Sometimes the best move isn't liking a post.

It's saying something out loud, in public, where everyone can see it.

I came across a post this week from a restaurant owner who was clearly proud but also confused. Their food was clearly working, they'd just had a customer drive 45 minutes from Cochrane. Alberta to Calgary back to their spot because the gyudon was that good. But then they posted a genuine question asking why, despite great food and great reviews, they were still struggling to get people in the door for dine-in.

That kind of honesty is rare to see publicly, and it's exactly the kind of moment where a lot of people just scroll past, or leave a like and move on.

I didn't do that. I replied, in the thread, where anyone following the post could see it, an offer to DM me if they wanted help figuring out their profile, and some post ideas.

Here's that exchange:

They DM'd me shortly after. I've attached the DM conversation below.

What I want you to notice isn't that I offered help. It's where I offered it. Not a quiet DM out of nowhere, a visible reply on a post that was actively getting traction. Everyone scrolling that thread saw someone step in and say, I know this, here's a hand. That's not the same as being helpful. It's being helpful with your name attached, in the room where it counts.

I wasn't trying to land a client, and honestly I don't even know if anything comes of it beyond a nice conversation. But that post was getting seen. So was my reply. And that's the whole strategy. You don't have to shout to be visible, you just have to be the one who actually says something real when the moment's right in front of you.

Has anyone else tried this, replying publicly with real expertise instead of sliding into DMs quietly?

I'd love to hear how it went.

3 comments

Sometimes the best move isn't liking a post.