It’s all about consistency. Don’t just do this one massive sprint one day and you’re like, oh my gosh, I’m going to comment a hundred times. You’re not going to want to do it after that. It’s going to feel like LinkedIn’s going to be this massive chore. And welcome to the Let’s Eat, Grandma Career Warrior Podcast. My name is Chris Villanueva. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. We’re going to be talking not only about LinkedIn, but how to optimize your comment strategy. This is for folks who want to get their profiles noticed and want to use LinkedIn as an active part of their job search. Listen, posting on LinkedIn is great, but if you’re job searching or trying to grow fast, here is what’s going to work faster. Commenting strategically. So according to some data, research from Shield Analytics shows that 90% of engagement on LinkedIn comes from comments on other people’s posts, not your own listen.

Chris Villanueva 00:56
Have you ever posted something and then just gotten crickets? This is because LinkedIn doesn’t really care about posts more than comments. That’s not a thing. They care about engagement in general. So if you are engaging with somebody and commenting on somebody’s posts that has a really good conversation going, then you are more likely in some cases to get a meaningful reply or meaningful engagement through that comment versus your own post. Plus, according to LinkedIn’s own statistics, meaningful comments can two to three x your profile views, especially when it’s done consistently. So I will talk about that because it’s been a meaningful part of how I’ve engaged and found podcast guests and gotten clients and helped my clients find jobs. But I’m going to talk all about how to do that without wanting to bash your head in because you are just too tired of being on social media.

Chris Villanueva 01:51
So I just want to tell a quick story before I get started. Maybe some inspiration that you may need. Maybe you don’t need it, but I think job seeking is hard and I know it can be stressful, but I’m hack being actually a baby coming soon. So maybe at the time of this podcast release, the baby will have already come. I’ve been running around like crazy trying to get all of my ducks in a row for that time. But one of the things that I felt called to do was really get in the best shape of my life here. So I took it upon myself to walk 220 miles in a two week period. This is something I probably would not recommend for most people because I just was dying by the end of it. But I did this and increased my protein and drastically cut my carbs.

Chris Villanueva 02:37
This was a very, very tough feat and it’s something that I felt, I dunno, I just felt like I had to do it at this time and I was successful. I was able to get this done. It ended up being, I don’t know, something like eight marathons. I walked like 80% of the entire way through, and I don’t think I could have done that if I jogged my way. But the point of the story is that I was really frustrated before with the results that I was getting with my own health and fitness. I just kind of had been running the long game and was stuck in a rut of dieting and just trying to kind of go slow, but consistent, which is something that usually I practice and preach and something I recommend, but I just was ready. I was ready to knock out the result and knock it out quickly.

Chris Villanueva 03:27 
So I followed a trainer who recommended this program and pretty much knocked out 10 pounds in two weeks. Again, that’s something that is extreme. It’s not necessarily I would say a safe protocol, but it’s something that I felt like I could do and I have never felt or looked better here. So for you job seekers, for those folks who are professionals who feel like you were stuck in a rut, I’m not saying to do what I did, but know that in two weeks time it is a hundred percent possible to get to where you want to go faster. You just really need to put your head down and commit and move forward. The thing about walking, maybe there’s another analogy you can take from this, but I would not have been able to get to 220 miles if I jogged. In fact, I probably would’ve given up after the second day and just exhausted myself.

Chris Villanueva 04:26
But the fact that I was able to really fuel myself, energize, plug in with some good podcasts, some good music, and focus on what I was trying to accomplish that helped me get there. So in your life, maybe there’s something that you really want to achieve and maybe now is the time for you to put in all of those hours and all of that time to get it done and just freaking be done with it. Don’t worry about your job search anymore because you just got the job and you accomplished what you needed to in due time. So that message may not work for everybody. Maybe you need to move slower, but for the folks who are ready, I encourage you to focus on what you want to accomplish and move. Don’t stop moving until you finally get there and you will get there. Just believe in yourself, and I guarantee you, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to within reason.

Chris Villanueva 05:19 
You’re not going to have a 10 foot jump overnight, but these things are possible with enough hard work and focus. So let’s go back to LinkedIn. I recommend commenting with value. Okay? There’s a lot of AI bs out there. I’m starting to notice it, and I’m not going to lie, I’ve been guilty. I have been one of those folks that just I’m lazy and I just felt uninspired and I love ai, but I’ve just used it as too much of a crutch. You’ll see people now who are using AI to just post and it just doesn’t have much meaning behind it. Don’t do that with your comments. I want you to really think about what people are saying and don’t just say Great post, don’t just write some robotic thing, but really think about what the person is saying in a message in that post and add your own comment based on your experience.

Chris Villanueva 06:12
Maybe you want to share your own experience. So I’ve used this plenty of times to foster engagement and to build connections here, but that’s an important thing that I would recommend doing is just making sure you come from a place of value and a place of truth that can help you out a lot. Again, I’m not perfect, I’ve been guilty of it, but I’ve noticed that I have the most fruit and I have the most truly insightful and meaningful connection whenever it comes from an authentic place here, and I put time into my comment. Okay? The second tip I would recommend is really choosing high leverage posts. So I would look for content from let’s say hiring managers at your target companies, maybe folks who are in human resources. Yes, that means you have to do your research. Maybe this is some industry thought leader, somebody who already is getting a lot of engagement on their posts.

Chris Villanueva 07:05
I recommend doing that, not only choosing these because sometimes you want to pick a rando or somebody you just met who’s relevant, but I certainly would mix these high leverage posts into your strategy because that can be a quick way to get a lot of eyeballs on your feed and your profile. So an example of that is there is somebody by the name of Bridget Hasian, you all may be following her on LinkedIn. She’s from Trinidad and Tobago, but she has a massive following and a lot of engagement on her posts. And every once in a while I will comment and I will be just blown away by the amount of feedback I get on my own comment. It’s like more than my own posts. So I recommend choosing these high leverage posts as something that you can use in your own strategy. Alright, so the third tip I’ll give you is to stay consistent.

Chris Villanueva 07:55 
Again, this kind of goes back to the whole walking a marathon thing. I’m really trying to work that one. Hope you don’t mind, but I would say it’s all about consistency and making sure that you don’t just do this one massive sprint one day and you’re like, oh my gosh, I’m going to comment a hundred times. You’re not going to want to do it after that. It’s going to feel like LinkedIn is going to be this massive chore. All I’m talking about is just popping on and let’s say maybe doing three to five comments a week to start and then you could ramp it up if you like, depending on your job search. But build a habit around connecting with people on LinkedIn just a few minutes a day to start, I’m saying. And then as you go, you can increase that as long as it does not stress you out or increase it does not overload your brain here.

Chris Villanueva 08:49
That’s something that I really want to emphasize because you’re not going to want to come back to it and it’s going to be something that has not helped you. So it’s about consistency. So one, make sure to comment with value number two, choose high leverage posts. But yes, also make sure to mix that in with maybe say people in your industry you just met. Doesn’t have to be folks with the big following, but definitely mix those in. And the third tip I’ll give you when it comes to LinkedIn comments is to stay consistent, starting with three to five comments a week and then ramping that up as needed. So the reason this works is you end up leveraging somebody else’s reach. It’s not just your own. You’re not just building your own social media profile platform. I’m not asking you to be influencers, I’m asking you to find engagement.

Chris Villanueva 09:36
Another thing that this does is it drives up your profile views without being salesy. How many times have you gotten a LinkedIn request from somebody only to be followed by a sales pitch? So this is the organic way of connecting with somebody and I highly recommend it. Alright, so a few sources to think about are the Shield Analytics report from 2024 as well as the LinkedIn Creator Academy. I’ve used the LinkedIn Creator Academy myself and watched those videos. There’s a lot of really good stuff, so I most certainly would check out those sources when you get the time. Alright, y’all, thank you so much for tuning in. We have some really cool content coming up. I am just honored to have had some really amazing guests over the last seven years or so. So I’m going to be bringing some of them back to guest lecture on this podcast and then I’ll be back with a baby.

Chris Villanueva 10:30
It’ll be nice. It’s a boy and maybe I will be well rested, but probably not. I don’t think I will. But I’m just truly looking forward to helping you as the listener and coming back and connecting via this podcast. Alright y’all, thank you so much for tuning in. Again, head on over to letseatgrandma.com if you want a free resume critique and we have tons of other resources. I hope to see you there, Career Warrior Podcast. And before you go, remember if you’re not seeing the results you want in your job search, our highly trained team of professional resume writers here at, Let’s Eat, Grandma can help head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ to get a free resume critique and $70 off any one of our resume writing packages. We talk all the time on the show about the importance of being targeted in your job search. And with our unique writing process and focus on individual attention, you’ll get a resume cover letter and LinkedIn profile that are highly customized and tailored to your goals to help you get hired faster. Again, head on over to letseatgrandma.com/podcast/ Thanks, and I’ll see you next time.