In a recent LinkedIn post, Dan Sherrard-Smith discusses the often-overlooked but potent strategy of engaging with comments on the platform, highlighting how a brief, thoughtful contribution can yield significantly higher engagement than regular content.
Sherrard-Smith shares an anecdote about one of his clients who invested just 63 seconds into crafting a comment on another user’s post. The impact was substantial, garnering 15,000 impressions, a figure that surpassed the client’s content performance over a two-week period.
“He replied thoughtfully to someone else’s post. Adding a key angle on the topic that the original creator had missed. And his comment resonated with his potential clients.”
The Strategic Advantage of Thoughtful Commenting
According to Dan Sherrard-Smith, this success stems from adding value and a unique perspective. He points out that the client’s comment didn’t just agree with the original post; it expanded upon it, offering a crucial angle that the original creator had overlooked. This approach, as Sherrard-Smith highlights, directly engaged potential clients by demonstrating expertise and offering fresh insights.
Sherrard-Smith argues that many individuals focusing on growth on LinkedIn tend to undervalue the power of commenting. This oversight, he suggests, is a missed opportunity for organic visibility and lead generation.
Free Visibility for Ideal Clients
As Dan Sherrard-Smith notes, commenting is a powerful, yet free, method to appear in front of an ideal audience. By strategically engaging with posts relevant to their industry or target demographic, users can capture attention without the need for paid promotion or the constant pressure of producing their own content.
“Commenting often gets ignored by people growing on LinkedIn. But it’s a powerful way to show up in front of your ideal clients for free.”
He emphasizes that the effectiveness lies not just in commenting, but in the quality and thoughtfulness of the contribution. A superficial comment is unlikely to generate significant traction. Instead, it’s the comments that add genuine value, spark further discussion, or offer a contrarian yet well-reasoned viewpoint that tend to perform best.
Encouraging Community Engagement
Dan Sherrard-Smith actively encourages his network to participate in this strategy, posing a question to his audience:
“What’s the last comment you wrote that outperformed your posts? Link to it in the comments of this post – would love to see them!”
This call to action not only seeks to gather more examples but also aims to foster a community where users share best practices and learn from each other’s successes in leveraging LinkedIn’s commenting features. Sherrard-Smith’s insights underscore the importance of a multi-faceted approach to LinkedIn engagement, where creating original content is complemented by strategic and value-driven interactions within the broader community.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Dan Sherrard-Smith on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on July 20, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →