Comment as part of your engagement strategy
Make commenting part of your engagement strategy. Commenting is helpful in a number of key ways so read on for why, what, and how.
Many job seekers or anyone trying to develop a personal brand are reluctant to post their own content on LinkedIn. And although nothing bad can happen when you do, I get that it’s hard to take the first step, which is why I encourage baby steps.
Start by commenting on other people’s posts as part of your engagement strategy This is more than checking a “like” or other emoji. But any comment has to be meaningful. As a beginner start small. I saw one “expert “ suggest 20 comments a day. Most people in an actual job would struggle with that. It’s a big ask. You also don’t want to flood the platform as it would be quite difficult to make each comment top quality.
I am a big fan of the number 3. Three wise men, three little pigs, Goldilocks and the three bears, 3Plusand so on.
Three a day is a perfectly fine starting point to improve your engagement strategy.
Why commenting is helpful
Commenting is helpful in a number of key ways to improve your engagement strategy.
- Giving is always the first step in networking. If you comment regularly on someone’s post and add value, they are more likely to engage with you when you start to post yourself.
- Posting meaningful comments brings your name and profile to the attention of the post author and the other people who have also commented in the thread. Note this is unlikely with major names who have teams running their social media. So keep it real!
- It’s a great opportunity to showcase your professional expertise and build your reputation as a specialist or trusted advisor.
- You can also follow the author as an interim step.
- You can leverage your interactions to connect with the author or other people in the thread using a personalised message option via LinkedIn. Be careful on mobile it doesn’t happen automatically you have to choose the option first.
What makes a comment good
- You can recognise the value of the content of the author
- Quote a key element that stands out and explain why it resonates
- Provide additional and relevant insights
- Extend the discussion by asking a specific question
- Tag someone else in your network who may find the content interesting
- If your post sparks interest you can share the comment as a repost
How not to comment
Here are some key don’ts:
- be disrespectful or negative
- hijack the post for your own agenda by posting your own links. That is super tacky.
- use profanity
- leave a meaningless short comment “Thanks for the share”
- feed the trolls – it is never worth it and you could slide into a rabbit hole filled with obnoxious comments or abuse
- contest the facts of a post without backup data.
Commenting on LinkedIn is a time-effective and valuable way of raising your visibility which will serve you well as a part of a longer term.
What’s holding you back?