Social Media Engagement Tactics

Your LinkedIn post doesn’t start when you hit publish. It starts 30 minutes before. Most people post and pray. (And hey—prayer is great. Just maybe not about LinkedIn 😅) Here’s the engagement strategy I teach clients who want visibility, leads, and real traction: 1️⃣ The 30-Minute Pre-Engagement Rule (a.k.a. Content Seeding) Don’t just drop your post cold. Warm up the feed. Before you publish, comment on 5–10 posts from people you want your content to reach. When you engage with them, you trigger LinkedIn to surface your upcoming post in their feed once it goes live. 📌 Pro Tip: Prioritize → Your ideal audience → Past engagers → Active accounts with good reach (they help amplify you if they engage) This is how you train the algorithm to pay attention. 2️⃣ The 15-Minute Post-Boost Once you publish, your post enters a test phase. It’s tracking: → How fast you get engagement → Whether people stick around (dwell time) → If the comments spark back-and-forth conversation So when the comments start coming in, don’t ghost. Reply quickly. Ask questions. Keep the thread alive. Every interaction signals to LinkedIn: “This post has value.” 3️⃣ The First 3-Hour Window Is Critical Your post gets a short trial run. If it performs, it gets pushed to a wider audience. If not, it gets buried. Remember: LinkedIn is in the business of keeping people on the platform. It rewards content that does the same. Your job in this window:  → Keep the engagement active  → Drop a thoughtful comment on your own post to extend the conversation.  → Send it to a few trusted peers and say, “Would love your POV on this.” (Don't spam though. Make it relevant.) Bonus: Save outbound DMs for people who actually care about the topic.  You’ll get better feedback and avoid annoying your network. Most people treat LinkedIn like a billboard. Top performers treat it like a system. Which of these tactics do you already use? Which one will you try next? 👇

I ran an experiment. On Saturday, I wrote 100 comments (took about 2.5 hours). It generated 284,070 views. I saw a noticeable spike in great ICP connection requests, profile views, newsletter subscribers, and two demos that noted they checked out DoWhatWorks after I engaged on their post. Here is what makes commenting interesting… 1) No frequency cap. Comment as much as you want, and there’s no diminishing returns on impressions. 2) Nuanced comments build name recognition. People appreciate it when you add genuine value. A thoughtful comment that expands on the post, shares your experience, or surfaces a new facet of the discussion positions you perfectly for an ABM play. 3) You can include links. While links in posts often hurt reach, I haven’t seen that penalty on comment reach. 4) Quality drives views. Commenting on high-reach profiles boosts potential impressions, but only if your comment earns engagements and stays at the top. I’ve left cursory comments on viral posts that gathered fewer than 500 views because they added little value and got buried. 5) Avoid AI-generated comments. AI comments erode trust, and they come off as vapid. We all know when people are doing them. They probably get minimal reach. 6) Start back-and-forth conversations. LinkedIn rewards genuine conversations around the post in the comments. In the thread featured in this picture, I had 3 comments that collectively drove over 8,000 impressions. And not to have people getting crazy with being the "last word" but the last comment in a thread is the one visible by default to scrollers and does seem to get 30-40% more views on average. Has anyone else tried something similar? What were your results?

My biggest impressions this week were from a comment I left. Not a post I published. Comments aren't throwaway. They're micro-content on other people's stages. And done right? They drive as many clients as thoughtful posts. Often faster. Because when you comment on posts from your 4 key buckets (prospects, peers, influencers, clients), you're not just engaging. You're borrowing their audience. Think about it: A thoughtful comment on a prospect's post puts you in front of their entire network. People who trust them enough to follow their content. That's pre-warmed visibility you can't buy. The science of impactful commenting: • Show up early (first 2 hours = prime real estate) • Add value, don't just agree • Share a quick insight or experience • Ask a question that extends the conversation When prospects see you adding value in multiple places they frequent, you stop being a stranger trying to sell them something. You become part of their professional ecosystem. Social proof multiplies in clusters. When the same decision-maker sees you commenting thoughtfully on their peer's post, their industry publication, AND their own content? That's not coincidence. That's strategy. Your next client might come from a comment, not a post.

Most people post on LinkedIn for Lead Gen. Few people comment. But here’s the kicker: commenting can generate more leads than posting. Our commenting strategy generated more qualified leads in 60 days than 3 months of posting ever did. Here's the exact system I built to automate 90% of the process: The Problem with Traditional LinkedIn: Everyone's obsessed with follower counts and viral posts. But the reality is that 90% of LinkedIn users don't have a large following. So, generating leads from posts is incredibly hard. Meanwhile, thoughtful comments on high-engagement posts? They get seen by thousands who are already interested in your topic. I’ve been testing a strategy that blends: → Social listening → Automation & agents → A commenting playbook Here’s what I found 👇 First, I built Boolean queries in Trigify to find people posting about keywords like: “social listening” AND ("B2B" OR “lead gen” OR “GTM” OR “rev ops”) That gave me a live feed of topical posts across multiple social media platforms.. Then I automated the workflow: → Send the posts into n8n → Enrich profiles via API (filter: >15k followers for reach) → Run AI to decide if I can add real value → Draft a comment idea for me (not a copy-paste) → Send it to Slack for review + edit Result? → 2–5 high-value comment opportunities per day → Posts ranked for value-add potential, not noise → AI-powered but human delivered engagement I don’t let AI comment for me (it’s too obvious). Instead, I let it suggest angles and I refine. This way I’m: 1. Driving reach through smart commenting 2. Building authority in real conversations 3. Turning social signals into actual lead gen Posting matters. But commenting strategically—on the right posts, at the right time—might just be the most underrated growth channel in 2025. Most people get it wrong: They spray generic comments everywhere hoping something sticks. Would you rather spend time crafting another post… Or jump into the right conversation where your buyers already are?

While I think I'm doing the right thing on social, I've just alienated most of my audience Today I saw a post on Linkedin and ….. oh dear As more and more of us are being told to “be social” Take some photos and put them on social, what's the worst that can happen? The problem is this comes with little or no training Whereas we get trained on health and safety, inclusion and diversity, etc But for some reason, nobody talks to us about social media Especially when people can impact massive brand damage What did I see today? A sales leader posted a photo, that he was recruiting Come and work for the dream team, he said And there was the team in a photo from the last team meeting The problem? Al team members were white and male Their arms were linked, in America, this would be seen as “bro culture” So what? A number of females came to me and said “I would never work for that company or that team, there is clearly nothing for me” What would anybody else who wasn't white think? Exactly the same? Probably why people were using the “funny” emoji on LinkedIn And that’s the point; intent doesn’t equal impact In a world where everyone is being encouraged to “get social,” we can’t ignore the responsibility that comes with it Without proper guidance, training, and awareness, well meaning posts can send the wrong message and cause real harm to your brand, your culture, and your ability to attract diverse talent Social media is powerful, but only when used with care, inclusivity, and emotional intelligence So before you hit “post,” ask yourself: what story is this really telling and to whom? #SocialSelling #Sales #Marketing #Leadership #GTM

Let's Talk Comment Etiquette! Connection, NOT Contention Ever wished for a moment of reflection before hitting 'send' on that comment? Imagine a dialogue box popping up, gently reminding us to keep it civil, respectful, and question our intentions. That's the kind of digital courtesy- I stumbled upon in a YouTube comment section recently, and it got me thinking. What if, instead of hastily typing out our opinions, we paused to ask whether we're truly contributing to the conversation or simply feeding our own egos? Before hitting that 'comment' button, here are some questions to ponder on: 1. Am I contributing constructively or just venting? 2. Is there more context I might be missing? 3. Do I see the person I'm engaging with as a real person, not just a target? 4. Could this be better handled in private? 5. If it's about personal release, is there a more suitable outlet? Reflecting on these questions, I realize the power we hold as participants in #online discourse. By exercising restraint, empathy, and mindfulness, we have the ability to steer conversations away from negativity and towards constructive dialogue. Maybe, just maybe, by pondering before posting, we can reclaim the true essence of social media: a platform for connection, understanding, and growth. #socialmedia #behavioralscience #communityguidelines #empathy #contentcreation #YT #comment

Too many senior leaders treat LinkedIn like it’s the company intranet. We've all seen the posts: • “Proud to attend our internal Q1 offsite.” • “Honoured to welcome 12 new grads to the team.” • “Grateful to our team for [insert accomplishment here].” Celebrating your people and milestones is important, but if two or more of your last five posts are company reposts or about a company-related event, achievement or milestone, than you're doing wrong. And if the only people engaging with your posts are already on your payroll, then you’re missing the bigger opportunity. Cause the real value of LinkedIn isn't internal recognition, it’s external resonance, external visibility, external leads... Your future team is watching. Your clients are watching. Your next big opportunity might be watching. So how do you shift your posts from internal noise to external magnet? Here are a few simple ideas: 1. Talk less like a press release and more like a human. What did you learn from that leadership offsite? What surprised you? Who did you run into? What was your main takeaway? 2. Share a perspective, not just a recap. Why does this win matter for the industry? To your clients. What trends are you seeing? How can they prepare themselves to what's coming up in the industry? 3. Make it relevant. What can someone outside your org take away from your post? A lesson? A tool? A shift in mindset? An opportunity? 4. Finally, engage, don’t just broadcast. Ask questions. Comment on others posts (yes, commenting on your employees posts is a great idea!). Invite dialogue. Make space for others to contribute. LinkedIn isn’t just for celebrating what happened. It’s more about shaping what happens next. So if you want your voice to reach beyond your company walls, post like someone on the outside is listening. Because they are. #linkedin #employeeadvocacy #socialmedia #seniorexecutive #externalaudience

2 weeks ago, I posted how I make comments visible. 1 week ago, I ran an experiment to prove it. Today, I'm sharing why exactly it works. 💡 I tested the same content in two formats: 1. As a post (with a selfie, didn't fit here) 2. As a comment (on a big account I follow) The results: 📈 The comment got 16k views. 📉 The post died shy of 3k views. This is exactly what I expected. I call it 'Network Selection'. Posts and comments are the same, but they compete in different networks. 👉 Here's how this works: 1/ Your network gets a 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 to see your post first. 2/ People in your network have their own networks. 3/ You compete for their attention in their network. That’s why most of your followers never see your posts. 🤔 How do you win the competition? • Relevance: they liked your content before • Network signals: shared connections like it • Dwell-time: people stay on your post longer Your network votes for your content with their time. 👇 But what happens after? This post gets distributed to their connections, those are your 2nd degree connections. If they do the same, it goes further and further. But here's how it changes for comments: Everything happens the same way, except: 1/ The post gets the reach of the author, not yours. 2/ Your comment competes with all other comments. 3/ Your connections, who follow the author, see it first. 4/ The author's authority pushes their post in the feeds. 👉 This way, the same piece of content, if used correctly, has a chance to get more views than if you posted it yourself. ⚡️ The bigger your network overlap with the author, the better chance your comments get to show up. Obviously, that is guaranteed. No one knows exactly how it works. I'm sharing my observations and experience. But based on the data I collected in my experiments, I get at least 50% of my reach from my comments. Try it for yourself, and let me know how it goes 😉 P.S. Do you write giant comments like that? Let me know 👇 ♻️ Share to help your network be visible. ➕ Follow Lian for more growth insights.

This shouldn't need to be said, but here goes: You are not owed space on someone else's platform. If you can't be respectful, refrain from snide, sneering, insulting or dismissive invective when commenting on a post someone else shared, or an article published online, the original poster or publication has every right to delete your comment or prevent you from sharing it in the first place. The fact that many social media platforms have rewarded such behaviour -- amplifying the impact of hate and lies in the process -- has clearly deluded some people into believing that the world owes them attention. Nope. In The Globe and Mail today, Standards Editor, Sandra E. Martin explains at some length how her paper manages assholes (my word, not hers). She unpacks the steps she and her colleagues have taken over the past 21 months to reduce both the spread of misinformation and the abuse of other commenters on the Globe's site related to stories about the Middle East. She also cites the action CBC took a decade ago to close comments on stories covering Indigenous issues. Because clearly some people weren't then, and may not be now, reconciliation-ready. And she references a McGill University study finding what we at Informed Perspectives/ Perspectives plurielles have also documented: The most hateful comments are invariably directed to posts or articles written by women, trans people and racialized people. In other words, folks whose voices have been routinely ignored or silenced. Here's what I've noticed on LinkedIn, which is -- relative to X -- a remarkably civil space: Most of the time, the folks who spout ignorance, amplify misinformation or weaponize hate in response to a post that's thoughtful and nuanced, have few, if any, followers or engagement of their own. So my strategy is to 1. Urge civility and a focus on actual facts; 2. Remind the commenter that this is a career-focused platform and their insults or ignorance are not likely to position them for advancement or success; 3. Point out that they're welcome to share misinformation or ugliness on their own feed at any time; and then, if they double-down, to... 4. Delete their comments and block them. Informed Perspectives/ Perspectives plurielles exists precisely to ensure that more space is made for voices that have been chronically under-represented. It's why we deliver the programs we do... ... why we're delighted when sponsors provide funds that allow us to offer bursaries to members of marginalized groups... ...why we run a database designed to make it easy for journalists to find women and gender diverse subject matters experts across sectors, disciplines and geographies... ...why we created our Toxic Hush Action Kit (link in comments below) to support those being targeted by trolls online. We salute the Globe, and CBC and every other media organization or university that is working to navigate these perilous times in a thoughtful and responsible way.

If they need to “read it later,” you’ve already lost. Executives spend just 2.5 seconds deciding whether to keep reading a post. Picture this: You post consistently. The content is solid. Yet… crickets. No C-level executives engaging. No real decision-makers reaching out. Here’s what you’re missing: You’re speaking the wrong language. Most Linkedin posts sound like someone reading a textbook at a networking event. Informative yes … but forgettable. The problem? Executives don’t have time for fluff. If your message isn’t clear and valuable in the first few seconds, they scroll. Here are 3 quick tips to fix your problem: 1) Ditch the jargon. CEOs don’t need “innovative synergy solutions.” They need “faster, cheaper, better.” ❌: “End-to-end compliance automation system.” ✅: “Pass audits 3x faster and no team burnout.” ❌: “Real-time KPI visualization dashboards.” ✅: “See what’s broken before your client does.” 2) Lead with impact. Instead of “How AI is reshaping finance,” try “Banks using AI cut fraud by 60%.” ❌: “The future of data privacy.” ✅: “This regulation cost us $85K. Here is what we learned.” ❌: “Improving our hiring process.” ✅: “Why we stopped hiring senior devs (and grew faster).” 3) Talk money and risk. Decision-makers don’t care about features. They care about ROI, efficiency, and risk reduction. ❌: “24/7 monitoring.” ✅: “Saved $200K by catching downtime in 12 seconds.” ❌: “Seamless CRM integration.” ✅: “Closed $500K in upsells with zero rep training.” Don’t take it personally. Executives aren’t ignoring you because your ideas are bad. They’re ignoring you because your message isn’t made for them. Your words don’t need to be fancy. They need to work. Speak like money. Write like time. And executives will finally listen.