LinkedIn® Comments: Do’s and Don’ts
Why LinkedIn® comments are important and how you can integrate them into your LinkedIn® strategy in the right way
65% of LinkedIn® members are lurkers.. This means that they regularly consume content, but rarely or never share content or interact with other users themselves. Professionals who don’t actively leave comments on LinkedIn® posts of other members miss out on a lot of opportunities. In this blogpost, we’ll talk about the benefits of leaving comments and we’ll explain some do’s and don’ts about how to integrate these comments into your LinkedIn® strategy in the right way.
Why comments are an important part of an effective LinkedIn® strategy
- Increased visibility
When you leave a valuable comment on a LinkedIn® post, you will first reach the author. He or she receives a notification about your comment. Since a large part of the author’s network will see the post in their newsfeed, you’ll also reach these people.
Besides extending your reach beyond your network, you’ll also reach your own LinkedIn® connections. Even if people from your network aren’t connected to the author of the post, they can still see you left a comment on this post in their newsfeed. So a comment can definitely give your visibility a huge boost!
- New connections
People from outside your network may find your comment so interesting they’d like to connect with you. Responding to other comments is also a great way to expand your network, since a conversation often leads to a connection request.
- Positioning yourself as an expert
By leaving qualitative and valuable comments, other LinkedIn® members will perceive you as an expert within your field. When these people need advice or help from someone in your area of expertise, you’ll already be in the back of their minds thanks to your comment.
- Professional opportunities
Interacting with like-minded people or fellow experts and professionals can result in amazing collaborations or an extension of your customer list.
The do’s (and don’ts) when writing a comment
- Read the post
This tip may seem very logical, but unfortunately isn’t always applied in reality. When you want to leave a comment, it’s important to always read the post completely and thoroughly. Only this way you’ll be able to write a valuable comment that’s connected to the content of the post. You can also take a look at the LinkedIn® profile of the author of the post to gather some extra background information.
- Make sure your comment is on-topic
Comments should always be an addition of or complementary to the topic of the post. You can, for example, add some extra relevant information or refer to another source that provides additional data. You can also tag other experts who have a lot of knowledge on the topic to ask their opinion and stimulate a little interaction.
Don’t: Try to add valuable information, but avoid writing too much text. Keep your comments short and to the point. You can also add structure to your comments by using short paragraphs or bullet points.
- Focus on adding value
Comments like “Inspiring post” or “Interesting insights” may be nice to receive, but won’t make your comment stand out and therefore won’t get you many results. That’s why it’s important to always add value to your comments. You can do this by sharing knowledge, giving your opinion on the subject or asking questions to the author to gain some more insights.
Don’tPosition yourself as an expert by sharing valuable information, but avoid promoting or advertising for your own products or services by doing this. If your comment sounds like a sales pitch, it won’t come across as genuine.
- Interact with others by responding to their comments
If you have no inspiration to write a comment yourself, you can scan the other comments and respond to them. Maybe someone in the comments has the same opinion as you have or maybe someone asked a question that you know the answer to.
Don’t: Make sure that you don’t take over the author’s role when answering other people’s questions. The author also wants to have the chance to react to his own comments and won’t like it when a competitor steals this task from him. When answering a question, it is therefore best to tag the author of the post to ask for his opinion as well.
- Always pay attention to your spelling and grammar
You won’t achieve expert status with comments that are filled with spelling mistakes and typos. Always read your comments carefully to guarantee your professionalism.
