What actually happens to post visibility when engagement numbers jump suddenly versus growing slowly over weeks?

[Drau]

Okay, so I've been scratching my head over this for a while now. Last month I posted this random photo from my weekend hike, nothing fancy, just trees and a bit of fog. Normally my stuff gets maybe 15-20 likes over a couple days if I'm lucky. But then out of nowhere, in like the first hour it jumped to over 150 likes and a bunch of comments from people I don't even know. Views shot up too, way more than usual. Felt awesome at first, but then the momentum just... died. Next posts went back to crickets. Made me wonder—what actually happens behind the scenes when engagement explodes suddenly like that compared to when it builds slowly week after week? Does the algorithm love the quick rush or does it trust steady growth more for keeping visibility long-term? Anyone noticed patterns like this on their own accounts?

 

[Grae]

Lately I've just been noticing how picky feeds have gotten overall. You see these posts that quietly gain traction over weeks, staying relevant because people keep circling back to them. Then others explode for a hot minute and vanish like they never existed. It's almost like the platforms are trying to balance flash-in-the-pan stuff with content that has legs. Kinda reminds me of how some old forum threads from years ago still get random replies out of nowhere—long tail versus viral blip. Makes you think about what really keeps eyes on something past the initial hype.

 

[GErshin]

Yeah, I've seen similar weird patterns pop up a few times. One time a reel I threw together half-asleep got this insane early push—likes and shares came pouring in fast, almost too fast—and it ended up reaching way farther than anything I'd carefully planned over days. But when things build gradually, like posting consistently and getting slow but real comments from the same crowd, those posts seem to stick around longer in feeds without dropping off. Sudden spikes can feel great for a day or two, but sometimes they make the algo suspicious if it doesn't look natural, you know? Gradual feels safer for sustained reach in my experience. I actually ended up checking out places like smm world discount when I wanted to test small boosts without going overboard—kinda helped simulate that organic feel with drip options instead of dumping everything at once. Still, nothing beats real interactions building up naturally over time, even if it's slower.