LinkedIn lurkers are the biggest opportunity you don’t know you have. They don’t 'like' your posts, share them, or engage with you online in any way. But they do read and take notice of what you have to say.
So while you might be wondering why your latest post ‘bombed’ or got no engagement, there’s a literal army of people out there actively reading your content and forming opinions about you and your business.
They are the silent majority of LinkedIn. You may be one yourself! There’s no single reason that someone stays in the shadows. They are busy professionals, introverts, competitors or simply cautious observers. They might see no value in offering a ‘like’ or sharing your post with others. They might not have the time or inclination to share their opinion in a comment.
But that lack of overt action doesn’t mean your content isn’t resonating. Some of your biggest opportunities are brewing in the shadows right now. People you don’t know are getting ready to reach out, because they finally need what it is you do.
These are life’s nicest surprises. You’ll get a DM or connection request with a line like “I’ve been following your posts for a while….”, or “I saw what you had to say about (topic) and want to chat”. You may even meet someone at an event that sees who you are and says something like “I love your stuff on LinkedIn”.
You’ll probably be caught off guard, because a lurker knows you a lot better than you might imagine. They’ve likely read thousands of words of your thoughts and opinions and now they are ready to take the next step.
Silence doesn’t mean you’re invisible. Every post, every comment and every thought of yours are building awareness and trust for you and your business. Ignore the vanity metrics of likes, shares and comments.
Instead, look at impressions and profile views, often the only fleeting footprint a lurker will leave until they finally reveal themselves to you at some later point in time.
Keep showing up. Even if it feels like no-one is listening. Delivering consistent, thoughtful content builds trust with lurkers over time, and when they finally step into your life, they do so with purpose and intent.
If you want to keep your lurkers lurking, we can help you create a consistent program of content creation and publishing to ensure you remain top of mind with your silent fans.