By Julia Wallace | September 13, 2022

I’m sorry to say it, but there is nary a social media platform where you can simply post, flitter away, then amass tons of engagement with no further effort. If you want to grow a loyal audience on LinkedIn, you need to be intentional about engaging with customers who tag you, comment on your posts, and DM you — just as you would on any other social platform.
The good news is that unless you’re an airline, you do not need to be at the ready to respond to customer engagement instantaneously.

According to Sprout Social, the large majority of U.S. customers expect brands to respond to them within 24 hours on social media. Only 13% of customers expect an answer within an hour.

So a good practice is to conduct community management on LinkedIn at LEAST once a day if you are a small brand, and two to three times a day if you’re a larger brand with more engagement.

It’s a small commitment that you should be able to squeeze into gaps in your calendar. So don’t worry, this doesn’t involve a ton of extra work, especially if you are fluent in your own brand voice!

The three most effective ways to engage with potential customers on LinkedIn

1. Comment when they tag you or repost your content

If your business is tagged by a customer on LinkedIn, you should ALWAYS respond with a comment! If they’re giving you a shout out, drop a sincere thank you. If they’re angry, respond with an apology and a concrete way you can help. If they’re resharing something you posted, drop a question about their experience with your company. This level of interaction shows the customer that you genuinely care about them.

2. Reshare with a comment

If a customer tags you in a post (and ESPECIALLY if it’s a post with a photo!), you should reshare the post to your feed. Add a comment expressing your thanks or whatever message is appropriate. The LinkedIn algorithm is a big fan of any kind of post that keeps people on the site, and resharing posts with a comment fits squarely in that category. This interaction will land your page in front of more eyes!

3. Interact with related post

Social listening is a great tool to discover potential customers on LinkedIn. In the search bar, type in related keywords and hashtags that connect to your brand. If you’re a jeweler, for example, you could search not only “jewelry,” “diamonds,” “necklace,” “earrings,” etc. You could also search for “anniversary,” “graduation,” “promotion,” “celebrate,” etc.

Then leave a comment on posts that feel appropriate! This is a great way to get your brand in front of new potential customers.