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Mastodon best practices

Plan Mastodon posts for a network with no ranking algorithm, with posting times, CamelCase hashtags, alt text, content warnings and visibility.

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Mastodon has no ranking algorithm: timelines are chronological, so people find your posts through hashtags, the accounts they follow and boosts. This page covers when and how often to post on Mastodon, how to write for it, hashtags and formats, and what Convia Pro does for you when it writes and schedules Mastodon posts.

When to post on Mastodon

Convia schedules Mastodon posts at 10am, 1pm and 6pm in your workspace time zone when you have not set your own times. To change them, go to Channels, click Edit beside When posts go out, open Advanced and click Choose my own times. See Calendar & scheduling.

How often to post on Mastodon

Consistency beats volume. Pick a pace you could hold for three months, and raise it once that feels easy. Convia starts every channel at 3 posts a week, which you can change under Posts per week.

Writing for Mastodon

  • Open with the point, not a hook. One clear idea per post, in plain text.
  • Skip engagement bait such as "comment below". People boost posts that respect them.
  • Stay within your server's limit, 500 characters on most servers. Every link counts as 23.
  • Add a content warning for sensitive topics. It is good etiquette: the post stays folded until someone opens it.
  • Post Public (recommended) to reach public timelines and hashtag searches, where new people find you. Unlisted posts stay out of both and reach mainly your followers.

Hashtags on Mastodon

Hashtags are how most people discover posts. Use up to 3 specific hashtags at the end, in CamelCase (#PodcastGrowth, not #podcastgrowth), so screen readers read each word.

Images and video on Mastodon

Mastodon takes up to 4 images, shown as a grid, or one video. People expect every image to have alt text: describe each image in your media library and Convia sends the description as alt text. For every file limit, see Posting rules for each platform.

How Convia writes your Mastodon posts

Convia writes Mastodon posts from your Platform instructions for Mastodon (Brand Brain → Platform instructions) and your Brand Brain: your brand characteristics, ideal customer and content rules. Each post ends with up to 3 CamelCase hashtags.

Where your brand and this guidance disagree, Convia follows your Brand Brain. A rule for every platform goes in Content Rules under Brand Brain → Voice & Tone. A change for Mastodon alone goes in its Platform instructions, which come with Grow and up. See How AI uses your brand.