Content marketing on LinkedIn isn’t easy… BUT it’s worth it.
After months of posting, it’s normal to feel frustrated if your following hasn’t exploded yet, or if your posts aren’t getting the engagement you hoped for. Don’t worry, that’s just the beginning.
LinkedIn is one of the best platforms to showcase your expertise and become a thought leader in your industry.
The first breakthrough is always the hardest, but once you push through, the results and opportunities will start to increase.
Keep showing up, stay consistent, and your audience will find you.
This article will share three stages you need to navigate to build a winning content strategy on LinkedIn. We’ll also share practical tips, examples, and strategies to help you grow your followers, boost engagement, and generate leads.
(Looking to generate more leads on LinkedIn? Hop on a free 15-minute strategy session with Jack Reamer, the CEO of SalesBread. Our LinkedIn lead generation agency gets our clients 1 lead per day through personalized LinkedIn outreach and ultra-refined list building.)
The different stages of LinkedIn content marketing
Phase 1: 0 – 6 months The “slog” stage
There are 3 stages in your LinkedIn content strategy.
There’s phase one, which is between 0 and 6 months. During this stage, you can almost expect zero inbound leads coming to you from posting on LinkedIn.
You might not even get any response from people saying that they love your posts, or even notice what you’re posting.
However, there is one benefit in these first 6 months (you can call this the slog stage), but what I’ve found is that profiles that are in this stage still benefit when prospects that you do outreach to check out your profile.
Why?
Because they see that you’re writing interesting things and solving similar problems. You are basically showing social proof and credibility. I find that the profiles that post regularly are seeing better reply rates to their outreach because their LinkedIn profiles are more legitimate.
Phase 2: 6 – 12 months The Smart Outreach Stage
At this stage, you still might not be earning business from your posts, but you should be getting a couple of dozen engagements.
You will definitely start to see a couple of comments on your posts.
During this phase, you can’t expect inbound leads to tell you that they want to work with you;
Instead…
As more and more buyers engage with your posts, that’s when you should do outreach to them.
You’re allowing your posts to warm up your audience for you. This will help you find interested buyers.
So, imagine at this stage you get 20 likes, and one of them is a CEO who works at a company that you would love to do business with, connect with this individual.
You can reach out to them and thank them for engaging with your post. You could even mention that they could feel free to use you as a resource.
Phase 3: 12 months and beyond
At this stage, you are going to see some business come through… You want to pay close attention to your incoming connection requests.
At this stage, you might notice some buyers who have been following you for a while, who want to start working with you.
Leads should start coming to you at this stage, but this doesn’t mean that you should stop reaching out to people who are engaging with your posts.
Remember to keep up the outreach consistent and to always be helpful and add value with each follow-up message.
It takes at least two to three posts a week in order to get through these stages.
LinkedIn content strategy for growing your audience
Growing your audience of ideal clients on LinkedIn won’t happen overnight. But if you stay consistent and follow a clear strategy, the rewards will come.
Follow these steps to start.
Step 1: Post from your own profile
You might be wondering why…
And there’s a simple reason for this…
Posts from founders and personal LinkedIn profiles outperform company pages on LinkedIn because people trust people. LinkedIn users would rather interact with a person than a faceless company logo.
The algorithm also favors content from personal profiles, meaning founder posts are more likely to land in feeds and get seen.
On top of that, posts from real people, especially leaders, carry authenticity and thought leadership that resonate far more than a corporate logo ever could.
And once those posts start getting traction, the engagement snowballs, creating a network effect that company pages just can’t match.
Ann Hadley, a LinkedIn influencer, does this well:
As you can see the above post got 143 comments, 17 reposts and 402 reactions. Not bad at all.
Step 2: Think about your brand positioning
When prospects land on your profile, they need to know exactly who you are and what you do in 1 sentence. Think of it as your ‘hook.’
If they can’t figure it out within seconds, they’ll likely move on.
Also, think about what’s the number one reason why people should follow you on LinkedIn? You need to be very specific about the value that you bring to your audience.
What’s YOUR unique value or perspective that you’re offering that your followers can’t get anywhere else? Maybe it’s insider insights, proven strategies, or hard-earned lessons from your own journey.
Be specific.
This is where brand positioning comes in.
The way you frame your expertise and value shapes how people see you compared to others in your space.
Are you the strategist who simplifies complex problems? The founder who shares raw lessons from the trenches? The consultant who gets results faster than the competition?
The more specific your positioning, the easier it is to attract and keep the right audience.
Step 3: Think about what you’re going to be consistently posting about (Use these content pillars)
Industry, thought leadership, and points of view
Strong points of view are what make people stop scrolling.
If you’re only posting generic tips, you’ll blend in with everyone else.
But when you share a clear opinion that’s based on real experience, you instantly stand out as a thought leader.
That’s how trust is built and how prospects start seeing you as the go-to in your space.
The more specific your perspective, the more likely you are to attract the right people and spark conversations that actually lead to opportunities.
Also, if you’re posting content that’s genuinely helpful, sharing specific strategies, how you solve real pain points, or insider industry insights, you’re doing more than just filling a feed.
You’re giving your target audience a reason to follow you, engage with your posts, and see you as a trusted expert.
For example, you might break down a step-by-step approach to generating B2B leads on LinkedIn, share how you overcame a common sales objection, or share trends and insights that others in your industry don’t usually talk about.
The more actionable and specific your content, the easier it is for prospects to see the value you bring and imagine how working with you could solve their own challenges.
Helpful content doesn’t just educate, it builds credibility, trust, and helps start those future conversations with potential clients.
Post about company values
Post about your company values. Sharing what you stand for doesn’t just build your brand with clients; it also helps attract the right people to your team. You could use this for recruiting top talent.
For example, if you mention that your company values hard work and perfectionism, this will weed out applicants who might think that it’s too much effort to work for you.
Below is an example of a company called Fame that clearly shares its values in a job post.
When prospects and followers see the principles your company lives by, potential candidates who align with those values are more likely to engage, reach out, or even apply for a role. The same goes for potential prospects.
For example, at SalesBread, we don’t ever use AI to write our LinkedIn outreach messages. All our messages are handwritten by our personalization experts.
This might attract prospects into working with us, because they know every message that their potential prospects get will be hand-curated and thoughtful.
Posting about company values is a simple way to make sure the people you want on your team are drawn to you, while also reinforcing your culture and credibility in the market.
Experts suggest that you should post a “company values post” at least once a week.
Share founder stories
Sharing founder stories, even something as simple as having dinner with someone in your ICP or a personal experience from your day, lets your audience see the person behind the brand.
These stories humanize your company, build relatability, and give context to why you do what you do.
When people connect with your journey, challenges, and wins, they start to trust you more and remember you.
Build relatability, and give context to why you do what you do.
When people connect with your journey, challenges, and wins, they start to trust you more and remember you.
Step 4: Paint a picture of growth
Paint a picture of growth by sharing concrete proof of progress.
Post about company metrics that show momentum, whether it’s hitting a revenue milestone, doubling your client base, or expanding into a new market.
You can and should also mix in employee stories that highlight the people behind the growth, like how a team member solved a tough challenge or learned a new skill.
And don’t forget client success stories: Share the before-and-after, the problem your company solved, and the results they achieved.
These kinds of posts not only demonstrate credibility, but they also inspire confidence in prospects and remind your network that your company is delivering real impact.
Step 5: Choose content formats that you enjoy working with
Use formats you actually enjoy creating.
Why?
Because consistency comes a lot easier when you’re playing to your strengths.
If you’re a writer, lean into long-form posts that share your ideas.
If you’re more comfortable on camera, use video to share insights in a more personal, direct way.
For the visual thinkers, graphics and LinkedIn carousels work great to break down complex topics into bite-sized, engaging slides that people can swipe through.
The key isn’t to force yourself into a format that doesn’t fit; it’s to pick the medium where you can show up authentically and deliver value in a way your audience will enjoy consuming.
Interestingly, though, stats are showing that LinkedIn is pushing video 5x more than any other format.
But content that is performing really well right now is probably long-form form in-depth text posts. Try to create a post that is so valuable that your audience will copy the link and share it.
You want to make these text posts very specific and actionable.
A LinkedIn user should be able to take some tips from your content and be able to apply them immediately, and see some kind of results.
When people see value in your content, it’s going to make them keep coming back to your LinkedIn account looking for more because they trust you.
So when they need LinkedIn lead generation services, for example, they are going to call you becasue they see you as the expert.
Step 6: Use your LinkedIn profile as a landing page
Think about your website’s landing page. It’s been created to get whoever lands on it to either sign up for your email list, book a call, or a demo.
Take that same approach with your LinkedIn landing page.
Your LinkedIn profile isn’t just a résumé.
It’s the first stop for prospects who are checking you out. Treat it like a landing page for your business.
Here’s how:
Use a Headline that hooks
Forget “CEO at XYZ.” That doesn’t tell anyone why they should connect with you. Instead, write a headline that shows the outcome you create.
Example: “Helping B2B founders land more sales meetings without cold calls or ads.”
Use your banner to sell
Your cover photo is wasted space if it’s just some random city skyline image. Use it to display your offer, your USP, or a client win.
Think of it like a billboard sitting right at the top of your page.
About section = your pitch
In a few sentences, spell out who you help, the pain points you solve, and the results you deliver.
Back it up with proof, such as sharing metrics, case studies, or real client outcomes. Dont forget to add your contact details at the bottom with a clear CTA.
Featured section = call to action
Drop in case studies, testimonials, or a link to book a call. Make it painfully obvious how someone can take the next step with you.
Use a Photo that builds trust
People connect with faces, not logos. Use a clean, professional shot where you look approachable. Keep it simple, a headshot will do.
Use the recommendations section for testimonials
You should also ask happy current customers if they would be willing to leave you a testimonial in your recommendations section. This is a great way to garner trust in your services and create social proof.
Step 7: Stay consistent
You need to be able to post every day or at least 3 times a week for 6 months. If you can’t stay consistent, your LinkedIn content strategy isn’t going to work,
Experts recommend setting aside an hour a day for writing, researching, and content.
Writing is a skill that takes time. Initially, it might take you 3 hours to write your first LinkedIn post, but with time and practice, it’s going to get easier, and you’re going to get faster.
If you write consistently every single day, you’re going to be way ahead of your competitors, 6 months from now, a year from now.
LinkedIn content strategy tips
Double Down on What’s Working
If you notice certain posts are consistently getting more impressions, comments, or DMs from prospects, that’s your signal.
Study what worked: Was it the format? The tone? The story angle? Once you figure that out, repeat it. You’re not copying yourself, but rather you’re building a system around proven results.
This way, instead of guessing, you’re creating content that you already know resonates with your ICP.
Create a Content Bank
Most people run out of content ideas because they’re starting from scratch every time they sit down to post.
A smarter way?
Keep a content bank, this could be a simple doc or spreadsheet where you capture client questions, objections, industry news, and even casual insights from conversations with your ICP.
Over time, this becomes your idea goldmine. The next time you need to post, you won’t be staring at a blank screen. You’ll have a backlog of ideas ready to go..
Repurpose Content
Great content doesn’t need to live and die in a single post.
If you wrote a long-form piece that performed well, break it into smaller tips for quick updates.
If you hosted a webinar, turn the highlights into a LinkedIn carousel.
If you shared a story on video, transcribe it and republish it as text. Repurposing not only saves you time, but it also allows your message to reach people who prefer different formats.
The goal is to stretch each good idea as far as it can go.
Frequently asked questions
How frequently should you post on LinkedIn for lead generation?
Keep it simple. Post at least once per day.
Why? Because if you’re doing this on your own, you might slip on quality if you’re posting 3 times a day.
If you can post once per day every day, that would be great. But if it feels overwhelming, post at least 3 times a week, for example, on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Don’t post less than 3 times a week, because it’s just not consistent enough.
What’s the ideal time for posting on LinkedIn?
Ideally, you should post mid-morning in your time zone. Try to think about when people will most likely engage with your posts.
For example, they aren’t going to be engaging with your post on a Friday evening at midnight.
Sundays are the worst times to post, so we don’t suggest it.
Why have a LinkedIn strategy? What do stats show?
By having a LinkedIn marketing strategy, you will be able to grow your audience over time, and this will eventually turn into business leads.
Stats show that LinkedIn sees a solid level of user engagement.
On average, people spend around 48 hours per month on the platform via mobile, according to DataReportal. While that might not seem like a huge amount, many users are active enough to check LinkedIn every day.
In fact, the 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report highlights that roughly 25% of users engage with brand content on LinkedIn daily.
The rest tend to use the platform more casually, visiting a few times per week or once every couple of weeks.
LinkedIn stands out as the top social media platform for B2B marketing. According to a global survey, 44% of B2B professionals consider it the most essential platform for their marketing efforts.
As we mentioned multiple times in this article, consistency builds trust.
When your LinkedIn audience sees you constantly, it keeps your company at the top of their minds.
A constant LinkedIn presence will help you look like a thought leader, and this is exactly what you want to drive results.
A content strategy on LinkedIn also gives you structure (and saves time).
Instead of scrambling to think of what to post, you already know the pillars you’re focusing on, whether that’s client success stories, industry trends, or your unique take on solving pain points.
It leads to conversations that turn into deals.
How to Build Your Target Audience on LinkedIn
We actually wrote a post on how to build more LinkedIn connections.
In this article, we share how to form valuable connections on LinkedIn that will eventually result in dream clients.
You read more about it here.
But basically, you need to do the following…
If you want to grow your network on LinkedIn, start small by reaching out to the low-hanging fruit; people you already know, like friends, colleagues, or former coworkers, and then expand to others in your city or with similar job titles, since these are non-threatening, people will be more likely to accept your LinkedIn connection request.
From there, begin targeting people in your ideal industry by joining LinkedIn groups, engaging with posts, and connecting with commenters, as well as reaching out to 2nd-degree connections who fit your ICP.
Once you have momentum, go after your “dream prospects” more intentionally by building a list of companies and individuals you’d ideally like to sell to, mention shared connections, but avoid the mistake of selling immediately; instead, focus on building value first.
You should also use tools and filters like Sales Navigator to find more precise opportunities or even scrape lists of people who engage with competitors’ content, since they’re already active in your space.
Always send personalized connection requests by referencing something specific about the person, like a shared interest, group, or recent post.
Skip the generic “I’d like to add you” messages, because personalization increases acceptance rates.
As you grow, pace your outreach:
Don’t overwhelm LinkedIn with too many requests at once, especially if your profile is new; instead, start with 20–25 requests a day and use mobile to supplement, while being mindful of LinkedIn’s limits to avoid restrictions.
But most importantly, aim for quality over quantity; it’s far better to have meaningful, relevant connections that align with your target audience than thousands of random followers.
Common Mistakes in LinkedIn Content Marketing
Even experienced LinkedIn marketers can fall into traps that could mess up their strategies, so avoid some of these pitfalls:
Posting inconsistently
One post a month won’t build momentum. LinkedIn rewards consistency, so aim for at least 3 posts per week, or daily if possible.
Focusing on quantity over quality
Posting generic or low-value content just to fill a gap can actually hurt engagement. Make each post helpful and actionable. Remember to carve out an hour a day for content writing.
Neglecting your profile
People will check your profile when they see your posts. If your headline, About section, or photo isn’t great, you’ll lose credibility.
Ignoring engagement
Posting and ghosting mean missed opportunities. Respond to comments and engage with others’ content.
Don’t forget to send a DM to those who interact with your posts. It’s all about building relationships.
Not defining your target audience
Without clarity on who you’re speaking to, your content won’t resonate. Know exactly who your ideal clients or prospects are.
Skipping content variety
Try different forms of content and see which resonates best with your audience, but also use forms of content that you enjoy creating.
Not providing value
Posts that are purely promotional or self-congratulatory rarely perform well. Share insights, tips, stories, or lessons that your audience can actually use.
Final thoughts
Building a strong LinkedIn presence doesn’t happen overnight, but with an effective content strategy, consistent effort, and authentic engagement, you can turn your content into meaningful connections and business opportunities.
Start small, focus on your audience, and create content that’s so insanely helpful that prospects will seek your content out.
Remember, every post, comment, and connection is a step toward establishing your authority and growing your network.
With patience and persistence, your LinkedIn strategy can become a lead generation magnet.
And if you need any outbound lead generation help on LinkedIn, hop on a free 15-minute strategy session below.
SalesBread is a B2B LinkedIn lead generation agency.
Our clients know they can expect 1 lead per day.
