How Top Industry Leaders use LinkedIn for their Go-To-Market

LinkedIn remains to be the number one place to connect with your audience. You do however need to know how to use it effectively. Don’t be afraid to show honesty and an opinion.

Too often people push the corporate line which often ends up offering very little substance. By far the most important thing is to try to add value.

Always ask yourself the question: “Is this something that can help my audience?”.

I have always found that actionable advice leads to engagement. And the more you try to compound that engagement, the more you expand your brand, which typically turns into inbound.

LinkedIn remains the number one tool to engage with prospects, you just need to know how to play the game.

For me, LinkedIn is no longer just the best place to find a job, it’s a powerful tool for my GTM strategy. I honestly can’t imagine my sales activities without it. Here’s how I’ve used it to my advantage:

Instead of reaching out through just one channel like email, I’ve found that using LinkedIn for multiple touches works best. I engage with key decision-makers and their content to build visibility as a trusted advisor, not just to promote my product.

When I’m making personalized outreach, I always check the latest company news and updates about my target persona. This helps me stay on top of their business, making my message much more relevant. A simple comment on their post or sharing insightful content can go a long way in building a strong connection.

Consistency has been key for me. I engage regularly with my prospects, whether through likes, comments, or sharing valuable resources. It helps me stay on their radar and strengthens my relationship over time.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator has saved me so much time. It helps me quickly find key decision-makers, filter them by criteria, and stay updated on company developments. Plus, it’s great for connecting with new hires, giving me a chance to build relationships early. I always make sure to follow up with a personalized message to reinforce my value proposition and build trust.

By engaging smartly and consistently, LinkedIn has been a tremendous asset for me and has become a key pillar in my GTM approach.

At ChartMogul, LinkedIn is a big part of how we connect with the SaaS community. It’s where we meet founders, GTM leaders, and operators who are in the thick of building and scaling.

We don’t just use it to push content, it’s a space where we share what we’re learning, highlight insights from our platform, and try to offer something genuinely useful. That might be a new takeaway from our latest data-backed report, a heads-up about an upcoming event, or a short video breaking down a growth challenge we know founders are dealing with.

We’ve found that people connect more with people than with brands, so we prioritise sharing content through individual team members. It’s more authentic, and it creates better conversations.

Everything we post is tailored for LinkedIn, whether that’s turning a blog post into a carousel, highlighting a stat with quick context, or keeping things short and scannable. More than just driving traffic, our goal is to show up consistently, be helpful, and build long-term trust with the SaaS teams we are here to support.

For Scripe, LinkedIn has been pivotal for our go-to-market strategy, helping us scale rapidly to €500,000 ARR and over 10,000 sign-ups in just seven months. Here’s how we leverage LinkedIn effectively:

Our team actively creates and engages with content daily on LinkedIn. This consistent visibility has allowed us to quickly validate messaging, attract ideal early adopters, and generate authentic demand.

We encourage early users and partners to openly share their experiences with Scripe on LinkedIn. Their genuine stories build credibility, trust, and powerful social proof that accelerates growth.

Rather than random partnerships, we carefully select creators whose audiences align closely with our vision and values. These creators authentically highlight Scripe’s value, significantly boosting our visibility, trust, and adoption.

Our affiliate program offers lifetime commissions, clear resources, and engaging incentives, turning our most enthusiastic users into long-term advocates. LinkedIn serves as a powerful channel for these advocates to spread word-of-mouth recommendations.

Building trust through LinkedIn requires consistency. Each post we share proactively speaks to our audience’s key pain points, clearly demonstrates outcomes they care about, and provides tangible proof points. Over time, this consistent communication compounds into meaningful inbound leads and loyal customers.

In short, LinkedIn has become our most important channel—not just for generating leads, but for building authentic connections, amplifying our storytelling, and driving sustainable growth.

I use LinkedIn to build relationships with potential customers. A simple message on LinkedIn often creates a completely different dynamic than a cold email. Sometimes I also send memes or voice notes. There’s a face, a context, and in the best case even mutual connections. It feels more human. I also use LinkedIn to stay in touch with existing customers.

LinkedIn is also a great tool for sellers to build their personal brand. Not to share necessarily the companies content, but their perspectives, wins or inspiration. A personal brand isn’t just for founders or marketers. It can build trust and creates reach in a very authentic way.

Sales Navigator is one of my favorite tools — not only to identify and reach out to the right prospects, but also to find the right talent. When you’re scaling a GTM team, hiring is just as important as selling. And LinkedIn helps with both.

I use LinkedIn as a core GTM channel for my clients by turning their profiles into powerful positioning tools.

First, I optimize their profiles to clearly communicate who they are, what they do, and why they’re worth listening to.

Then, I create consistent, value-driven content that speaks directly to their audience’s pain points through storytelling, insights, and practical advice.

Each post is designed to spark engagement and build trust. Alongside content, I run personalized outreach campaigns to connect them with ideal prospects, no spam, just tailored, friendly messages that start real conversations.

We also actively engage with relevant posts and communities to boost visibility and credibility. Everything is tracked and refined to double down on what’s working.

This mix of strong personal branding, smart content, and strategic networking helps my clients grow their presence, generate leads, and create long-term relationships on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn could be a great channel when used right. There are several components that contribute to the success:

Connect on regular basis with your ICP, potential customers, decision makers. You can send about 400 connect requests per month and even more with mobile requests on LinkedIn.

This one is important. I usually recommend a variety of content formats – text, text+image, videos, carousels. I find that carousels tend to work best at the same time videos built trust as people who are silently watching them feel like they already know you.

LinkedIn algos are changin and It’s important to keep up and follow the rules. e.g. lately it’s commenting before and after the post (just no AI fluff please) which helps your post get better engagement.

Crafting the right message is important for self branding – your posts, images, videos or any content you share has to be recognizable.

Adding as much info as possible: featured posts, services, testimonials, achievements, etc. Don’t forget about keywords in the profile description. Great headshot, background image, media you are using – ensure it’s all on brand.

People are so tired of them and there are too many these days. Inbound is a way better approach – people come to you because they trust you.

Overall, grow your audience, grow trust, show them how you can solve their issues and let them come to you.

GTM is changing fast, and LinkedIn is at the core of it, especially for early-stage startups.

Right now, founder-led content isn’t just helpful. It’s the highest-performing GTM motion we’ve seen.

At our startup, we’ve tested different things: outbound, paid, partnerships, company account posts. Nothing beats the results we get when the founder creates content, jumps into comment sections, and engages with people who like or follow the page.

Conversion rates are way higher when it comes from the founder’s account. Early stage it’s likely the founder personally writes to figure out style and vibe, but when scaling you can outsource with a ghostwriter or SDR managing the account; as long as it feels human and there’s clear value.

Here’s what’s been working well for us in 2025:

AI can help with scaling some of this, but trust still comes from a human face and human interactions. If you’re in early-stage B2B and not doing founder-led content, you’re leaving deals on the table.

I generate 80% of my opportunities through LinkedIn, but there’s a catch: it’s not a lead generation platform. It’s a social network and you have to use it as such if you want to generate opportunities.

This means you need to use it with the end goal of booking meetings with prospects, but following specific steps. For example, I recommend commenting actively on relevant people’s posts (for example, thought-leaders who speak to your ICP) so you start being visible for your prospects. This regular habit will drive people to your LinkedIn profile, where you can use their visit as an excuse to start a conversation.

When the conversation is started, you can highlight a common problem your customers typically solve with your solution, and ask if people are faced with this problem (use one of these templates to do so).

The whole game is about navigating the conversation so you can suggest the prospect to book a call to make a dent in their problem. It has nothing to do about pitching your product, but everything to do with showing you understand their problems.

LinkedIn is a gamechanger when it comes to brand building. The number one use case is building authority at scale.

By publishing valuable content, you’ll not only attract leads, but you’ll educate the market at scale.

The best content is actionable and simple.

It’s also much easier than you think, because it’s repetitive. The best creators say the same thing over & over again.

However, maybe you need add a little more thought into it: optimize for your audience. Short form, long form, most buyers are lurkers and won’t engage that much.

That’s why you will add your ICP on auto-pilot.

No pitchslap or outreach (just yet).

Add them continuously and then wait until you have a good reason to ask them a few questions. Or maybe it’s asking some input for a LinkedIn article? 😇

Leveraging voice notes and personal video recordings work, as long as they aren’t super generic.

Building my brand by preaching about sales, AI and outbound for 5+ years has generated me millions in pipeline and I won’t ever stop posting, I think 🤔

LinkedIn has been invaluable in my sales career. It’s a place where if you can show up consistently and share value the rewards are immense.

I use it to build and grow my network, share learnings, and almost more importantly, especially now, to tap into referrals. Happy customers and folks I’ve sold to in the past can open doors with introductions that help me come into the conversation with a new prospect with some established trust and credibility.

Other ways it’s been helpful are

Becoming your own personal inbound channel – Folks reaching out asking to learn more about what you’re offering.

Better shot at more opportunities – Every time you post you get a chance to connect with new folks. Maybe they’re buyers, champions, or a hiring manager… The ripple effect is real!

I’ve been on LinkedIn since 2008, but it was in 2014 that I transformed it into a core engine for go-to-market (GTM) success — not just to generate leads, but to:

What truly made the difference wasn’t just tactics — it was mindset.

I’ve always believed that H2H (Human to Human) interaction is the foundation of real growth. Even in a digital-first world, people respond to people — not automation.

That principle led me to develop the One Sentence Methodology: a high-conversion messaging framework built on:

This isn’t about blasting generic messages at scale. It’s about delivering the right message to the right person at the right moment — and doing it with purpose.

For me, LinkedIn is more than a platform. It’s a strategic ecosystem where positioning, timing, and authenticity drive both relationships and revenue

As a VP of Sales, I rely heavily on LinkedIn, especially Sales Navigator and advanced company insights—not just for prospecting, but for strategic intelligence. I continuously monitor how organizations are evolving: departmental expansions or restructurings, key leadership hires, funding rounds, and macro industry shifts.

These data points aren’t just surface-level observations—they’re signals. They tell a story about where a company is headed, what challenges it may face, and where value can be created.

I use this intelligence to map opportunity to business impact. For example, if a company is building out a new function—say, DevSecOps or Revenue Operations—it often reflects a broader strategic initiative.

That’s my cue to model potential ROI for software solutions aligned to those objectives, factoring in things like process inefficiencies, risk exposure, or missed revenue potential.

This approach is at the core of how we execute value-based selling. Instead of leading with product features, we lead with business context, making sure every conversation is anchored in what actually matters to that organization right now.

It’s a more consultative, relevant, and ultimately effective way to engage modern buyers, and it’s helped us significantly shorten sales cycles, increase deal size, and build stronger customer relationships.

Today building a product is not as hard as it was the last decade. We are entering the next paradigm – where it’s all going to be distribution focused. In this paradigm – if your target audience spends time on LinkedIn – then that is the place one ought to focus on! Here are some learnings of mine:

Brand Before Outreach: Establishing a consistent presence significantly improves response rates. People are more likely to engage when they recognize your name and perspective (or even someone with a decent designation or high number of followers)

Podcast Invitations Open Doors – Active LinkedIn users are typically open to deeper engagement like podcast interviews. Leverage such mediums that help you build your brand and build relationships.

Strategic Associations: Connect with industry veterans within your ICP. These relationships enhance credibility and open doors to their networks.

Impact Exceeds Metrics: Don’t fixate on likes and comments. Many people consume content silently but will reference your insights during in-person meetings.

Align Outreach with ICP: Match your LinkedIn outreach strategy to your ICP’s preferences. When targeting founders as an account executive, cold outreach may yield minimal results. Instead, leveraging your own founder’s LinkedIn profile and network can significantly improve response rates and create more meaningful entry points to conversations.

When it comes to executing a Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy — especially in the B2B space — LinkedIn isn’t just a networking tool, it’s a full-scale distribution engine. At every stage of your GTM journey, LinkedIn offers unique levers to drive awareness, educate your ICP, and generate demand.

Start by aligning your leadership and sales teams’ profiles with the core GTM messaging. These profiles act as micro landing pages — prospects do check them out, and consistency here builds credibility.

Next, treat LinkedIn like a content machine. Post regularly around your narrative: talk about the problem your product solves, share learnings from early customers, and engage in relevant conversations. This builds organic trust within your target market.

For outreach, LinkedIn’s search and Sales Navigator are goldmines. Smart, personalized outreach from real humans beats mass cold emails every time. Use it to start real conversations — not just pitch decks.

Finally, don’t shy away from paid. Sponsored posts and InMail campaigns can amplify launches, feature updates, or webinars with precise targeting.

LinkedIn is where your buyers live. Make sure your GTM lives there too.

When it comes to go-to-market, I really believe you have to be where your customers are. And for a lot of us selling into marketing, sales, or other tech-forward spaces, that place is LinkedIn. It’s where buyers, champions, and decision-makers are spending their time. They’re learning, discovering new tools, and stumbling across solutions.

So if that’s where they are, that’s where you need to be too. For us, LinkedIn has become a critical part of our strategy. Over 90 percent of our pipeline is either influenced by or directly sourced through LinkedIn. Whether it’s someone reacting to a post and reaching out, or just seeing us repeatedly before booking a demo, LinkedIn plays a big role in how we get in front of the right people.

Here’s how we’ve operationalized our LinkedIn GTM at Salesmotion:

In the early days, it was pretty scrappy. I’d post something, someone would like it, maybe send a message, we’d hop on a call—and sometimes that turned into a customer.

Over the past year, though, we’ve gotten a lot more intentional. Now, I post regularly—three to five times a week—both from my personal profile and the Salesmotion company page.

We track everything:
• Post engagement and reactions
• Follower growth on both company and personal profiles
• Visits to both profiles and the company page

Then we check if those people are in our ICP. Based on how they interacted—whether they liked, commented, or just visited—we run a semi-automated or fully automated follow-up sequence. That might include a connection request, a quick message, or even a voice note.

The key for us is to keep it light. We’re not trying to hard-sell on LinkedIn. It’s a conversation starter, not a pitch. And that works really well.

But our LinkedIn GTM goes beyond just pipeline generation. It’s also part of how we run deals. It keeps us top of mind during the sales cycle with key stakeholders. I’ve had prospects mention specific posts that helped reinforce our position as a trusted vendor. That’s huge as a bootstrapped startup without big marketing budgets. And once they become customers, LinkedIn becomes a channel for ongoing engagement. They see feature announcements, send us ideas, ask what’s on the roadmap.

LinkedIn isn’t just about sales. It’s how we capture the voice of the customer and build a product that stays aligned with their needs.

It’s a big part of how we generate demand, stay in the conversation, and keep our customers close.

LinkedIn isn’t your digital brochure, it’s your innovation battlefield.

Forget polished perfection—share the raw, unvarnished truth of bringing new to the market: the wins and the brutal failures.

Those failures? They’re not setbacks; they’re the vital data points the market needs.

We simplify the complex by showing the real journey because failing fast and forward is how we learn and leap.

This platform isn’t just for connections but a collective intelligence hub for rapid GTM iteration.

Be more human, authentic, and transparent—it’s the ultimate strength.

The best way to leverage LinkedIn for your Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy is to treat it as an asset: a hub for visibility, relationships, and long-term business opportunities, rather than as a pure lead generation tool.

Why? Because LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a social media platform. And when you build your presence on organic content, you’re playing a long game. You simply can’t rely on it for a predictable pipeline, especially as an organization. Individuals may occasionally get a consistent trickle of inbound leads, but for companies, the results are too volatile to be counted on as a repeatable process.

Instead, think of LinkedIn as a strategic foundation for warming up leads, not closing them. Its greatest strengths lie in raising awareness for your product, service, and leadership, and in opening doors to partnerships, talent acquisition, and investor interest.

When it comes to actual lead generation, DMs are far more effective. With outbound messaging, you can control the volume, track reply rates, and build a repeatable process, making it far more reliable than waiting for inbound traffic from a post to convert.

If you’re entering a new market, such as expanding a European SaaS into the U.S., don’t start by selling. Start by showing up. Create content that builds credibility and emotional rapport through stories, content in English, written for the local business culture, focused on ideas and insights rather than sales pitches. Use this time to connect with relevant people, grow your audience, and become a familiar name.

Only after you’ve built that presence and that trust, should you begin to introduce sales conversations. Whether that takes 3, 6, or 12 months depends on the market, but the principle stays the same: credibility first, conversion second.

How to use visibility strategically – and win in sales with authenticity

LinkedIn isn’t a sales tool. It’s a marketplace. The Go-to-Market (GTM) phase is critical: you’ve got a strong product, a clear goal, and a great team. But that alone won’t be enough if you’re not visible where your target audience actually spends time – and makes decisions.

Today, LinkedIn is far more than a career platform. It’s a digital marketplace for ideas, opinions, products, and people. That’s exactly why it’s one of the most valuable channels for your GTM strategy.

Visibility beats scripts: How LinkedIn strengthens your cold outreach

Traditional cold outreach is still a core element in many GTM strategies – and rightfully so. The direct connection to potential buyers remains essential. But the question is: how cold does outreach need to be these days?

With LinkedIn, you have the chance to reach your audience early – before you ever contact them. You can position yourself as a relevant voice, build trust, and make sure your name is familiar before you show up in their inbox. Sure – technically, a LinkedIn message is still cold outreach. But it doesn’t feel cold if they already know who you are.

This transforms anonymous outreach into a targeted follow-up. The impact is just as direct – but the entry point becomes warmer, more human, and often more successful.

Visibility is good. But what truly resonates with your audience is authenticity.

This is where it becomes clear what really matters in modern sales: Your stance. Your voice. Your authenticity.

When people experience you on LinkedIn – through posts, comments, or conversations – they form a perception. And that perception determines whether they trust you. Whether they see you as a credible conversation partner. Whether they respond when you reach out.

That’s why authenticity isn’t a soft factor – it’s a strategic advantage in GTM.
Especially in industries where relationships, trust, and personality still drive purchasing decisions – like the industrial mid-market or B2B software.

Modern sales no longer rely on glossy slides and generic value props. It’s about real connection.

People don’t just buy your product – they buy that you believe in it.

On LinkedIn, you can show that:

This kind of content doesn’t pay off overnight. But it fuels something that’s often underestimated in sales: long-term trust. And that’s what ultimately makes the difference. Between “We might get back to you” – and “Let’s talk.”

Bottom line:

Your GTM on LinkedIn doesn’t start with the first message – it starts with the first impression.

We’ve found that three things need to happen for B2B sales team members to generate a quality first-time appointment:

1. Awareness: How are you inserting yourself into the attention of the community you wish to serve?

2. Trust: How do you establish that you are a subject matter expert in your field?

3. Belief: How do you build an impression with a prospect that it’s worth their time having a conversation with you?

This can be accomplished via the LinkedIn channel, which is far more straightforward than any other social platform for B2B businesses.

An approach that we have found successful:

LinkedIn is interesting in that while you may wish to sell, people don’t want to be sold to, so we advise clients to behave like “trusted advisors” right from the start rather than waiting for a prospect to become a client.

In today’s B2B landscape, a winning Go-To-Market strategy isn’t just about product—it’s about presence. And if you’re not fully leveraging LinkedIn™️ in 2025, you’re not just behind—you’re invisible.

With over 1 billion members and 80% of all B2B leads generated through LinkedIn™️, the platform has evolved far beyond a digital CV database. It’s now a full-blown business development engine. But here’s the catch: organic reach is down, competition is up, and trust is harder to earn. So how do you cut through?

1. Shift from Broadcasting to Building

The days of corporate monologues are gone. The new GTM approach on LinkedIn™️ prioritizes relationships over reach. Business owners need to show up not just as a brand, but as a voice.

👉 Tip: Leverage personal profiles for storytelling and thought leadership, while using Company Pages for credibility and community building.

2. Align Content to Buying Intent

Not all content is created equal—and not all of it drives pipeline. In 2025, the most effective GTM strategies focus on value-driven, behavior-based content.

Data shows that content pillars like:

👉 Map your content to the buyer’s state of awareness:

Only 0.8% of Page followers see a typical Company Page post. But your employees? They reach 10x more people—organically.

Employee Advocacy in 2025 isn’t just about resharing posts. It’s about empowering tailored voices (salespeople, marketers, experts) to contribute to the narrative. With the right training, tools, and recognition, your people become your most effective GTM channel.

4. Go Native or Go Nowhere

LinkedIn™️ deprioritizes outbound links—hard. Posts with external URLs suffer a reach penalty of 20–35%.

👉 Instead:

Visibility skyrockets when you stop asking people to leave LinkedIn™️.

5. Turn Comments Into Conversions

Here’s a curveball: the highest-converting GTM tactic right now isn’t posting.

It’s commenting—on your prospects’ content.

A strategic, value-adding comment on a relevant post can generate 15x more impressions than your own post with a fraction of the effort.

👉 Start targeting accounts via your comment strategy, not just your DMs.

Final Thought

LinkedIn™️ is no longer a “nice to have” in your GTM stack. It’s where positioning, lead generation, trust-building, and sales happen—if you show up the right way. The data is clear: those who consistently invest in value, visibility, and voice will own the conversation—and the conversion.