Posting Guide
Every post type on Circus, what it's for, and how to use it well — whether you're a creator, a member, or a brand.
Circus has a small number of post types, on purpose. Each one does a specific job. This guide walks through what each is for, when to use it, and what makes a good one — with notes for creators, members, and advertisers along the way.
Circus isn’t in the App Store or Play Store yet. The post types described here are what’s shipping at launch. Anything still in development is marked.
The post types — at a glance
There are seven post types. Most communities run on the first three. The rest are for specific moments.
The default. A short headline plus body text — questions, updates, opinions, longer thoughts.
One image or a carousel of up to ten. Optional caption. Best for finished work, behind-the-scenes, or visual updates.
Up to 60 seconds. Vertical or horizontal. Captions auto-generated; edit them before publishing.
Two to six options. Closes after a set time. Members see results after voting, not before.
Animated images. Auto-plays muted in the feed. Best for reactions, quick demos, and moments that work better in motion.
Head-to-head comparison. Pick your side. Works for debates, matchups, and anything with two real options.
External URL with a generated preview card. Always opens in-app first; member can choose to open externally.
The same shape as a regular post, with a clear sponsored label. See Advertiser Guide for the spec.
Text posts
The most useful and the most underused. Text posts move the conversation forward without asking anyone to consume media.
What works
- Lead with the question or claim. Don’t bury it in a setup paragraph. Members are scanning.
- Give context, not preamble. “Here’s the thing I’m working on and the bit I’m stuck on” beats “Hi everyone, hope you’re well…”.
- One idea per post. If you have three things, post three times across the week.
What doesn’t
- Walls of text without a hook in the first line.
- “What do you all think?” with no context for what you actually want to know.
- Daily life updates with no invitation to reply — a post should give people something to do.
Examples
Text-only sponsored posts read as a direct line from a brand. Use them for announcements (new launch, beta opening, hiring) — not for general brand presence.
Image & video posts
Most-used format. Easiest to scroll past. So the bar is higher than it looks.
Images
- One strong image beats a carousel of ten okay ones. Lead with your best frame.
- Caption like a human. Tell us what we’re looking at, why it matters, or what changed. Avoid hashtag soup — Circus doesn’t index them as a discovery surface.
- File specs: JPEG/PNG/HEIC up to 20MB. Portrait (4:5 or 9:16) gets the most feed real estate.
- AI-generated images and GIFs are supported. If your content was created with an AI tool, label it as AI-generated — it’s required under the Circus AI Policy.
Image examples
Weigh-in day. 1/2000s, 200mm. You get one second of eye contact and then he's gone.
Caption names the gear and the moment. Technical specifics signal you know what you're doing — and give people something to ask about.
Three months of planning on one page. Every border crossing, every overnight bus, every city I skipped. DM for the template.
Lead line is the hook. The rest is specificity — which crossings, which cities, what got cut. That detail turns a photo into a thread starter.
Videos
- Hook in the first three seconds. Voice over the action, not over a logo.
- Captions on by default. Half of plays happen on mute. Auto-captions are a starting point — fix the names and technical terms.
- File specs: MP4/MOV up to 500MB, 60 seconds max. Vertical 9:16 plays full-bleed in the feed.
Video examples
Sponsored video performs best when it doesn’t feel like a TVC. Shoot to the platform: vertical, captioned, and front-loaded with the thing your audience cares about — not your value prop.
Polls
Polls are the highest-engagement format on Circus. Use them more than you think.
- Two to six options. Three or four is the sweet spot.
- Make every option a real answer. No filler (“none of the above”) unless you mean it.
- Set a sensible close time. 24 hours catches most members; a week catches the stragglers without losing momentum.
- Follow up with the result. A post-poll text post saying what you learned — and what you’re doing about it — turns a poll into a loop.
Examples
GIF posts
Animated images that auto-play on mute in the feed. Use them when motion does something a still image can’t.
- Hook in the loop. GIFs repeat — so the best moment should be either the first frame or something that makes the loop feel deliberate.
- Keep it short. Under 15 seconds reads as a GIF; longer starts feeling like a video that won’t load.
- Audio is off by default. The motion has to carry the joke, the data, or the moment — don’t rely on sound.
- AI-generated GIFs and video are supported. Label them as AI-generated as required by the Circus AI Policy.
Examples
VS posts
Head-to-head comparison posts. Two options, two sides — members pick one. Works for matchups with equal footing and for debates where the creator has a read to share.
- Keep the matchup balanced. If one side is obviously right, it’s not a VS post — it’s a rhetorical question. Give both sides real arguments.
- Add your take in the body text. The VS layout holds the options; your read in the body turns it from a poll into a conversation.
- Follow up. After 24 hours, post a short text response to the result. What surprised you? What didn’t?
Examples
Link posts
Link posts are for sharing something external that’s worth your community’s attention — a piece of journalism, a product launch, a paper, a video. The preview card generates automatically; your caption is what makes it worth clicking.
What works
- Add your take, not a summary. The preview card already has the headline. Say why you’re sharing it, what surprised you, or what you disagree with.
- Share things that prompt a reply. “Interesting” is not a take. “This contradicts everything we talked about last week” is.
- Check the preview card before posting. Some sites generate poor thumbnails — you can edit the generated title before it goes out.
What doesn’t
- Sharing links with no caption — it reads as a repost, not a post.
- Sharing the same link the whole community already saw somewhere else.
Examples
This is the mechanism we've been waiting for. The 40% figure is in mice, so let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Caption adds context the headline can't — excitement with calibration. That second sentence is why people click the comments.
Finally benchmarks that justify the Mac Pro pricing. The people buying this are not the people asking whether it's worth it.
Short take, clear opinion, a little dry humor. The last sentence will start a reply thread on its own.
Posting cadence
How often to post depends on what you post. A rough framework:
- Creators: 3–5 posts per week, mixed types. Daily is too much for most communities; weekly is too little to feel inhabited.
- Members: Post when you have something to say. Replies count as participation — you don’t need to start every thread.
- Advertisers: Frequency caps stop you flooding any single member’s feed. Plan a campaign cadence with your account contact.
A good post hits at least two of: useful, specific, true to you. The viral ones hit all three.
What to avoid
- Engagement bait. “Comment ‘YES’ if you agree” reads worse on Circus than it does elsewhere — members notice.
- Cross-posted dumps. A post that’s clearly a copy-paste from another platform tells members you don’t take this one seriously.
- Hot-takes within the hour. Sit on it. The community is still here tomorrow.
- Sponsored content that isn’t labeled. Goes against our community guidelines. We’ll remove it; repeat offenses are a strike against the account.
Reporting & moderation
If a post breaks community guidelines, members can report it directly. Every report goes to a real person on the safety team. Read more in how moderation works and the full content guidelines.
Ready to post?
Circus is coming soon. Sign up at circus.app/download to be notified when the app is available.