Episode 444: Engaging in Other People’s Content on LinkedIn

Stan Robinson Jr. 00:22
Good afternoon, Brynne. Great to see you. How are you?

Brynne Tillman 00:55
I’m great! How are you, Stan?

Stan Robinson Jr. 01:01
Excellent. It’s so good to be with you here. Bob is out today, so Brynne and I are going to be talking about engaging with other people’s content on LinkedIn. We’ll go beyond just posting on LinkedIn and dive into some techniques and tactics around engaging with others’ content — something not enough of us are doing. Looking forward to diving into this. Brynne, are you ready for the first one?

Brynne Tillman 01:37
I am ready.

Stan Robinson Jr. 01:41
Alright, number one is engaging with people in your network.

Brynne Tillman 01:50
This is a big one, right, Stan? I think we really under-leverage the people we’re connected to — especially those we connected with for a purpose. These are people we want to network with, prospect, or who are stakeholders in some way. Yet, we connect and forget. Engaging on their content is an easy way to stay top of mind.

Now, there are a few challenges. The first one — I go to my newsfeed, and I’m scrolling and scrolling, trying to find content. I’m probably only seeing posts from seven to ten percent of my connections who share content, and likely they’re not the people I really want to engage with. Plus, every other post is an ad. Has that been your experience?

Stan Robinson Jr. 03:03
Exactly. Staying in the newsfeed rabbit hole is not a good use of time. I know you have a great solution to help people stay focused.

Brynne Tillman 03:20
I do, Stan! Here’s an easy way to overcome that issue — create a search for posts. Most people don’t realize this is possible. If you go into the search bar and hit Enter, you’ll see a whole set of filters. One of them is Posts. Click on Posts, and then I think it’s Latest, right?

Stan Robinson Jr. 03:57
Let me make sure that’s what they’re calling it.

Brynne Tillman 04:00
I think so. Then click on First and People You Follow, or go to All Filters and select First and People You Follow, plus the author’s industry. That helps narrow it down — you can include more than one industry if you’d like. This will give you a feed of your network’s latest posts from the right people.

At that point, we highly recommend bookmarking this. Once a day, go in and look at the content from your network and engage.

Stan Robinson Jr. 04:49
Yes, it’s so much faster and more productive than getting lost in ads and irrelevant posts LinkedIn shows us. Bookmarks, in general, are an underutilized feature. They’re so valuable. When you’re looking for something, all you have to do is go to the right bookmark. Just make sure you organize and name them clearly so you can find them quickly.

Brynne Tillman 05:23
That’s great advice. Mine is labeled Daily Content. I love it! Alright, what’s next on our list, my friend?

Stan Robinson Jr. 05:37
Number two: don’t just comment — engage intentionally. There’s the classic “Great post!” comment that makes all of us cringe now. I think Bob even wrote a post about that. So Brynne, what do you do to engage more intentionally and stand out from those who just drop a “great post”?

Brynne Tillman 06:13
I love this one. The first thing — read the post. Read the content! Number one, right? If you’re not sure what to say, find a quote from the post that resonated with you. You can comment with something like, “I really loved how you talked about X, Y, and Z,” or “This was my big takeaway.” Copying and pasting a quote from the post is one way to be intentional.

Another approach — if I read something and think, “This is something Stan would really love,” I’ll mention someone else who might find value. For example, “Hey @StanRobinson, check this out — I think you’ll find value in it.” That brings value both to Stan and to the post’s author.

Stan Robinson Jr. 07:23
Exactly.

Brynne Tillman 07:25
What are some other things you think of?

Stan Robinson Jr. 07:28
You mentioned tagging, which is also underutilized. Just be mindful not to overdo it and make sure it’s relevant. If you’re directly connected to someone, it doesn’t hurt to also drop them a direct message saying, “Hey, I saw this — thought of you.” That increases the odds they’ll engage.

Brynne Tillman 08:06
Wonderful advice. So you hit them twice.

Stan Robinson Jr. 08:09
Right. As long as it’s relevant, it doesn’t hurt to let them know. You won’t be doing it with the same people every day anyway.

Brynne Tillman 08:19
Exactly. And to that point, it’s smart to get permission to mention people publicly. For example, if I’m networking with Brad Pierce, who’s also big on LinkedIn, I might say, “Hey Brad, if I see something you’d like, can I publicly mention you?” If he says yes, then I know I can tag him freely — it also gives him exposure.

With people like Stan and Bob, we all have an understanding that we can mention each other or Social Sales Link anytime. So internally, that’s fine. But when you start mentioning people outside your company, you need to be more aware.

Stan Robinson Jr. 09:17
Yes, you need to be a little more cautious. Alright, the next one is engaging with influencers on LinkedIn. I’ll combine this with the next — engaging with well-known people in your industry.

Brynne Tillman 09:40
Okay, I can break that out a little bit. Let’s start with influencers. Most people don’t realize that in LinkedIn search, even the free version, you can see people who follow others.

So first, let’s find an influencer and grab some of their content. For example, let’s say Brad Pierce — he’s an influencer with great content and attracts people I’d want to connect with. Actually, I’d probably choose someone who does something different but attracts the same audience.

Let’s use Mary Ellen Powell or Mark Hunter — both are influencers in the sales space. They have a great podcast every Saturday morning. I’ve met lots of people there. In fact, every morning at 8 AM, I join their livestream podcast and engage with others in the comments. I’ve met so many people in their network that I want to know. That’s number one — they’re the magnet for the right audience.

Now, the next level. I can go into LinkedIn search, click People instead of Posts, and under All Filters choose Followers Of. For example, Mark has over 150,000 followers. I can search for Followers of Mark Hunter and use my filters — maybe start with First-Degree Connections.

Then, I might reach out and say, “Hey Stan, I noticed we both follow Mark Hunter. I recently found his content on X, Y, and Z — happy to send it over if you’d like.” That way, I’m engaging with his content and using it to connect with people who follow him. I can also do this with second-degree connections to expand even further.

Using influencer content is a great way to engage.

Stan Robinson Jr. 13:04
Yep, that is a perfect segue.

Brynne Tillman 13:08
So, the industry expert piece is slightly different. They are full-on experts, but they may not be influencers. They might share content that gets seven reactions instead of hundreds. They may not even necessarily engage with your prospects.

For example, we work with a lot of professional services, insurance companies, and wealth management firms. There are industry experts in those areas that our prospects might find interesting — even if it has nothing to do with what we do.

Let’s say I’m reaching out to folks who sell property and casualty insurance. I might find that Cincinnati Insurance has great content. They do property and casualty. I can share something they’ve posted — I’m not sharing social selling content, but content relevant to my prospects.

So, I might reach out and say, “Hey, there’s some really great content from an industry expert in your space. I thought you might get value from this.” Or, if I’m connecting with people in mortgage insurance, I might say, “National Mortgage Insurance shared a great post on X, Y, and Z.”

I’m not promoting my content or even content that leads back to my business. I’m sharing content that matters to them.

Stan Robinson Jr. 15:29
Yep, that’s a great distinction. You have influencers with huge followings and great reach, who are likely experts in certain areas. Then you have well-known people — the ones you just mentioned — who may not have large followings, but they are experts.

Brynne Tillman 15:55
Right, and they bring great value.

Stan Robinson Jr. 15:59
Yep. Okay.

Brynne Tillman 16:01
Perfect. Let me throw in a few more things quickly, because the whole point here is engaging with other people’s content.

We can share our own content all day and get some engagement, but people who share their content care so much more about getting engagement. When they post and only get three or four interactions, being the fifth person — or even the first — makes a huge difference.

There’s also an algorithm benefit. When you engage on others’ content, they’re more likely to see your posts in return. So by focusing on engaging with the right people and the right messages, you bring value to your network — and they’ll start to see your content too.

Stan Robinson Jr. 17:10
Yes, it’s a triple win — it helps your network, it helps the person whose post you’re commenting on, and it helps you as well.

Brynne Tillman 17:25
This was fun!

Stan Robinson Jr. 17:28
Yes! And the last one, number five, is engaging with followers of well-known people in your industry. I guess this could also include followers of influencers.

Brynne Tillman 17:45
Yes, same thing. The interesting part is that influencers have a huge following, while industry professionals may not — but their audience is more targeted. They’re not attracting the masses; they’re attracting exactly the people you probably want to have conversations with.

So when you look at followers of industry experts, you may get fewer results, but they’ll likely be the right ones.

Stan Robinson Jr. 18:22
Exactly. Much more targeted. So good, as always. This has been amazing — always appreciate it.

Any last thoughts on engaging with other people’s content? One that comes to mind for me — and then I’ll let you wrap up — is Listen Notes.

Brynne Tillman 18:45
Oh, that’s a good one!

Stan Robinson Jr. 18:47
If you have someone in mind who might enjoy great content relevant to a prospect, you can search on ListenNotes.com. You can look up podcasts by keyword, people, or content topics. It really cuts down the time spent trying to find valuable content to share with a specific person.

Brynne Tillman 19:23
I love that, and that’s perfect. Let’s wrap a bow on it, because I love that you brought that up.

So now, imagine we’ve engaged on Meredith and Mark’s live stream. Then we go to Listen Notes and find a previous podcast they’ve done. I grab that link. Now I’ve engaged on their content, reached out to followers of those folks, and can share that podcast saying, “If you liked this, you’ll probably like this one too. Want me to send you the link?”

Then I can follow up with, “Who else do you follow? What other podcasts do you listen to?” That starts a real-world conversation.

Stan Robinson Jr. 20:17
Yes, I love that — a full-circle approach.

Brynne Tillman 20:21
Exactly — not just engaging, but getting real conversations going. Thank you, my friend. I appreciate you.

I know when Bob’s here, we have a much more professional ending, but we’re not doing that today. When you’re out and about, don’t forget to make your sales social!

Stan Robinson Jr. 20:47
Bye, guys. See you next time!

Outro:

Thanks for watching, and join us again for more special guest instructors, bringing you marketing, sales training, and social selling strategies that will set you apart. Hit the subscribe button below to get the latest episodes from the Making Sales Social podcast, give this video a thumbs up, and comment down below on what you want to hear from us next. You can also listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube Music, and Amazon Music. Visit our website, socialsaleslink.com for more information.