LinkedIn Marketing

Introduction

LinkedIn isn’t just another social network – it’s the #1 platform for B2B marketing and sales. For CMOs, CROs, and growth-focused teams, LinkedIn offers unmatched access to decision-makers and a proven way to generate leads, build brand awareness, accelerate pipelines, and close deals.

With hundreds of millions of professionals (4 out of 5 of whom drive business decisions) on LinkedIn, the buying power and influence of this audience are unparalleled.

This guide merges the best of LinkedIn marketing and LinkedIn for business strategies into one punchy, inspirational, expert, and comprehensive article.

In this ultimate guide, you’ll learn how to develop a high-impact LinkedIn marketing strategy that fills your CRM with high-quality leads and opportunities. We cover actionable tips backed by data (for example, how adopting a persona-led approach boosted Adobe’s revenue by 54%​) and step-by-step tactics for marketing and sales teams.

Whether your goal is demand generation, brand building, or social selling to close deals faster, this guide will equip you with the knowledge to make LinkedIn a powerhouse channel in your go-to-market strategy.

(Bonus: Don’t miss the comparison table in the next section for a quick overview of LinkedIn Marketing vs. LinkedIn for Business tactics.)

LinkedIn Marketing vs. LinkedIn for Business: Key tactics compared

LinkedIn can be approached from a marketing perspective (“LinkedIn marketing”) and a sales perspective (“LinkedIn for business” or social selling).

The good news is that these approaches complement each other. Marketing drives awareness and inbound interest, while sales engages in targeted outreach and relationship-building – all on the same platform.

The table below highlights the key tactics and focus areas for each approach:

Table: Comparison of LinkedIn Marketing vs. LinkedIn for Business tactics for B2B demand generation. Both approaches share some fundamentals (a strong profile, a clear value proposition, and a focus on the buyer’s needs), which we’ll dive into below.

Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile and Company Page for Maximum Impact

First impressions matter on LinkedIn. Your personal profile and the company’s LinkedIn Page need to be polished and optimised; they are the foundation of your credibility and brand.

Seasoned LinkedIn users know that a well-optimised profile is a key asset to drive traffic and leads as part of a broader strategy. Here’s how to make sure your LinkedIn presence is top-notch:

Craft a High-Impact Personal Profile (Personal Brand Essentials)

Your personal LinkedIn profile (especially for client-facing roles like sales reps, founders, CMOs, etc.) should clearly communicate what you do, whom you help, and how you provide value.

Avoid the common mistake of treating your profile like a CV or job resume​.  Instead, think of it as your digital storefront for your personal brand – prospects will judge whether to engage with you based on the value you project.

Follow these steps to supercharge your profile:

• Headline & “About” Summary – State What You Do and How You Help: Don’t just list your title. Instead, use the headline to pitch your value proposition. For example, rather than “Sales Manager at TechCo,” use something like “Helping CFOs in Manufacturing save 20% on energy costs | Sales Manager at TechCo.”

  In the summary, expand on what problems you solve and how. Be concise and benefit-driven, speaking directly to your target audience’s pain points.

  (Tip: Write down a draft of “WHAT I DO” – a one-liner on how you help your target prospects – and refine it until it’s sharp and clear​.)

• Explain Your “How” and “Who”: After clarifying what you do, explain how you do it in practical terms (your unique process, methodology, or tools) and who you’ve helped (industries or roles you specialise in)​. This adds credibility and relevance.

  For instance, mention if you work with SaaS CMOs or if you have helped 50+ enterprise clients implement data-driven marketing, whatever establishes that you understand your buyers. This positioning will immediately differentiate you from generic profiles and show that you’re focused on solving specific problems for specific people.

• Show Social Proof with Testimonials: Nothing is more convincing than real recommendations. Include a few strong LinkedIn recommendations from happy clients or colleagues right on your profile. Pull in short quotes that highlight results or positive experiences​.

  For example: “X is a game-changer – helped us increase pipeline by 40% in six months.” These testimonials build trust and validate your claims.

  (Pro Tip: If you have customer reviews on sites like G2 or case studies, showcase the best snippets in your profile’s Featured section or Experience descriptions.)

• Include a Clear Call-to-Action: Treat your profile like a landing page – guide the visitor on what to do next. Make it easy for prospects to contact you by adding a line such as “👉 Let’s talk: Book a meeting [link] or email me at john@company.com” in your summary or as the last bullet in your experience. 

  You can even use a scheduling link (HubSpot Meeting, Calendly, Drift, etc.) to instantly let interested leads book a call. This is crucial for pipeline acceleration – if someone is impressed by your profile, capitalise on that by facilitating the next step.

• Polish the Details – Photo and Strapline: Use a professional profile photo that matches your audience’s expectations (dress as they do). People will subconsciously trust you more if you “look like them” or at least look approachable and credible​.

  Also, craft a concise profile strapline (headline) that encapsulates your role and impact. This line appears everywhere your name does on LinkedIn (posts, comments, search), so make it count.

  For example: “B2B SaaS Growth Marketer | Helping Tech Startups 3× Pipeline via LinkedIn & Inbound.” A strong headline signals your value at a glance and can intrigue prospects to view your full profile.

By optimising your personal profile with the steps above, you create a powerful first impression. Any prospect you engage will likely check out your profile, and a compelling profile will reinforce that you’re credible and can solve their problems, warming them up for further conversation.

Build a Credible LinkedIn Company Page (Your Brand’s Home Base)

Just as important as personal profiles is your LinkedIn Company Page. This is the hub for your brand on LinkedIn – a place to showcase your business, post updates, and validate your legitimacy.

If a potential client sees your employees on LinkedIn with no company page behind them, it raises questions (it “doesn’t present too well if a company can’t be bothered to create a company page”​). Here’s how to maximise your Company Page:

• Complete All Details: When setting up or updating your page, fill out every section. Add your logo, a clear company description, website URL, industry, company size, and specialties. A fully completed page signals professionalism.

  (For smaller businesses or consultants, this is extra important to build trust that you’re a real player.) Ensure your employees tag this page in their profiles so that your logo appears on their profiles – this association lends credibility and boosts your page’s follower count.

• Define Your URL and Invite Employees: Customise your LinkedIn page URL (e.g., linkedin.com/company/YourBrand) for consistency. Then, encourage all team members to connect their profiles to the page (by listing your company as their employer).

  The number of employees on your page gives social proof of your company’s size and helps prospects identify who works there.  It also means that when prospects visit your page, they can see if they share connections with your team, etc.

• Share Valuable Content Regularly: Treat your company page as a content distribution channel. Post updates that matter to your target audience, such as blog articles, infographics, short tips, product announcements, and behind-the-scenes content.

  Showcase how you solve customer problems. The content should demonstrate your expertise and thought leadership in your industry, not just push sales messages​. A well-run company page keeps your brand in your followers’ feeds and can influence deals (e.g., a prospect you’re courting sees a helpful post from your page and becomes more receptive).

• Use Visuals and Rich Media: LinkedIn’s algorithm and users love engaging media. On your page, incorporate videos, slides, and images in your posts where possible. For example, share short customer testimonial videos or a SlideShare-style post outlining a case study. Rich media tends to get more engagement and is a great way to repurpose marketing content for LinkedIn.

• Leverage Showcase Pages if Relevant: If your company has multiple products or services targeting different audiences, consider using LinkedIn Showcase Pages.  These niche pages branch off your main page for specific offerings or initiatives.

  For instance, if your company sells to both SMB and Enterprise, you could have a showcase page for your Enterprise solutions with content tailored to that segment.

  This helps keep messaging relevant and can improve engagement with each audience. (Only create these if you have enough content and a distinct audience; an abandoned showcase page can look worse than none at all.)

Your LinkedIn Company Page, when active and optimised, not only builds brand trust (prospects often check the company page before doing business) but also aids your marketing: you get access to Page Analytics and the ability to run LinkedIn Ads from your page. It’s a vital asset for brand awareness in the LinkedIn ecosystem.

Figure: Creating a LinkedIn Company Page is straightforward—fill out your page identity (name, URL, website) and company details. A complete page with a logo, description, and listed employees builds credibility at a glance.

Know Your Audience: The Power of Buyer Personas on LinkedIn

Success on LinkedIn (in marketing or sales) comes down to relevance – reaching the right people with the right message. That’s why defining your buyer personas and target audience is a crucial early step.

Both marketers and sales teams need to be crystal clear on who they want to engage on LinkedIn. If you try to market to everyone, you’ll resonate with no one.

Identify Your Ideal Customers: Start by profiling the types of companies and decision-makers that are the best fit for your product or service. In B2B, this might include firmographic criteria (industry, company size, geography) and role-based criteria (job titles, seniority, department).

For example, if you sell a sales engagement software, your ideal prospects might be tech companies (50-500 employees), and the decision-makers could be Heads of Sales, Sales Ops Managers, or CROs. Only connect with people at businesses that have the power to buy or influence.

It sounds obvious, but many reps waste time on irrelevant connections. Focus your efforts where there is real potential.

Use Buyer Personas to Fine-Tune Content and Ads: Detailed buyer personas (fictional representations of your ideal customers) are incredibly useful for LinkedIn marketing. They help you craft content that speaks to specific pain points and goals. They also guide your ad targeting options (job titles, groups, interests, etc.).

In fact, adopting a persona-driven approach can yield big results – when Adobe tailored its marketing to well-defined personas, it increased online revenue by 54%​. That’s huge! It shows that the more you align your LinkedIn outreach and content to what your target buyer cares about, the more effective it will be.

If you haven’t created formal buyer personas yet, consider doing so as part of your LinkedIn strategy. (You can download our Ultimate Guide to Buyer Personas for a step-by-step process on building personas if you need help.)

In short, know your customers' challenges, objectives, and keywords that trigger interest. This knowledge is your secret weapon for standing out in crowded newsfeeds and inboxes.

Targeting: Company Criteria and Decision-Maker Roles: On LinkedIn, you can filter and find prospects by very granular criteria. For a successful campaign, outline the company-level traits (e.g. “financial services companies in the UK with 200-1000 employees”) and the job roles you need (e.g. “CIO, CTO, or IT Director”).

Use LinkedIn’s search (or Sales Navigator) to build lists based on these. Pro tip: look for buying signals too – for instance, senior execs who recently changed jobs may be more open to new solutions (many new leaders implement new products within 3 months of starting​). Sales Navigator can highlight these job changes for you.

By understanding exactly who you want to reach, you can connect with only the most relevant people, improving your conversion rates and saving time. Your marketing team can likewise focus ad spend on the right eyeballs, improving ROI.

Your understanding of your buyer personas will inform everything from the way you write your profile to the content you post to the way you reach out. In LinkedIn marketing (and all B2B marketing), clarity on your ideal customer = higher success rate.

(For a deeper dive into identifying and targeting the right accounts and buyers, check out our guide on Account-Based Marketing as well. It aligns closely with persona-driven LinkedIn strategies.)

Share Content that Educates and Engages (LinkedIn Content Strategy)

Content is the fuel for LinkedIn marketing. Posting valuable content is how you attract your target audience, demonstrate expertise, and stay top-of-mind.

For sales teams, content is also a great conversation starter and nurturing tool (sharing a helpful article with a prospect can often re-engage them better than a generic “just checking in” message).

Here’s how to execute a winning LinkedIn content strategy:

• Post Thought Leadership that Solves Problems: Your content should address your buyers' challenges and questions. Aim to educate, not sell. For example, if your audience is CMOs struggling with CRM data quality, post a blog or LinkedIn article about “5 Ways to Improve CRM Data Quality for Sales Forecasting.”

  If your audience is sales directors looking to hit pipeline targets, share insights like “How to Accelerate Late-Stage Deals with Personalised Outreach.” By providing actionable tips, industry insights, or new research, you become a go-to resource.

  Remember, LinkedIn members are looking for thought leaders who can solve their problems​. The more you help without asking, the more credibility and inbound interest you build.

• Use Rich Media and Video: LinkedIn’s algorithm in recent years has favored content that sparks conversation, and rich media (videos, images, interactive content) can often stop scrolling and invite engagement. Native video, especially, is a high performer on LinkedIn. You don’t need a Hollywood production; even a 1-2 minute video of you sharing a quick tip or a customer success story can perform well.

  You can repurpose webinars or podcasts into short video snippets or audiograms for LinkedIn. And don’t forget to add subtitles (many people watch on mute) – tools like Otter.ai can transcribe easily​.

  Visual infographics or charts also do well, particularly if they convey a compelling statistic or insight relevant to your network. Mixing media types (text posts, videos, PDFs/Slides) will keep your feed fresh and broaden your reach.

• Encourage Engagement (Comments & Conversations): The LinkedIn algorithm prioritises content that generates conversation​. So, craft your posts to invite responses. Ask questions in your posts, solicit opinions on industry news, or share a contrarian take that encourages debate (professionally, of course).

  Additionally, engage back with those who comment – reply to comments and even go comment on others’ posts in your niche. This not only boosts visibility (your activity can appear in others’ feeds) but also starts building relationships.

  Example: If you post “The one cold outreach tactic that doesn’t work anymore is _____. What have you seen change in 2025 vs 2020?” you might get a lot of fellow professionals chipping in. More comments signal to LinkedIn that your post is interesting, extending its reach.

• Consistency Over Time: LinkedIn marketing rewards consistency. Plan to post regularly (e.g., a few times a week) on your personal profile and maintain an active posting schedule on the Company Page. Use a content calendar if possible.

  Regular content keeps you in the feeds of your followers. It might take a few touches before a prospect remembers your brand or decides to respond to your message, but consistent content ensures they see you multiple times, providing value.

  Consistency also helps grow your follower base naturally as people see and share your insights.

• Diversify Content Types: Aside from posts on the feed, consider writing LinkedIn Articles for deep dives (these live on your profile), creating LinkedIn Polls for quick engagement, or even leveraging LinkedIn Live or LinkedIn Newsletters if available to your profile. Every format has its benefits and can reach users in different ways (for instance, newsletter subscribers get email notifications).

  However, don’t spread too thin – focus on the formats you can execute well and that your audience responds to. A strong mix might be weekly short posts + monthly long-form articles + occasional polls or videos.

Focusing on valuable, engaging content will nurture your network and attract inbound interest. Marketing teams should coordinate with sales on content. For example, marketing can create a library of case studies or insight posts that sales reps can share to appear active (and they can see which content gets the best engagement, informing future content). This synergy turns LinkedIn into a powerful demand generation engine at scale.

(Need inspiration for content? See our “Social Media Marketing for Brand Awareness” article for ideas on crafting multi-channel content – many principles apply to LinkedIn as well.)

Expand Your Reach through LinkedIn Groups and Communities

Posting on your own feed isn’t the only way to get noticed. LinkedIn Groups are an underrated avenue to find and engage with your target audience in a more community-centric setting.

Groups are essentially forums on LinkedIn around specific industries, roles, or interests (e.g., “B2B Lead Generation Experts” or “SaaS Founders Network”). For B2B marketers and sellers, groups can be goldmines of prospects – if used thoughtfully.

Join Groups Where Your Prospects Gather: Search LinkedIn for groups relevant to your buyer personas’ interests. For example, if you sell marketing software, join groups for marketing leaders or demand generation. Once in, don’t just lurk – participate.

Share useful content (not spammy self-promotion) and answer questions if people post problems you can solve. The key is to provide value to the community first. As group members recognise you as a helpful expert, they’ll be more open to connecting with you or even reaching out.

Engage and Build Relationships: Within groups, comment on others’ posts, and drop insights. If someone asks, “Has anyone tried LinkedIn Sales Navigator? Is it worth it for a small team?”, you could jump in with a concise, helpful response (and subtly demonstrate your expertise on the topic).

Over time, this raises your profile. You can also share relevant resources (e.g., “I wrote a guide on optimising LinkedIn profiles – attaching here in case it helps,” if group rules allow).

Before you ever try to pitch, you should be seen as a contributor. Many salespeople make the mistake of joining groups and immediately blasting promotional content – this fails and often gets you removed. Instead, give before you take.

Consider Creating Your Own Group (Advanced): If you have the bandwidth and a content plan, creating a LinkedIn Group for your niche can be a powerful way to build a captive audience.

For example, a CMO might start a “B2B SaaS Marketing Leadership” group. By moderating a group, you position yourself as a thought leader and you literally “own” the community (you can control membership, messaging, etc.). You can invite prospects to join this exclusive group to get insights or network with peers.

The benefit is a more controlled environment to nurture leads – you can share content directly to group members and even host discussions or Q&As. Keep it valuable and not salesy; the trust you build will eventually lead to opportunities.

One tactic: make the group invite-only for your target prospects and keep competitors out (as mentioned by one expert, you can “close out the competition by setting the group to private”​). This creates a sense of exclusivity.

Build Credibility, Then Prospect: After you’ve been active in a group and have provided value, it’s natural to connect with members you’ve interacted with. When you send a connection request to a fellow group member, mention the group: “Hi Jane, saw your posts in the SaaS Founders group – would love to connect and keep in touch about growth strategies.”

Since you have a context together, they’re much more likely to accept. From there, you can gently move into a one-on-one conversation about business challenges (as covered in the next section on outreach). Remember, groups are a starting point to warm up relationships.

By leveraging groups, you extend your reach beyond just your first-degree connections. This is an excellent strategy for brand awareness (marketing can get the company name out there via content) and social selling (sales reps can find and engage prospects informally before a direct approach).

It does require genuine engagement – ghost towns groups won’t help, so choose active groups and be prepared to put in consistent effort to see results.

Use LinkedIn’s Advanced Tools: Sales Navigator, Smart Links, and Ads

LinkedIn offers powerful tools and features to take your marketing and prospecting to the next level. Let’s break down a few and how to use them effectively:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator – Your Prospecting Superpower

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a must-have for anyone in a business development or sales role. While a free LinkedIn account allows basic search and connection, Sales Navigator unlocks advanced capabilities that can massively streamline your prospecting:

• Advanced Lead & Company Search: Sales Nav lets you use many filters (company size, function, seniority level, posted content keywords, and more) to pinpoint exactly the right leads. You can save these searches and have new leads that match get automatically suggested. It’s like a living, breathing lead list that updates itself. In essence, Sales Navigator acts like a lightweight CRM/search tool combined​.

• Lead Lists and Alerts: You can save leads (people) and accounts (companies) into custom lists (e.g., “Top Target Accounts – Q2”). Sales Navigator will then provide updates on those leads/accounts, such as if someone posts on LinkedIn, changes jobs, or has a work anniversary.

  These alerts are invaluable triggers to reach out. For instance, if a saved lead gets promoted to CFO, you might send a congrats message (no pitch, just a friendly touchpoint) – this often leads to a conversation since it’s timely and personal.

• InMail and Profile Viewing Insights: With Sales Nav, you get a certain number of InMail credits to message people you’re not connected with. More importantly, you can see extended network insights and who has viewed your profile.

  When you visit a prospect’s profile using Sales Nav, it won’t alert them you viewed (in private mode) – unless you want to, which in some outreach sequences you might (as a breadcrumb that you looked).

  Also, Sales Nav removes the commercial search limit of free accounts, so you won’t hit that annoying ceiling if you’re doing a lot of prospect browsing.

• CRM Integration and Notes: Many CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) integrate with Sales Navigator. This means you can often sync leads from LinkedIn to CRM with one click, or even log LinkedIn messages to your CRM.

  Doing this is great for CRM data quality, ensuring that those LinkedIn interactions (which often happen outside of email) are recorded in your central system of record.

  It keeps your sales data complete and helps leadership see the full activity on an account. (If you use HubSpot, the integration can even show LinkedIn activity on the contact timeline and allow InMail directly from the CRM.)

Sales Navigator isn’t free, but the ROI is usually well worth it if you’re serious about LinkedIn for lead gen. As one LinkedIn expert said, Sales Nav is “critical for your success” in LinkedIn business prospecting because it gives you the tools to stay organised and informed. Consider it an investment in pipeline generation.

Smart Links (LinkedIn’s Saved Links/Attachments Feature)

If you have Sales Navigator (or certain premium accounts), you get access to LinkedIn Smart Links (previously called “PointDrive” or just the attachment feature in messages). This feature allows you to send trackable content links to prospects and see if they engage.

For example, instead of just emailing a PDF or dropping a raw link in a LinkedIn message, you can use Smart Links to package one or multiple content pieces (PDFs, videos, links) behind a single trackable URL. When your prospect clicks, you’ll get insights like which documents they opened, how long they spent, etc.

This is extremely useful for sales follow-ups: you might send a prospect a Smart Link with a case study and a one-pager. If you see they spent 5 minutes viewing the case study, that’s a buying signal to follow up. Moreover, Smart Links allows you to store frequently used assets and reuse them easily in conversations.

In LinkedIn messages, when you attach a Smart Link, the prospect sees a nice preview (title, thumbnail) of the content, much more enticing than a plain link. It keeps your communication all in one place and feels seamless to the prospect (they often don’t realise it’s a tracking tool).

Actionable tip: Prepare a few commonly used Smart Links for your team, e.g., a “About Us + Case Studies” kit, a “Product Demo Video” link, or an “E-book download” link. Use them when engaging prospects on LinkedIn.

This makes you look professional (prospects can download or view the info right from the link in the message) and gives you data. It’s similar to how marketing tracks email link clicks – now you have that power in LinkedIn outreach.

(Note: Smart Links are part of Sales Navigator Team/Enterprise licenses. If you only have the basic Sales Nav, you might have to upgrade to access this feature.)

LinkedIn Ads – Amplify Your Reach to Targeted Audiences

While a lot of this guide focuses on organic tactics and personal outreach, LinkedIn Ads deserve a mention as a potent tool in the arsenal of B2B marketers. If you have the budget for paid campaigns, LinkedIn’s ad platform allows you to reach exactly the right professionals with sponsored content. Some benefits and tips for LinkedIn Ads:

• Precision Targeting: LinkedIn’s ad targeting can zero in on job title, company industry, company size, seniority, skills, groups, and even specific companies (ABM style) or contact lists.

  This means you can, for example, run an ad campaign that only CMOs at Fortune 500 companies in healthcare will see. Or target all members of a particular LinkedIn Group or event.

  This precision is LinkedIn’s big advantage over other ad platforms. You’re paying a premium, but for many, it’s worth it because you’re getting in front of the exact people who fit your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

  In fact, LinkedIn reports that its audience typically has 2x the buying power of the average web audience, you’re reaching decision-makers with the budget.

• Use for High-Value Content and Offers: What kind of ads work best? Generally, promote content or events that your target audience would find genuinely valuable.

  For example, an eBook titled “Ultimate Guide to Reducing Manufacturing Costs” offered via a Lead Gen Form ad targeting COOs of manufacturing companies can perform well – you get their info when they submit for the eBook.

  Webinars or free workshops advertised to specific roles are also effective (e.g., “Exclusive Webinar for CTOs: Cybersecurity in 2025”).

  These kinds of offers tend to get better engagement than straight product ads because they provide immediate value. Over time, those leads can be nurtured into customers.

• Retarget and Layer Audiences: LinkedIn allows you to use retargeting (e.g., show ads to people who visited your website or engaged with one of your previous LinkedIn posts/ads).

  This is great for staying top-of-mind. You can also layer LinkedIn targeting with account lists – for example, only show ads to target accounts and also filter by job title.

  Multichannel approach: Some companies use LinkedIn ads to warm up an audience with thought leadership, while sales is reaching out in parallel. By the time a sales rep calls, the prospect might say, “Oh, I think I’ve heard of you,” thanks to seeing your LinkedIn ads, which can shorten the trust-building phase.

• Watch Your Budget and Measure: LinkedIn Ads are typically more expensive per click/lead than Facebook or Google. That said, the quality can be higher. Still, set clear budgets and measure results.

  Use LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager analytics to track clicks, leads, and conversions. Monitor which ads are yielding leads that actually become opportunities.

  Over time, optimise your targeting and creative (A/B test different messages). It’s worth noting that the lead quality from LinkedIn can be very high – one study famously noted 80% of B2B social media leads come from LinkedIn – but always validate that in your own context.

In summary, LinkedIn Ads can significantly expand your reach beyond your personal network and followers. They’re especially useful for marketing teams aiming to drive demand at scale, while the sales team works on targeted outreach. When both organic and paid efforts work together, you maximise share-of-voice among your prospects on LinkedIn.

(If you’re interested, we have a full article on how to use LinkedIn Ads for B2B success, covering campaign setup, formats, and case uses in detail.)

Mastering LinkedIn Outreach: From Connection to Conversion

Up to now, we’ve covered how to get your house in order (profiles, pages), understand your audience, and attract them with content. Now let’s talk about the direct outreach and social selling process – the bread and butter of “LinkedIn for Business” for sales teams.

This is how you turn LinkedIn connections into sales opportunities, without coming off as a spammer or burning bridges. Here’s a game plan:

Follow the New Rules of Engagement (No More Spammy Pitches)

LinkedIn is not the place for aggressive cold pitches or impersonal mass messaging. The “connect-and-pitch” tactic turns off modern buyers. Sending a message like “Hi, we have several connections in common, so let’s connect”, followed by a sales pitch, is a surefire way to be ignored. Instead, approach LinkedIn outreach with a value-first mindset:

• It’s All About Your Prospect: Before you ever mention your product, acknowledge and focus on the prospect’s context. Why might they be interested in connecting with you? Perhaps you share a common industry or interest, or you admire something about their company.

  Show that it’s not a random blast. Example opener: “Hi Sarah, I noticed you’re leading Customer Success at FinTech XYZ – always great to connect with fellow SaaS leaders in the finance space.” This is friendly, relevant, and not immediately selling.

• Be Clear and Concise: When reaching out (whether the connection request note or the first message after connecting), keep it short. No one wants to read a novel from a stranger on LinkedIn.

  A sentence or two is often enough for the invite note. Upon acceptance, a brief message that gets to the point politely is best (we’ll provide a template in a moment).

• Offer Value, Tease Insight: The best outreach messages deliver value or pique curiosity. Maybe you have insight or content that could help them. For example, “Thanks for connecting, Sam. Based on your profile, I thought you might be interested in a case study we did on optimising retail supply chains – happy to send it over if so.”

  This isn’t a hard sell, just a feeler that offers something relevant. Or ask a smart question to start the dialogue: “Curious, are you seeing the same trend in e-commerce returns increasing post-holidays? We’ve been researching this.”

  You avoid mistakenly sounding presumptuous or self-centred by centering the conversation on their world.

• Show How You Solve Problems (When the Time Comes): Eventually, you do want to explain what you offer, but frame it as a solution to a problem. As the guiding rules said, “Show how you are the solution to their problems”.

  Instead of “I sell X software, do you need it?”, try “Many retail ops directors I talk to struggle with handling holiday returns efficiently – that’s exactly what we helped Company ABC improve by 30%. If that’s on your radar, happy to chat.” This way, you’re relating your solution to their likely pain.

A Proven 3-Step Outreach Sequence

One effective approach to LinkedIn outreach is a staggered, multi-touch sequence. Here’s a blueprint you can adapt:

1. The View + Connect: On Day 1, simply view the prospect’s profile. This might sound odd, but when someone sees you view them, curiosity might lead them to view your profile in return. You’ve warmed them up a touch.

   On Day 2, send a personalized connection request. Keep the note brief. For example: “Hi {Name}, [personalized hook: e.g., “came across your post on XYZ” or “noticed we’re both members of the __ group”]. I’d love to connect and share ideas – I work with a lot of {their industry/role} on {relate to a challenge}. Thanks, {Your Name}.”

   An example from our playbook: “Arise specialises in inbound marketing, sales and lead generation for your industry. I saw that you’re a {Title}, so I thought it would be good to connect to share how we are helping solve challenges for companies like {Their Company}.”. Tailor that template to your context. The key is you’re saying why you want to connect in terms that benefit them.

2. The Follow-up Message: Once they accept your invite (give it a day or two after acceptance), send a thank-you and a gentle probe of interest.

   For instance: “Thanks for connecting, {Name}! As I mentioned, I work with companies like {Their Company} on {area of expertise}. If you’re curious, I’d be happy to share how we helped {Similar Company} see {result}. Would this be something you’re interested in discussing further?”

   Keep it low-pressure and genuine.

   An example sequence after connection could be: “Thanks for accepting... I feel you may face similar challenges in those areas. Would this be something you’re interested in discussing further?”​.

   Always end with a question to invite a response, rather than a pitch monologue.

3. The Break-up / Final Nudge: If you hear nothing after a week or so, send one last message. Be polite and even a bit self-deprecating.

   For example: “I realise you might not be actively looking at this now – no worries at all. I’ll send over a one-page overview about [Your Company] for future reference. If I don’t hear back, I won’t clutter your inbox further. Happy to chat whenever the time is right. Thanks!”

   Along with this, you could attach a short PDF (or better, Smart Link) as a parting gift. Interestingly, many prospects respond to this “last” message, either thanking you or even starting a conversation. It shows you respect their time and aren’t going to hound them.

   As noted in our tips, “you’d be surprised how often the breakup message prompts a response”​.

Throughout this sequence, focus on starting a conversation, not closing a deal on LinkedIn. Your aim is to move to a real call or meeting (because complex B2B deals won’t be signed over LinkedIn chat).

One expert rule: “Aim for appointments and calls, not closing deals. Don’t try to close on LinkedIn”​. Use LinkedIn to pique interest and build rapport; use your sales process later to seal the deal.

Nurture Relationships and Stay On Their Radar

Suppose the prospect engages in conversation, great! Follow their lead, answer questions, and when appropriate, suggest a call. But if they don’t  immediately bite, or even if they go dark after an initial chat, you should continue to nurture them on LinkedIn (in a non-intrusive way):

• Engage with Their Content: Follow the prospect (if they post content) or at least keep an eye on their posts. Like and comment thoughtfully on things they share. This keeps you visible to them.

  For example, if your prospect shares a company milestone or an article, drop a positive comment or an insightful question. It’s a touchpoint that isn’t a direct message, but it reminds them you exist and provides value or camaraderie.

• Share Useful Content Directly: If you come across an article, report, or news that you genuinely think would help a prospect, send it in a message: “Saw this report on {topic} and thought of our conversation – it touches on {benefit}. No rush to respond, just sharing in case it’s useful.”

  This positions you as a consultant and not just a salesperson. It also opens the door for them to reply with their thoughts, restarting the conversation.

• Patience and Timing: Maybe now isn’t the right time for the prospect (they might have other priorities). Don’t push too hard. Perhaps set a reminder to reach out in a couple of months if you still see them as a qualified lead.

  In the meantime, continue the light-touch engagement (comments, likes, maybe an occasional FYI message). When you do reach out again, reference the prior conversation or something new (“I noticed your company just expanded to Germany, congrats! How are you handling the new region for marketing?”).

  The fact that you pay attention will set you apart from 99% of salespeople who just move on after one try.

By nurturing prospects over time on LinkedIn, you build a relationship before the sales pitch. So when a need or interest arises, you’ll be the one they think of (because you’ve been helpful and present). This approach accelerates your pipeline later because trust is built upfront.

Measuring Success and Iterating Your LinkedIn Strategy

As with any marketing and sales effort, you need to measure outcomes and refine your approach on LinkedIn. Here are key metrics and how to use them for continuous improvement:

• LinkedIn Page Analytics: If you’re running a Company Page, regularly check the analytics (LinkedIn provides data on visitor demographics, post impressions, clicks, and engagement rates).

  Identify what content gets the most engagement – do video posts get 2× the clicks of link posts? Does posting on Tuesday outperform Friday? Use these insights to adjust your content strategy.

  Also, track follower growth and even compare it to competitors’ pages (manually). Growing followers and engagement are signs your brand awareness efforts are working. If metrics are flat, try different content or promotion (e.g., employees sharing page posts more, or occasional boosted posts).

• Lead Flow and Conversion Metrics: If you’re gating content via LinkedIn (like using LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms in ads, or driving traffic to your website landing pages), track the leads coming in. What’s the conversion rate from LinkedIn visitor to lead? And more importantly, do those leads progress in your sales funnel?

  It’s great to get 100 LinkedIn leads, but if none convert to opportunities, maybe the targeting or lead magnet needs tweaking. Use UTM parameters on links or LinkedIn’s own campaign data to attribute leads to LinkedIn.

  For Sales, you might manually track or tag opportunities that originated from LinkedIn outreach to calculate how much pipeline LinkedIn efforts are generating.

• Engagement and Response Rates: For social selling, keep an eye on your connection acceptance rate and message response rate. If you send 100 connection requests and only five accept, you might be targeting too high a level too fast, or your invite message needs work.

  If 50 people accept but only two respond to your follow-up, perhaps the follow-up message isn’t compelling, or you’re pushing the product too soon. Experiment with different messaging styles and see what yields better responses. Remember to personalise—even small personalisation boosts response rates significantly. Iterate your templates based on feedback.

• Pipeline Velocity: Track if engaging with leads on LinkedIn helps move them faster through your pipeline. Anecdotally, many teams find that leads engaged on LinkedIn (either via content or direct messages) close faster than cold leads, because trust and awareness were already built. See if that holds true; if so, that’s a great internal proof point for investing more in LinkedIn enablement.

• CRM Data Quality Improvements: If one of your challenges is keeping the CRM updated, measure if LinkedIn tools help. For example, are reps adding new LinkedIn-sourced contacts to the CRM? Is Sales Navigator integration automatically logging notes that would otherwise be lost?

  Perhaps track the completeness of contact profiles (phone, email, LinkedIn URL) before and after rolling out a LinkedIn prospecting initiative. Clean, updated data means marketing can retarget those leads better and sales can coordinate touches, leading to higher overall conversion. It’s a subtle metric, but improved data quality is a big win (dirty data is a common CMO/CRO headache).

• Personal Brand Growth (for Leadership): If you’re a CMO or executive using LinkedIn to build a personal brand, metrics might include profile views, post impressions, and follower growth on your personal profile. These can indicate that your thought leadership is gaining traction.

  In turn, that often correlates to more inbound opportunities – e.g., invitations to speak, media mentions, or inbound leads who say, “I’ve been following your posts.” While harder to measure, keep an eye on qualitative feedback too. If more prospects mention your LinkedIn content on sales calls, that’s a huge sign of impact.

Iterate and Adapt: LinkedIn (and its algorithm) is always evolving, so what works today might need tweaking next year. Stay updated on new features (maybe LinkedIn releases new tools or changes feed preferences).

Encourage your team to share success stories and tactics. Perhaps set up a monthly review of LinkedIn performance and tips, treating it like any other key sales/marketing channel.

Also, consider formalising some of this: e.g., incorporate LinkedIn SSI (Social Selling Index) as a friendly competition among reps to encourage best practices. The SSI is LinkedIn’s internal score of how well you’re doing the right things (profile completeness, networking, engaging insights, etc.). It’s not directly tied to revenue but can motivate good behaviour.

Turn LinkedIn into Your B2B Growth Engine

LinkedIn is a unique space where marketing and sales can collaborate to drive growth. By implementing the strategies in this guide—from polishing your profiles and company page to sharing resonating content to strategically prospecting and nurturing leads—you’ll build a powerful LinkedIn presence that generates demand and pipeline consistently.

Remember, success on LinkedIn (like any channel) comes from a mix of delivering value, staying authentic, and being persistent. You’re playing the long game of relationship-building. But the payoff can be transformational: a steady flow of high-quality leads, stronger trust with buyers before you ever speak, and a shortened sales cycle thanks to the rapport built via social selling.

It’s no wonder that LinkedIn is often credited with 80% or more of B2B social media leads – when you do it right, it works.

As a CMO or CRO, empower your team with these tactics. Encourage your marketers to think like sales reps (engage directly with the audience) and your salespeople to think like marketers (provide value and build a personal brand). The combination is lethal to your competitors and liberating for your growth goals.

Ready to supercharge your LinkedIn strategy? Whether you need to sharpen your LinkedIn marketing plan or train your sales team to become social selling ninjas, we’re here to help. Arise GTM has helped countless B2B companies build revenue-generating LinkedIn programs. If you want to accelerate your pipeline and win more deals through LinkedIn, book a call with our team and let’s strategise together.

Take the leap and turn LinkedIn into your competitive advantage in B2B marketing. Your future clients are out there scrolling—let’s ensure your content and messages make them stop, read, and respond.