Buffer, on desktop or cell, the workflow bends to you.
As a substitute of juggling 30+ feedback on LinkedIn whereas attempting to maintain observe of those price turning into posts, I had a devoted area that made certain nothing slipped by means of the cracks.
Neighborhood is now my favourite calm area to pay attention, reply, and hold the loop going from remark to content material.
You don’t want an enormous viewers or a viral put up to make this give you the results you want. You simply want a transparent theme, an excellent query, and a system to maintain observe of the responses. Listed below are a couple of practices that make the method simpler — and the way Buffer’s Neighborhood characteristic helps at every stage:
- Decide a day and a theme: Select one in every of your content material pillars and put aside a day to put up an open-ended query about it. As a substitute of overthinking, simply present that you simply’re listening. Instruments like Neighborhood make this smoother by pulling all of the replies into one place, so you possibly can observe the thread with out context switching.
- Ask a query about your neighborhood, not your self: The framing issues. As a substitute of “what ought to I write about?” ask one thing like “What’s a problem you’re dealing with round [topic] that you simply’d like to see unpacked in a put up?” Neighborhood helps by notifying you when somebody solutions, so that you by no means miss a response.
- Reply within the feedback: Have interaction in actual time. Ask clarifying questions and mirror on what you’re listening to. Even should you don’t have the “excellent” reply, your trustworthy perspective provides worth.
- Search for overlap in questions: When a number of individuals floor the identical problem, or when one reply clearly resonates with others within the remark part, that’s a sign for a profitable put up. Neighborhood’s AI-powered Remark Insights surfaces these themes so you possibly can spot patterns sooner.
- Flip replies into content material (and credit score them!): Feedback (yours and your viewers’s) should not simply keep feedback. Flip them into posts, frameworks, or reflections and provides credit score to the individuals who sparked them. In Neighborhood, you possibly can create a put up from a remark characteristic, making this a one-click course of.
- Don’t attempt to reply every part directly: Zoom in on one piece of a query and save the remaining for later. Neighborhood and the complete Buffer ecosystem make it simple to clear resolved feedback, hold a backlog of concepts, and return if you’re prepared.
Even should you don’t use each reply immediately, storing them in a single place ensures you’re by no means ranging from scratch. As a substitute of forcing concepts alone, you’ve bought a working checklist of prompts, straight out of your viewers.
Each occasions I ran this experiment, I walked away with extra content material concepts than I might have brainstormed by myself. The primary time, it confirmed me that considerate questions spark considerate replies. The second time, it proved that anchoring a dialog in one thing concrete — like a milestone — results in tactical, actionable insights I might flip into posts.
The larger lesson is straightforward: your subsequent thought is already ready in your viewers. The problem is maintaining with the circulation of feedback, replies, and conversations throughout completely different platforms.
That’s the place Buffer’s new Neighborhood characteristic is available in. It creates one calm area for each remark — so you possibly can pay attention extra deeply, reply extra constantly, and switch the most effective conversations into your subsequent wave of content material.
As a result of feedback don’t simply deserve replies. They should spark what comes subsequent.
👉 Attempt Neighborhood free at the moment in Buffer — obtainable for Threads, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Fb, and Instagram.
