This Easy Tip Can Deepen Your Connections on LinkedIn

Comments, reactions, and views on your content are always a great sign that what you’re posting on LinkedIn is resonating with your network—and beyond! But, if you really want to create deep connections, the kind that turn into colleagues or teammates or clients or mentors, your engagement doesn’t have to stop at responding to comments. (Although, you should definitely be doing that, too).  

Next time you notice activity on your posts, try continuing the conversation with a direct message. You might be amazed to learn something new about your connection or even turn a casual connection into a more meaningful business relationship.  

Here’s how it works: 

1. Create a post on LinkedIn. 

P.S. - Not sure what to post? Check out this roundup of LinkedIn content tips.

2. Notice the people who commented or reacted to your post.

3. Choose a person from this list, perhaps someone who’s not already a connection, and send them a personalized invitation request or direct message.

There are plenty of ways to adapt this tip to different situations. Try flipping it on its head and using it with other people’s posts. Comment publicly and then follow-up with the author in a private message or invitation. 

Alternatively, try tagging someone in a comment on a post you think he or she might enjoy. Then, share the post in a message to the same person and begin a conversation. Your own creativity is the limit on how you transition a public post to a private dialogue. 

Not long ago, I took my own advice and reached out to someone who commented on one of my posts. Through our conversation in messages, I learned that he had recently accepted a new sales leadership position. He invited me to reach out again in a couple months to talk about how we could work together on a training workshop for his new team. Whether or not he becomes a client remains to be seen when we have that phone call, but either way, it’s great to see how this simple tip allowed me to turn a stranger into a great new contact!

It's actually not difficult to show a genuine interest in someone, but so often we miss opportunities to reach out and start a conversation. I challenge you not to let those moments pass you by. Bring your curiosity and the same friendly initiative you have in  face-to-face conversations to LinkedIn.

Want to make your first impression really count? Don’t neglect to update your profile, too. Before the people on the other end of your message or invitation respond, they’ll probably check you out on LinkedIn first. Updating your profile is simple with The Ultimate LinkedIn Profile Examples Guide. In it, you’ll find more than 20 pages of inspiration from top-notch LinkedIn profiles. Check it out, and go build deeper connections on LinkedIn.