May the Force Be With You In the Comments

May is Star Wars month. May 4th was “May the force be with you” day. May 6th was “Revenge of the Sith” day. Yes, this is nerdy. Yes, I have just outed my inner nerd.

In addition, LinkedIn turned 18 and is now allowed to vote, drink alcohol and join the army. Now that it has come of age, it’s time that LinkedIn got a proper job. Oh wait…

Lurking Online 

I foolishly promised in a post last week that I would provide tips on how to comment with impact in this newsletter.

 I did this because most people on LinkedIn are operating in “stealth” mode. They are eavesdropping on other people’s content instead of engaging with their content.

This is a mistake for you and irritating for content creators. 

If this describes you, keep reading. I’ll show you how to get maximum bang for your time on LinkedIn. I promise you will not be required to learn a tiktok dance to do this.

I am trying to lure more LinkedIn users out of their online coma because this is a real missed opportunity. Too many people still think of this as a job search platform when it is really so much more.

 LinkedIn Magic

You need LinkedIn long before you need a job or sales leads. It’s a great place to network and to build some thought leadership in your chosen space. If you want to pivot your career, this is the best place to start exploring your new field of endeavor and establishing some credibility before you take any career leap. If you are an entrepreneur or a service provider or a sales professional, this is an amazing platform for you to grow your bottom line.

 Kinsta.com reports that as of March 2021, only 3 million LinkedIn users (out of the 740 million) share content on a weekly basis. This means that only a very small percentage of LinkedIn users actually generate content. And those that do, net a huge return on their efforts. This is certainly my experience as an active LinkedIn content creator.

Many people on here don’t post at all and others will post only very infrequently. So most people on LinkedIn don’t need a content strategy. They are not posting enough content to create a strategy.

The good news is you don’t really have to start posting, creating videos or writing articles to start getting some visibility on LinkedIn.

You don’t need a content strategy, you need a good COMMENT strategy.

What does this mean? This means that when you see other people’s posts in your feed, you should be using one of the reaction buttons to acknowledge that you’ve seen the post. AND then (here is the magic) add a comment to the post in the comments section below the post.

These are the current LinkedIn reaction buttons.

They all have the same weight so just use the one that is most appropriate for your reaction to the post. Sadly there is no LOL or laugh button on LinkedIn. Fingers crossed that one is forthcoming. I've recently connected with a group of fabulous copywriters on LinkedIn with the funniest posts and I'd absolutely use a laugh icon on all their fabulously witty posts.

Now the crucial second part of your two-pronged attack, you will need to use the keyboard on your laptop or the keypad on your phone or tablet to type out a comment. I promise it will not hurt.

What to Write in a Comment???

Add some of your thoughts to the post. Try not to make your comment trite. Sometimes a one word comment like “Congratulations!” will do but this is not as good as actually adding a full sentence or two. Here are some possible ways to comment effectively:

1. Show appreciation for the post

2. Reference your own experience with the topic

3. Add some thoughts from a TED talk you heard or a book that you have read

4. Use a quote that is relevant

5. Reference some relevant data that adds to the topic being discussed

6. Add a link to a relevant article or attach an appropriate image/meme/screenshot

7. Tag someone from your network that would find the discussion interesting

8. Share your thoughts/opinion/insight on the subject

9. Ask a question about the post

I know that it sounds hard. But it really isn’t. Try it. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. A comment is worth at least 5 likes in my unscientific estimation of the LinkedIn algorithm so it really is the best way to engage with any post, article, poll or video on LinkedIn. I've given you 9 possible ideas to get you started. I'm sure you'll find many of your own too.

An Effective Comment Strategy

My own comment strategy is to ensure that I am posting a comment at least once a day. Most days I average at least 5 comments. Because I do this, I only have to post original content about once a week on LinkedIn and my visibility still remains relatively high. The algorithm favours comments for both the post’s author and the commenter.

When you comment on someone else’s post, they have already done the heavy lifting. They have created the content. You as the commenter have a much easier job compared to the creator of the post.

As one of the small percentage of content creators on LinkedIn, I always encourage my mentees and students to follow me on LinkedIn not because I need the numbers, but because they will benefit by association. My post will already have a reasonable reach. By commenting, they reach my network as well as their own. They are getting their voice heard by a much bigger audience than if they had originated a post on their own.

This is like compound interest. They are just building off my social capital. And you can do it too. Follow some prominent content creators on LinkedIn and start commenting on their posts. You’ll see your reach suddenly grow on LinkedIn with very little effort.

I’ve had several of my posts selected for LinkedIn News in the past but this month, several of my comments even made it to LinkedIn News. That means that many of my more distant contacts also saw my comment and that increased my engagement and perceived authority. It’s a low effort strategy that really pays.

How Not to Comment

One question I often get asked is if you can comment on posts even when you don’t know the post author. You absolutely can. Just don’t be creepy.

Here are some good etiquette tips for LinkedIn comments. You definitely should NOT be doing any of these in the comments section of someone else’s post. None of this is forbidden but all of it is bad form hence verboten in my book.

1. Steal the thunder of the post author by directing attention to your own content

2. Promote or sell your product or service

3. Disrespect or demean the post author in any way

4. Self-praise by comparing yourself favorably to the post author

5. Significantly add so much of your own content that it looks like an article in itself

On the flip side, what should you do if someone posts a comment that you don’t want on your wall?

You can try to first engage with the post’s author, especially if they are a person whose influence you value. If it’s a blank account, don’t bother. You can just delete the comment and if it was truly offensive you can also then block the person who commented. As an openly feminist woman of color on LinkedIn, I’ve had to do this on multiple occasions. I’m relatively ruthless on the culling and I make no apologies for it. My profile, my post, my rules.

A Final Word

LinkedIn decides if a post is popular by the amount of time people spend interacting with it which is why a long thread of comments under a post is so highly regarded. What I hope you’ve come to realize is that the benefits of comments are not just for the post’s author. There are huge benefits for the person commenting too.

It does indeed take more effort to write a comment than it does to click the share button but if you do, you will be building your visibility in the best way possible.

The shocking truth on LinkedIn is that sharing does nothing for the reach of the post or for your engagement. You should almost never use it. I very rarely do. Unlike Facebook, the LinkedIn algorithm doesn’t push out shared posts, it actually sees it as duplicate content and penalises it. I know many of you share thinking that it is the ultimate compliment to a post but on LinkedIn it isn’t. So don’t share, comment instead.

If you really like a post, remember that posts are sorted based on what the LinkedIn algorithm thinks is most relevant, so adding valuable, thought-provoking comments can help position the post at the top of the list. This is the ultimate endorsement for any LinkedIn post. 

So comment where you can. Like posts at a minimum to train the algorithm to feed you similar content. Don’t bother with the share button. Never just lurk in stealth mode.

May the comments be with you.

What to Do Next?

If you found this useful, please do consider subscribing to my newsletter and of course, please leave a comment. Especially now that you know how.

I’m running a LinkedIn Masterclass with Markus Dalka starting on Wednesday 26 May at 7pm Berlin - Central European Time with The Coaching Club.

There are 3 sessions in total over 3 weeks. Each live session is 2 hours long and will be in detail and hands-on. The first session on 26 May is on Profile Building, the second on 2 June is on content creation and the final session on 9 June is on networking. Each week builds on the last and you should have a fully effective LinkedIn strategy by the end of the 3 weeks.

You can sign up at https://www.the-coaching-club.com/termine/meetups/

The sessions are in English but the website might toggle to German. “Alle akzeptieren” means “accept all” if you get stuck on the cookies screen. Just click the bar that is highlighted and you will get to the sign up page on Eventbrite.