How do you normally boost engagement on LinkedIn? Or does it not work out the way you want it to?

You’ve spent hours researching, writing, and editing a post that you can’t wait to share on LinkedIn. You know that the people in your network will be impressed and interested in what you have to say –  whether it’s a policy update that’s important to your individual clients, a legal update that might affect your business immigration HR clients, or something in between, it’s probably incredibly relevant to those who follow you.

You post, get a comment or maybe a few, but then you leave the whole thing alone to focus on your work and…that’s it. After those two comments and perhaps a few likes, your post gets no more traction, disappears deep into the newsfeed and you’re left feeling disappointed that all the effort you’re putting into “being active” on LinkedIn is for naught.

Well, you’re not alone!

I see a lot of immigration and mobility professionals sharing GREAT LinkedIn content and getting comments, but then they make the mistake of NOT replying to those comments, and the post goes nowhere. In order to boost engagement on LinkedIn, you have to pay attention to the comments section! When people read content online, they WILL check to see what’s going on in the comments. After all, how often do you find yourself skimming the comments to see what people are talking about or what a colleague responded to?

So, here are three important things to keep in mind to boost engagement on LinkedIn with your audience and have a much improved comments section on your LinkedIn posts.

Looking to boost engagement on LinkedIn using your comments section? 

Here’s three ways to get you started to having more meaningful interactions on LinkedIn and boost your engagement!

1. Boost engagement by making your LinkedIn post feel and sound like a conversation

One sided content is boring! When people read your post, they want to feel engaged and they want to share their own opinions. Having actual back-and-forth comment “conversations” makes the comments interesting for others to read. It’s also a great chance for you to show off your expertise in the subject matter in a natural way that people will want to engage with. Ask people for feedback in your posts to start the discussion.

2. Boost engagement by making your LinkedIn comments feel open and welcome like a community

Start thinking of LinkedIn as a place for community rather than the social media you ‘should’ be posting on. Ideally, you want your comments section to be a little bit of a community hub where people are discussing back-and-forth for some time on a variety of posts. The more people feel welcomed and part of your work and community, the more likely they are to be invested in your latest update- not to mention more likely to share your posts with others! 

3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions in your LinkedIn post to boost engagement

 Remember there are no stupid questions! Don’t be afraid to ask the people commenting about their response or their interest in your post. When someone leaves a comment, following up on their remarks is more likely to spur a reply comment than doing nothing or just saying “thank you”! If you are going to ask a question, authenticity and curiosity are key. Try and make sure your question flows and doesn’t seem forced or like you are trying to sell yourself too hard. People want to be in discussions but they can tell when you’re not interested in actually engaging.

The comments section of a LinkedIn post is like the “Q&A” after the panel

Think of it like this: If a post is the LinkedIn equivalent of a panel at a conference, the comments section is the Q&A at the end. We don’t leave once the panel is over, we stay for the Q&A because we all know that the Q&A is almost always the best and most interesting part!

So why not give that to the people at “your panel?” If you’re going to spend time drafting, writing, and editing the post, all it takes is an extra 5 or 10 minutes to reply to comments thoughtfully. Taking the time to reply to comments and starting discussions will allow you to start connecting with your audience on a deeper level and get more people interested in what you have to say.

You’d be surprised how many people actually read the comments of a post. We bet that you’ve been reading comments this whole time whether you actually noticed yourself doing it or not, so get out of your comfort zone and send that response in the comments of your own post!

If you’re reading this and you post content, do you reply to comments? If so, has it boosted your engagement on LinkedIn? If you don’t reply, what’s stopping you?

Let’s connect!