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You do not always need to publish another post.
Sometimes the better move is to find a conversation that is already happening and contribute something useful.
Every day, people use LinkedIn and X to ask for recommendations, describe problems, compare services, and discuss projects. Those conversations can reveal potential customers, referral partners, and excellent ideas for future content.
Your job is not to interrupt every conversation with a sales pitch. Your job is to find the right conversations, listen carefully, and help when you have something relevant to add.
Today, you can do that in 20 minutes.
⚡ IN THIS ISSUE
Identify the phrases that signal a customer may need help
Find recent LinkedIn posts about your service or industry
Use X Advanced Search to locate specific conversations
Write useful replies without sounding like a salesperson
Save real customer language for future posts and offers
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🔬 TODAY'S FIELD TEST
BUILD THE THREE SEARCHES YOU WILL USE
The phrases in this section are not captions for you to publish. They are search terms you will enter into LinkedIn and X during the 20-minute exercise below.
Choose three types of searches:
A recommendation search: A phrase someone might use when looking for a professional.
A problem search: The plain-language name of a problem your business solves.
A change or buying signal: A phrase that suggests someone may soon need your service.
An accountant might use:
Recommendation search:
“recommend a CPA”Problem search:
“QuickBooks cleanup”Change or buying signal:
“changing accountants”
A real estate professional might use:
Recommendation search:
“recommend a realtor”Problem search:
“looking for office space”Change or buying signal:
“relocating to Portland”
Write down your three searches now. You will enter them one at a time in LinkedIn's post search. You will then try the same phrases in X Advanced Search, where you can add a location and limit the results to recent posts.
Begin with the words a potential customer or referral partner would actually use. Do not begin with the name of your product or an industry term that customers may not know.
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📡 SIGNAL CHECK
SEARCH BEFORE YOU CREATE
LinkedIn allows users to search for posts and filter the results by factors such as the date posted, content type, author, company, and industry. X Advanced Search can narrow results by exact phrases, people, places, languages, and date ranges.That means you can use both platforms as listening tools—not merely as places to publish announcements.
A search can help you discover:
questions customers repeatedly ask
confusing language customers use to describe a problem
complaints about an existing solution
topics that attract discussion in your industry
people and organizations that already reach your desired audience
One good search can produce a helpful reply, a new relationship, and your next five content ideas.
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🧪 THE EXPERIMENT:
THE 20-MINUTE CONVERSATION SPRINT
Set a timer and follow the steps below.
MINUTES 0–3: CHOOSE ONE PROBLEM AND ONE AUDIENCE
Do not search for everything your business does.
Choose one problem you solve and one group you want to reach.
For example:
Problem: Small businesses are confused about bookkeeping cleanup.
Audience: Local business owners and accountants who may refer clients.
Or:
Problem: A company is relocating employees to Portland.
Audience: Human-resources professionals, recruiters, mortgage professionals, and employees who may need a real estate agent.
This decision keeps your search focused.
MINUTES 3–10: FIND THREE LINKEDIN CONVERSATIONS
Enter one of your trigger phrases or problem terms in LinkedIn's search bar.
Then:
Select See all results.
Select the Posts tab.
Open the available filters.
Give recent posts priority by using the date filter.
Narrow the results by author, company, industry, or other relevant filters when necessary.
LinkedIn explains the current search steps in its guide to finding member posts.
Try several versions of each search.
An accountant could search for:
“recommend a CPA”“QuickBooks cleanup”“changing accountants”“construction bookkeeping”“small business cash flow”
A real estate professional could search for:
“recommend a realtor”“relocating to Portland”“moving to Oregon”“looking for office space”“office lease”
Do not look only for a post that says, “I need to hire someone today.” Accountants can also join useful conversations started by attorneys, financial advisers, lenders, payroll professionals, and business owners. Real estate professionals can look for discussions involving recruiters, relocation companies, mortgage professionals, business owners, and property managers.
Choose three posts where you can add genuine value.
MINUTES 10–17: USE X ADVANCED SEARCH
Sign in to X.com, enter a basic search, and open Advanced search through the search filters or the additional options menu.
X allows you to search for exact phrases and narrow the results by people, locations, languages, and dates. The official X Advanced Search guide explains the available fields.
Try searches such as:
“Can anyone recommend” + your service
“Looking for” + your service or profession
“Need help with” + the problem you solve
“Alternative to” + a product or service in your industry
Your service + your city or state
For example:
“can anyone recommend” accountant Portland“looking for a CPA” Oregon“QuickBooks cleanup”“relocating to Portland”“looking for office space” Portland
Use the exact-phrase field when wording matters. Limit the dates to recent posts when you are looking for a conversation you can still join. Use the location field when the service depends on geography.
Choose two or three relevant posts. Ignore posts that are old, unclear, unrelated, or obviously designed to attract spam.
MINUTES 17–20: ADD SOMETHING USEFUL
You do not need a perfect response. Use this four-part formula:
Show that you understood the question.
Provide one useful answer or step.
Add a specific example or warning when appropriate.
Ask a relevant question only if it helps the person move forward.
Here is a weak response:
We can help! Send me a direct message.
That response gives the reader no reason to trust the business.
Here is a stronger response:
If you are relocating to Portland, compare the actual drive at the time you expect to commute. Two homes that appear equally close on a map can have very different travel times. Which part of the metro area will you need to reach most often?
Here is another example:
Before paying someone to rebuild the file, export the current profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet. Those two reports often reveal whether the problem is a few incorrectly categorized transactions or a larger reconciliation issue. How many months have not been reconciled?
Do not add a website link unless it directly answers the question. Do not send an unsolicited direct message immediately after commenting. Let the public response demonstrate your expertise first.
THE THREE-COMMENT RULE
Complete this sprint with a small goal:
Leave three useful comments or replies.
Follow or connect with one genuinely relevant person.
Save one customer question for future content.
Send zero cold sales pitches.
Three thoughtful contributions are more valuable than 30 copies of the same promotional message.
If someone responds positively, continue the public conversation. Move to a private message only when the discussion requires private details or the person invites further contact.
TURN THE SEARCH INTO CONTENT
Keep a simple note with four columns:
Exact words used | Customer problem | Your useful answer | Possible content idea |
|---|---|---|---|
“My Google listing disappeared” | Profile may be suspended or filtered | Check profile status and recent edits first | What to check when a Google Business Profile disappears |
“QuickBooks is a mess” | Records may be uncategorized or unreconciled | Determine which months are unreconciled | Five records to gather before hiring a bookkeeper |
Use the customer's language in future headlines, emails, FAQs, and videos. Do not copy a private story or identify the person without permission. Use the pattern behind the question.
After several sessions, you will know which problems appear repeatedly. Those repeated problems can guide your content and your offers.
DO NOT TURN LISTENING INTO SPAM
Avoid these mistakes:
posting the same response under multiple conversations
pretending to be a customer
replying to sensitive personal situations with a public sales pitch
criticizing a competitor to promote your own business
using automation to send large numbers of replies or messages
promising a result before you understand the situation
The goal is to become recognizable as a useful participant, not an aggressive stranger.
🎯 BEFORE YOU CLOSE THIS EMAIL
Choose one customer problem. Search for it on LinkedIn and X. Leave three useful comments or replies, follow one relevant person, and save one question for your next piece of content.
Then reply and tell me what you found. Which platform produced the better conversations for your business? What part of LinkedIn or X would you like me to explain next?
Your answer may become the next Visibility Science field test.
Bottom line: You do not need to wait for customers to discover your next post. Find the conversations they are already having and contribute something worth remembering.
❓ WHAT DO YOU NEED HELP WITH?
We want Visibility Science to help with the marketing problems you are actually facing—not the ones marketers assume you have.
Reply to this email and tell us:
What part of marketing do you need help with right now?
What have you been trying to figure out?
What would you like me to explain or show you in a future issue?
It can be a broad question or one very specific problem. Your reply may help shape one of the next experiments we work through together.
Marketing engineered for business growth.
Till next time,