Commenting on LinkedIn
Have you noticed the “What people are talking about now” box located on the upper-righthand corner of your LinkedIn Homepage lately?
A quick click of the headline about Google on mine (above) opens up the article along with a preview of the Top comments on this particular piece of content. As you’ll see in the image above, there is also a carousel – similar the to one for Media on your profile – you can click through to see what others are saying.
I view this as a better mousetrap for boosting the quality of the content on LinkedIn since I can skip my main feed and all the self-promotion (gulp – definitely guilty of that myself on occasion but I do try to follow the 80/20 rule) to find news-worthy topics I care enough about to post a comment on and then perhaps want to share in a status update noting what I’ve been thinking about regarding the topic.
I think it will also likely turn into a great way to garner some new profile views since most people will probably click on the white box which includes your name, headshot, and snippet of your Headline (see front-loading tip below) and not notice that the grey box is actually where you should click if you want to read the rest of the comment(s). (Bad UXD?)
And while driving more engagement is clearly at the top of LinkedIn’s To Do list this year, I have to say that allowing a Like on a snippet of a comment seems pretty lame.
It’s also worth mentioning that you should front-load your comment since this is a very small preview (I also reco my clients do this for their Headline and Summary).
Lastly, don’t waste space on blank lines and do avoid burying the lead because many may not even get past the preview of your comment.
What do you think about this new carousel? Do you expect to see a lift in profile views after posting comments on these curated articles from LinkedIn?
About me:
I’m a LinkedIn-approved speaker/trainer, networking expert, consultant, and the author of I’m at a Networking Event–Now What???, the #1 pick on an Inc.com Business Book Wish List. As Chief Connecting Officer of Bella Domain Media, I teach professionals, small business owners, consultants and corporate execs how to maximize LinkedIn and other social tools as marketing levers to elevate their brands, generate leads and cultivate a high-quality network to fill your inbox with loads of right-for-you opportunities. Learn more about April special offer here or connect with me on LinkedIn.
If you learned something from this post I hope you will share it with your connections. Thank you!