As part of the LinkedIn for Business course and the Social Selling training, we talk about creating visibility through posting. We also talk about how engagement – our real aim – can come from lots of other areas as well.
Don’t get me wrong, Posts are important for visibility but there’s much more you can tap into.
I usually encourage people to start by focussing on commenting instead, getting involved in conversations before starting them themselves.
So for me, commenting is in many ways just as important as Posting – maybe more so!
Finding relevant topics using LinkedIn’s own Content search, or by looking at the Activity area on a person’s profile is a perfect way to engage on topics & with people you really want to talk to.
Leaving your thoughts has many benefits:
✅ Raises your visibility
You get seen by the Poster (through their Notifications) and they recognise your contribution … which is positive in itself and gets you front of mind. You also get seen by other people interested in the post’s topic hence increasing credibility with a wider interested audience.
🗝 Key point: commenting earlier helps get your comment as the first in the list increasing visibility
✅ Builds personal brand
Your ‘headline’ field appears with your photo when you comment raising your profile – as it’s like your own personal tagline make sure that it reinforces the message that you would like them to take away when they think of you.
🗝 Key point: only the first 85 characters of your Headline field are visible here so make them count.
✅ Increases profile views
People reading your comment will hopefully want to find out more & your Profile is the perfect place to do that! Make sure that the key parts of your Profile supports this and communicates value to those who visit!
🗝 Key point: Remember to check your “Who’s viewed your Profile” page and follow up accordingly either with an invite or a message as appropriate.
✅ Improves engagement (both directions)
Often the author will reply to your comment which develops the conversation further – an additional benefit is that the algorithm recognises the interaction and makes sure that person is more likely to see your content in return when you do post!
🗝 Key point: use a ‘mention’ when you post the comment (ie. ‘tag’ the author, which makes doubly certain that they are notified
✅ Demonstrates expertise
Leaving a comment which adds to the conversation demonstrates your skill & knowledge to author & readers alike – great for your reputation and the likelihood of additional connections and opportunities.
🗝 Key point: try to make the comment at least 7 words long and, ideally, make it valuable and relevant rather than a weak “Great Post!”.
Should you be commenting as well as posting?
