Founders at the beginning of the startup journey are all too familiar with one of the biggest uphill battles: building awareness and credibility. You need prospects, customers, investors, and partners to notice you, and trust you. Let’s face it, especially in the early stages prospects and customers are buying into founders and their vision as much as the underlying product.
But how do you build trust and visibility from scratch? And how can you do it with minimal resources to help keep a low overhead? One of the most popular channels that has emerged in the B2B space: organic social media. Specifically, LinkedIn.
LinkedIn has the most powerful platform for founders of B2B companies to position themselves as industry experts, attract an audience, and create opportunities. Yet, many founders hesitate to post because they feel like no one will be interested, or they’re not sure what to say. That’s a shame, because LinkedIn has a vast audience of high-quality prospects, and leveraging it as a marketing channel can be an excellent low cost method to achieve early traction.
In this guide, we’ll break down how you can use LinkedIn strategically to build an engaged audience, generate pipeline, and form valuable partnerships. We’ll dive into the latest LinkedIn algorithm insights to maximize your reach, what type of content to post, how often to post, and more.
The LinkedIn Algorithm: What You Need to Know
Before creating any content, it’s important to understand what LinkedIn’s algorithm tends to prioritize in people’s feeds. Putting some simple guidelines into practice can dramatically increase your results. Here are the key takeaways from some recent research from Chris Donnelly:
- Engagement drives reach – LinkedIn prioritizes posts that receive engagement (likes, comments, and shares) within the first 90 minutes.
- Comments > Likes – Comments carry more weight than likes when it comes to reach.
- Dwell time matters – If people spend time reading your post rather than scrolling past, LinkedIn pushes it to more feeds.
- Active community members reap rewards – Commenting on 10-20 posts per week increases profile views by 50% and post reach by 10%
Post Frequency
- Posting 1 to 2 times per day is optimal.
- Aim for 3-5 posts per week.
- Run experiments posting on different days of the week and times of day to see what performs best.
Post Format
Ideal Length
- Optimal length: 800-1000 words (LinkedIn prefers posts that keep people reading)
- Use spacing: Break up text into short paragraphs to make it scannable
- Hook immediately: Your first two lines should grab attention (e.g., “Most SaaS founders get this wrong…”)
Best Type
- Text posts: Still the best format for reach and engagement.
- Carousels: PDFs/images with swipeable slides perform well for educational content.
- Polls: Work for quick engagement but shouldn’t be overused.
- Videos: Less reach but useful for personal branding and storytelling.
Post Performance Boosters
- Comment for 15 minutes when warming up your account
- Comment for 15-30 minutes after posting
- Longer comments tend to boost your reach, for example:
- 10+ words boost reach 2x
- 15+ words boost 2.5x
What to Post: Inspiration for Engaging Content
If you’re starting from scratch, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, use a simple content mix that balances expertise, storytelling, and engagement tactics:
Share Lessons from Your Journey
People connect with real experiences. Share your struggles, wins, and lessons learned as a SaaS founder. These posts build relatability and credibility.
Example: “Six months ago, we had zero paying customers. This week alone, we’ve closed 10 deals. Here’s what changed…”
Take a Strong Stance (Even If It’s Controversial)
Polarizing opinions generate engagement because they spark discussion. This doesn’t mean being controversial for the sake of it—but having a clear, strong opinion sets you apart.
Example: “The ‘freemium’ model is a waste of time for most early-stage SaaS companies. Here’s why…”
Educate Your Audience with Actionable Insights
People follow accounts that provide value. Share insights on your industry, product category, or startup growth.
Example: “I tested three outbound strategies for our startup. Here’s the one that worked best (and why).”
Engage with Industry Trends
Being part of trending discussions boosts visibility. Comment on major industry news or shifts, adding your unique perspective.
Example: “The recent layoffs in tech are a wake-up call for founders. Here’s how I’m preparing for the next 12 months…”
How to Grow Your Audience Faster
Engage with Others Daily
Commenting on relevant posts (especially from industry leaders and potential customers) is the fastest way to grow your own visibility.
Tag People Thoughtfully
Mentioning others in your posts (when relevant) increases engagement, but avoid spamming.
Repurpose Content
If a post performs well, turn it into a Twitter thread, blog post, or LinkedIn carousel to maximize reach.
Directly Message Engaged Followers
If someone frequently comments on your posts, reach out. This can lead to partnerships, customers, or investors.
Real Examples: Founders who are Killing It
It is never a bad idea to scope out some others who are successfully doing what you want to do. Learning from others isn’t cheating, if anything it’s prudent! You may also want to check out your competition and see what they’re up to, which can also give some more precise early clues on what will work best with your audience.
Here are a few examples of well-known founders doing founder-brand particularly well:
Adam Robinson (Founder, Retention.com)
Adam shares bold takes on SaaS growth, often challenging preconceived notions of industry best practices, making his content highly engaging and widely shared. He openly posts about insights and metrics demonstrating successes and failures of his current venture, retention.com.
Sangram Vajre (Founder, GTM Partners)
Sangram is a key driver of the current emphasis on go-to-market strategy and unification of customer-facing business functions in driving, retaining, and expanding revenue. His views and methodology have been widely shared and celebrated.
Sophia Amoruso (Founder, Girlboss, Business Class)
Sophia blends personal storytelling with business insights, creating a strong, engaged community.
Conclusion
LinkedIn can be a goldmine for founders. By posting consistently, engaging with others, and sharing your unique insights, you can build an audience, generate leads, and form valuable partnerships.
The key is to start. Your first few posts might not get much engagement, but over time, your consistency and unique perspective will compound into real influence.
So, what’s your first post going to be?