You want to reply to comments on Facebook dark post? Are you curious about these posts and where they can be found?
We will share all you need to know about Facebook dark posts so that you can manage them immediately! hbspt.forms.create({ region: “na1”, portalId: “8477337”, formId: “e8749a20-cfed-4e1d-9d89-c045476699fb”>
If you are a veteran Facebook administrator and manage an active page for your client or business, you will probably be able to respond to comments on organic posts.
How quick can you respond to comments about your unpublished posts (i.e. Facebook dark posts) These posts don’t appear on your Facebook page, but they do show up in the news feeds of users when they create Facebook ads.
What are Facebook Dark Posts?
Let’s first address a common misconception. Dark posts and dark social media are not the same thing. They are both far less sinister than what you might think.
Dark social refers to when users share a link to your website content privately via email, text, or messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger. Analytics tools such as Google Analytics are unable to accurately detect these shares, so they are “dark.” Analytics tools usually attribute the source channel.
Dark posts are sponsored content on social media that isn’t made public. They are promoted posts that only the targeted audience can see. This makes them “dark” for everyone else. They look much like regular news feed content, except that they include a Sponsored tag at top of each post.
How to create Facebook dark posts
Facebook dark posts are ads you publish in Facebook Ads Manager. These ads can be created by going to Ads Manager and opening an ad account for your company. To create an ad campaign, click on the green Create button.
You can choose from any of the six Facebook campaign objectives available: Awareness, Traffic and Engagement, Leads, Sales, and App Promotion. You can’t sponsor an existing post. However, you can create a dark post.
To promote your dark post to your target audience, publish the campaign
Tips to Create a Facebook Ad Campaign
How to find dark Facebook posts
Your page’s news feed won’t show active dark posts. Ads Manager is the best place to locate dark posts on your page. All active ads can be viewed in the Ads tab.
You can find dark posts from other organizations by visiting their Facebook page. Scroll down until the Page Transparency section is visible and then click on the See More link.
Scroll down to the bottom of this Page Transparency popup. You’ll find a notification in the Ads From This Page section that indicates whether the page is currently hosting ads.
To view all the ads on the page, click the Go to Ad Library link. You can then click on any example in the ad gallery to view the dark post’s appearance in the target audience’s news feed, including the messaging, creative and call-to-action.
Comment on Facebook Dark Posts: Why you shouldn’t ignore them
There are many ways to respond to organic Facebook comments. How you handle engagement will depend on the goals of your company’s social media, the size of your staff, and how many comments your page gets.
If trust building and responsiveness are important goals for your company, you can respond to all organic comments within hours. If you receive a lot of comments on your page that aren’t relevant to individual replies, you might only respond to genuine questions and engagements that appear within a few hours after publication.
You also need to have a plan for responding in the news feed to comments. Facebook dark posts function just like any other post on the news feed. This means that your target audience can respond to them or make comments. You can also view the comments left by others and make your own decisions.
It is almost impossible to ignore these comments.
You miss out on positive comments if you don’t respond to them
Collect customer testimonials. Share positive feedback with clients or teammates. Build stronger relationships with customers.
Negative comments on dark posts can lead to more serious consequences, such as:
Your prospects may not be able to access the customer service they need.
Exemplary of what happens if you ignore comments in a Facebook dark post
The Quantic School for Business and Technology dark post below has over 40 comments, but the page has not moderated any.
Many of the comments contain offensive memes. They have nothing to do with the post and are not worthy of a reply. The page should at most hide or delete comments as they are extremely off-putting for any student interested in the degree program.
One of the comments, however, is a question from potential students. The commenter wants social proof, which the ad does not provide. The page can respond to this comment and potentially convert other students.
The page ignored all comments and missed an opportunity to provide customer support while allowing negative reactions to take over the post. The organization could have negated all of the hard work involved in creating the Facebook ads campaign by ignoring all comments.
What would you think if you saw an advertisement on your newsfeed? How would that make you feel?
Would you click less on an ad to find out more?
(This is what I believed.)
It’s crazy to think about, but an ad that you spend money on can cause more brand damage than good if it isn’t responded to in a few minutes each day on Facebook dark posts.
What does it look like to effectively monitor Facebook comments?
Let’s look at some brands who are setting an example.
Here are some examples of how to successfully monitor Facebook dark posts comments
Over a dozen people have commented on the Magic dark post. Many of these comments are from prospects who want more information than they can find by clicking on the advertisement.
The page has replied to each individual, and shared a link to help them start. The page can quickly respond to each customer by using a saved reply.
Below is a list of over 250 comments on the Apollo Neuroscience dark post. These comments cover a wide range of topics. Some ask about delivery times, while others want to know about product features.
Others express excitement at receiving their order and provide social proof. Most comments were answered by the page, which took advantage of many opportunities to offer customer service, repeat benefits, and build relationships.
The page hasn’t responded to all comments regarding this post. Instead, the brand left some comments unanswered, allowing customers to share their experiences using the product. This allows these customers to speak for the page.
How to manage Facebook Dark Post Comments
You are well aware of the dangers of not responding to comments on Facebook dark posts and the benefits of doing so efficiently.
How can you manage them without going crazy?
You might not have to log out of Facebook in some instances to manage dark comments. Native ad comments management might be a solution for you if you meet these three criteria.
You are responsible for managing dark posts on one Facebook Page.
You can then go one-by-one and address all comments in your ads.
It is possible to track dark post comments on Facebook if you have multiple Facebook Pages or run multiple ads at once. You’re better off using a third party tool. Which one is best for you and your team?
Let’s look at the various options. These are the top ways to deal with dark comments without compromising your Facebook ads investment.
1. Facebook Creator Studio and Business Manager
Facebook Business Manager and Creator Studio both have inbox tools that automatically collect dark comment comments. We’ll compare them because they are so similar.
Navigate to the Facebook page of your company using Facebook Business Manager or Creator Studios. Select Facebook comments by clicking on the Inbox tab.
This feed shows all comments made to your sponsored and organic content. Facebook automatically aggregates comments per article. This means that you can click on any item to see and respond to all engagement related to a single post.
The pros and cons of Facebook Creator Studio or Business Manager
Both Creator Studio and Business Manager are native tools that give you full access to all Facebook reactions. This means that you can react to user comments with like, love and other reactions. You can also mark items in your inbox for follow-up, or save replies to quickly respond.
Cons of using Facebook Creator Studio or Facebook Business Manager
Both tools show the Most Relevant comments feed for each post. This makes it easy to overlook new comments on dark posts. To view all comments, you will need to click All Comments. However, there may be glitches in Creator Studio and Business Manager that prevent you from seeing all of the engagement.
Neither tool can sort comments chronologically nor offer reliable filtering options. It may display the most popular threads of comment, but make it harder to find new engagement.
Business Manager and Creator Studio do not reliably mark reviewed comments as read. This means that you might continue to receive new engagements in your inbox, even if you have already replied.
2. Facebook Ads Manager
Ads Manager is used primarily to create, monitor, and report on Facebook campaigns. Ads Manager also allows you to access dark post comments.
Select your company’s ad account and open Ads Manager. Select the campaign that you wish to monitor, then click View Charts.
Select any ad you wish to view from the left-hand list and click the three dots at the upper right. Select More Options from the dropdown menu and then Manage Facebook comments.
Ads Manager opens the post in a separate tab. Here you can review and respond to the comments.
Facebook Ads Manager: The pros
You can choose the exact ad that you wish to moderate. This allows you to review each dark post one-by-one, and then reply to any comments. Facebook gives you access to all the native reactions. This allows you to express emotion or get creative.
Cons of Facebook Ads Manager
Ads Manager is slow and takes a lot time to find comments. There’s no way to organize or collect the engagements.
Ads Manager does not connect to your page’s email inbox. This means that you cannot use tools such as saved replies and follow-up flags to help you work more efficiently. Notifications for new comments won’t be sent to your page, so you can’t see when dark posts have received new engagement.
Related: How to start with Facebook Ads and more expert advice from the Digital Gal
3. Hootsuite
Hootsuite does not offer strong support for Facebook Ads comments. However, if Hootsuite is your social media management tool, you may be able to use this tool to manage dark post comments.
Similar to Ads Manager the process of finding dark post comments in Hootsuite can be a bit confusing. You won’t automatically see dark post comments even if you have created a board on your Facebook page and set up a stream to encourage engagement.
You will need to create a new stream in your dashboard. Select your Facebook page and click the Add a stream button. Next, choose Unpublished from the available stream options.
You can now view all of your Facebook dark posts chronologically. Each individual news feed ad can be viewed and replied to by you.
You can also create an activity stream that aggregates all of your Facebook page activity. An activity stream can be useful if you receive a lot of comments. It will help you keep track and moderate the engagement.
It could also slow you down because the activity feed includes all information, from comments to page posts.
Hootsuite’s pros and cons
For tracking engagement on dark posts, you can create a separate feed. You can quickly see the number of comments and reactions to each post by scrolling down.
Cons of Hootsuite
Hootsuite does not offer dark post functionality. This means that you won’t receive notifications about new engagements.
You might not find the tool compatible with your workflow if your page receives a lot of comments. Hootsuite is limited in its filtering options so it can be difficult to reduce activity to a manageable level.
Hootsuite costs a monthly fee and is not available as a Facebook tool. Hootsuite pricing starts at $49 per monthly
4. Sprout Social
Sprout Social supports Facebook ad comments. Connect your Facebook Page and Facebook Ad account to Sprout Social in order for the tool to correctly track dark posts.
Navigate to the Sprout Social Inbox to locate your dark post comments. Sprout Social automatically collects all comments and messages from any social media site you monitor into one Smart Inbox.
To avoid searching through the Smart Inbox each time you need to find a dark comment, you can create your own filters. Select Filter and click Ad Comments. Finally, check the box next your Facebook Page.
After applying the filter, all Facebook Ad comments will be displayed in chronological order. To view the original comment and to read all comments, click the View Conversation button. Each comment can be tagged or attached with internal notes.
Sprout Social allows you to create custom inboxes that are able to store your Facebook Ad comments. This saves time. This allows you to see all comments from dark posts in one click.
Pros and cons of using Sprout social
Sprout Social customers already have access to comprehensive management tools for Facebook comments. Sprout Social’s inbox tools make it easy to track dark post comments.
Cons of using Sprout Social
This tool may not be suitable for you if you’re not a Sprout social customer.
Sprout Social charges per user and starts at $99. You could spend several hundred more each month if you want to recruit your team.
5. Agorapulse
Agorapulse supports Facebook Ad Comments, so that you can easily track engagement.
LovePop Video Testimonial Agorapulse. To begin collecting ad comment, go to your Agorapulse settings and click Social Profiles. Select Ad Accounts from your Facebook page.
Click on the Connect Ad Accounts link. Next, check the box next all the ad account you wish to connect. Make sure that the account you wish to link is turned on. Inbox tab will display dark post comments automatically.
You can moderate Facebook ad comments using Agorapulse by going to the Inbox tab, and selecting your Facebook page. All your paid and organic engagement will be displayed in your Agorapulse Inbox by default.
Automate your ad-engagement workflow
Open the dropdown menu to view only dark post comments. Select Ads Comments. To review or reply manually to any comment, click on it right from Agorapulse.
You can view saved replies you have already created and click the notepaper icon. Before publishing your response to Facebook, you’ll be able to modify or customize it.
Click to save replies if you don’t have any. You can quickly reuse responses to five of your most commonly asked questions as you moderate comments.
You can save comments to share with clients or team members later. Bookmark comments to make it easy to find them. For easier sorting, you can add a label to your comments. You can, for example, label testimonials you might want to use in future ads.
A colleague might be able to answer an ad comment you received. To assign a comment to another person, click the button.
Modify ad comments automatically
You can save a lot on manual moderation if you get a lot Facebook ad comments. To automate a portion of the process, Agorapulse’s inbox assistant can be used.
The Inbox Assistant allows you to automatically:
Spammy content such as links to other sites, should be hidden. You can hide spammy content, such as links to other websites, from your news feed ad. You’ll be able give your potential customers the answers that they need without worrying about them getting lost in the shuffle. This will ensure that you don’t run the risk of someone attacking your ad.
Agorapulse: The benefits
Agorapulse automatically collects comments from your Facebook dark posts. This makes it easy to track engagement. You can filter the comments from ads and respond to each one individually so you don’t have worry about ignoring helpful or negative engagement.
Agorapulse’s inbox assistant makes it easy to automate tedious engagement tasks. Your team won’t spend time dealing with spam because you can hide or remove the worst comments.
Agorapulse’s connection with Facebook’s Marketing API, Graph API ensures that comments sync 100% of time. This FAQ will help you understand how it works.
The cons of Agorapulse
Agorapulse, like the other third-party suggestions on this list is a paid tool. Agorapulse doesn’t provide dark post comment management but it may be worth the investment if all of your social media marketing needs are handled from one dashboard.
You can see how Facebook Ads are managed from one location. This demo will help.
In conclusion
It doesn’t take much to keep up with Facebook Ad comments. You can choose the best option for you team using the tools below and get more from your Facebook dark posts.
Have a look at Agorapulse’s ability to reduce the chaos of answering comments in your Facebook ads. You can also try Agorapulse with your ads by starting a free trial!
