Every LinkedIn post about your space leaves a list behind it: the people who liked it and the people who commented. Each has just shown interest in a topic you know well, and there are a lot of them, which is why post engagement is the warm signal that scales.
Short answer: open on the topic, never on the like. Warm up by liking a couple of their recent posts, connect with a note that names the conversation they joined, then send a short opener with a real point of view and a question. Updately's Post engagement template runs that as a campaign and lets an AI agent take the replies, aiming for a 20-minute call.
Key Takeaways
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who do you message? | People who liked or commented on posts about your space |
| Whose posts? | Yours, a competitor's or a thought leader's |
| What's the opener about? | The topic they engaged with, plus your own take |
| What should you never say? | "I saw you liked X's post" |
| What's the goal? | Turn interest in the topic into a 20-minute call |
Why post engagement beats a plain list
A title tells you someone could buy. A like or comment tells you what's on their mind right now, which gives your first message something real to talk about. Three kinds of post are worth mining:
- Your own posts. People already know your name.
- Competitors' posts. People paying attention to the problem you solve. See how to find people who liked competitor posts.
- Thought leaders' posts. Large audiences on a topic close to your product. More volume, more noise, so filter harder.
Commenters often show more intent than likers, because writing a comment takes more effort than tapping a button. The best comments deserve a reply by hand, which our guide to LinkedIn comment prospecting covers.
Where to get the list
- Post engagement signal. By default it watches your own posts. Point it at other people's profiles or at specific post URLs, choose reactions, comments or both, and everyone who engages becomes a lead.
- Keyword alerts. Track people posting about your keywords. Those leads carry the keyword they matched, which the template can use by name. See finding LinkedIn posts by keyword.
Popular posts attract students, job seekers, vendors and the poster's friends, so score every lead against an ICP filter before it reaches the campaign.
The Post engagement sequence, day by day
Delays count from the step before, and messages after the invitation wait until it's accepted. The sequence stops the moment someone replies.
| Day | Step | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Like recent posts | Likes their posts from the last 30 days, so your name is familiar when the request arrives |
| 0 | Connection request with a note | "Hi {FirstName}! Saw you engaging with the conversation on {Intent}. I'm in the same space and always glad to connect with people who follow it." |
| 1 day after they accept | Opener about the post | AI-written per person: opens on the topic they engaged with, gives one sharp point of view in a sentence, then asks how they're approaching it. No pitch |
| 4 days after they accept | Voice note follow-up | AI-written from the conversation so far and sent as a voice note: one concrete example or result on the topic, then a low-pressure question about whether it's a priority |
| 11 days after they accept | Value-first close | AI-written: offers something useful, such as a short resource or a quick teardown, instead of a call, with a yes or no question |
Unaccepted invitations are withdrawn after 14 days.
Watch the {Intent} in the invite note
{Intent} is filled with the keyword the lead's signal matched, such as the phrase a Keyword alerts lead posted about. When a lead has no keyword, as with a plain Post engagement list, the sentence using it is dropped rather than sent half-empty, so the note reads "Hi {FirstName}! I'm in the same space and always glad to connect with people who follow it." If you run one campaign per post, write the topic into the note yourself: "saw you in the conversation on hiring your first SDR".
What a good opener looks like
Hi Sam, I've been thinking a lot about first sales hires lately. My view is that most fail because of the list they're handed, not the rep. How are you approaching it as you grow the team?
It names the topic, adds a view and asks about them, with no mention of the like or your product. The AI knows the person engaged with a post, plus the keyword when there is one, so tell it the topic: describe the audience and how you found them under Who you're reaching out to on the AI Agent tab ("people who engaged with posts about hiring a first SDR").
How the AI agent handles replies
The objective is "Turn interest in the topic into a 20-minute call." The rules:
- They reply about the post: the AI shares one practical take of its own, then asks how they handle it at their company.
- They describe a problem you solve: it links the problem to what you offer in one sentence and suggests a short call with your booking link.
- They ask for more detail: it attaches the most relevant case study or demo from Files & Links, if you've added one.
- "We already use something": it asks what made them pick it and what's missing.
- "Not now": it offers a short resource instead of a call.
The shared hand-off rules apply too. If the AI lacks the facts in your business profile or Knowledge, it marks HUMAN INTERVENTION rather than guessing. It also hands over when someone shares an email, phone number or calendar link, or asks to switch to email or phone. Once the call is booked, it thanks them and ends the chat.
Follow-ups after a reply goes quiet
The Follow-ups card sends two messages to people who replied and then went silent, with waits of 2 days and 6 days. The first picks up exactly where it stopped with one low-pressure question. The second brings one new, concrete reason to talk and closes with a yes or no question.
How to adapt it
- Files & Links matters most here. The "more detail" rule attaches from it, so upload the case study, demo video or teardown you'd actually send, each with a short "use when" note.
- Knowledge: your own views on the topics you target. The AI's "practical take" is only as good as what it can draw on.
- Voice: paste two or three posts or messages you wrote on the topic, and set a voice for the voice note step.
- One campaign per topic. People who engaged with a pricing post and people who engaged with a hiring post need different conversations.
Common mistakes: saying "I noticed you liked a post" (it reads as surveillance), mixing your own engagers with a competitor's in one campaign, and turning the last message back into a call request. It offers a resource on purpose: after two unanswered messages, something useful is an easier yes than a meeting.
How to launch the Post engagement template in Updately
- Set up a Post engagement or Keyword alerts signal with an ICP filter, then create a campaign.
- On the AI Agent tab, click Start from a template and choose Post engagement under B2B SaaS & founders. It fills in the sequence, reply rules and follow-ups, keeping your voice, Knowledge, files and booking link.
- Upload your case study or demo to Files & Links.
- In the simulator, try a reply about the post, a problem you solve, "can you send more detail?", "we already use X" and "not now". Then run Test Sequence on the Workflow tab to read a real AI opener.
- Add leads and activate.
All four founder templates are on the campaign templates page. If many engagers use a competitor, the "My guess is…" opener is a natural next campaign, and our signal-based outreach templates cover openers for other signals.
FAQ
Is it OK to message people who liked a LinkedIn post?
Yes, if you talk about the topic rather than the fact that they liked something, and only message people who could genuinely use what you offer.
Can I message people who engaged with a competitor's post?
Yes. They care about the problem you solve. Keep them in a separate campaign from your own engagers, since they don't know you yet.
Should I target likers or commenters?
Both. Commenters put in more effort, so start with them if your list is large. Likers are a bigger pool and work well with a tight ICP filter.