(
Aug 15, 2025
)
The Secret to LinkedIn Lead Gen? Understanding social media dynamics
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast...
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast compared to any other B2B lead gen.
There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, there is a real face attached; this isn’t a cold email where you can use a fake name/photo, or cold calling, where all you can go off are the words being spoken.
On LinkedIn, your potential clients are only one click away from seeing your job history, your banner, and all your posts.
Instantly, this changes your lead gen approach.
This brings me to the second and biggest reason LinkedIn lead gen is a different beast:
Social media dynamics.
When people are in their inbox, answering their work phone, or even seeing a paid Ad, they’re in work mode; they understand the game.
For most people, LinkedIn is something they use to get away from work for a bit; they’ll scroll for a few minutes, reply to a few DMs, and maybe write a post.
Combine this with the fact that most people use LinkedIn on their phone, which means subconsiously, your potential clients are in a totally different headspace than their inbox, etc.
So if you blast your best cold email template into your favourite automation tool, you will be ghosted and likely blocked by the 3rd or 4th follow-up.
It also means that if your content comes across as overly salesy or you’re telling people how good you are, people won’t engage, and it will struggle to convert.
I know what you’re thinking, “Well, this is great, but what can I do about it?”
My show, don’t tell formula.
This is applicable to both content and direct outreach, but how you do it varies.
The goal with content is to show people how good you are, so they either reach out to you directly (inbound lead) or they respond to you when you send them a DM.
It’s the social media dynamics at play again. If they see your face in their feed consistently, they’ll subconsciously think they know you, and if the content shows the problem you solve in fun, creative ways while using case studies for authority, they’ll trust you.
I’ve had sales calls where the other person thought we were best friends because they’d seen my face consistently for months.
It’s the weird social media dynamics at play.
The show-don’t-tell in content formula
Instead of saying “in my 20 years of experience”
Say “I remember in 2005, when (industry change) happened”
I had a client who ran a high-voltage engineering firm, and the easiest way to show his experience was by mentioning his work offshore in Dubai in the early-mid 2010s. People who know the industry (his target audience) knew how impressive that was. We didn’t need to say “I’ve been working in X for 2 decades.”
Show, don’t tell.
It will always be more powerful if your potential customer concludes that you’re good, on their own.
Your competitors who’ve burned your ideal client before are screaming, “Look at me, I’m great.”
If you’re not different, they’ll assume you’re one of them.
Is it fair? Probably not, but it’s true.
The same applies to the first line of your LinkedIn post. I’m guessing you’ve tried the:
“Do you have X problem, well (my service) is the solution…”
Don’t do this, it’s the most obvious sales post of all.
Even if the info is good, people will scroll past because they’ve been burned by someone using the same structure.
Instead, ease into it. A great first line I’ve used in multiple industries is:
“People are always sceptical of people in (own industry) for good reason,
I’ve also been burned…”
People connect with this sort of writing as you acknowledge their main objection, and it’s a natural lead into why you’re different.
Another one of my favourite ways to use this formula is to mention one of your unpopular opinions in the first line, and then list a few case studies to prove you’re worth listening to. For example, if I were going to follow this structure, a hook that I’ve used is:
Content Alone Won’t Generate You Consistent £5,000+ Inbound Leads On LinkedIn.
You Need My Systems.
Systems that have also:
(case studies)
I was going to list some case studies, but then realised you’re already on my website, you know most of them.
Hooks like this are fun, interesting ways to show how good you are, create perception about the problem you solve, and make people like/trust you. Can you generate a consistent lead flow without content? Yes, but there will be fewer leads that are harder to convert.
Extra little things:
Especially in masculine industries, a semi-informal and conversational tone is a great way to create emotional resonance (think building site chat)
Even in non-masculine industries, this is effective because most of your competitors either 1) use weird AI or 2) are scared to show any personality. It’s an easy way to stand out and subconsciously make people feel comfortable reaching out.
Make the call to action at the end low commitment, make it feel easy and natural for the reader to reach out or act.
We’ve all seen the “comment X and I’ll send (lead magnet)” posts, and in the right circumstances, this can still work, but my favourite right now is linking a relevant blog/free lead magnet on a converting website (why do you think I finally invested in my own?)
Fun fact- I was the innovator who created the “Comment X for (lead magnet)” call to action, and by created, I mean stole from Instagram and started using it on LinkedIn. I apologise for making the platform worse!
Show personality; the worst-case scenario is someone feeling indifferent to you
By personality, I mean creating an established brand voice.
I’ve got clients who want to come across as super friendly and relaxed, and then there’s my brand voice. But in either case, both are recognisable.
This can be done with specific writing styles/mannerisms, a content series or 1000 other different ways, just make sure you come across as likeable and not one of those people who make “being honest” their brand voice.
Ease into a sales pitch in the 2nd half of the post
The first half should acknowledge objections, sharing an anecdote that relates to the topic of the post and mentioning a case study that shows you’re worth listening to.
The sell should feel like it comes naturally, which leads us on to…
The show-don’t-tell in LinkedIn DMs formula:
This is where everyone goes wrong. Think about it for a second. If someone messaged you saying:
“Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)”
Even if they’re right, you’ll think “What a prick” and move on with your life. The only exception to this rule is if they’ve experienced that problem recently.
If a CRM pitched me the day my CRM crashed a few months ago, I’d probably switch over.
Now this situation does happen occasionally. While doing lead gen for a project management consultant, I saw a supply chain manager write a post about their current work, and I saw a problem my client could fix. I was able to drop a semi-direct DM and get a good meeting booked.
I call this a “target-rich environment.”
Where someone is actively aware of their problem.
These are exceptions; most people aren’t aware of their problem unless you help them see it.
Meaning if you lead with the “Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)” you’ll get ignored, and that person now has a negative opinion of you.
The first goal of every cold DM is to make the other person have a positive opinion of you, as 1) people don’t buy if they don’t like you and 2) with the way the LinkedIn algo works if they respond, they’ll start seeing your posts in their feed (and posts build the sales rapport for you.)
If they’re clearly not interested in talking, e.g giving multiple 4-word responses to your questions, set a reminder in your CRM and come back. Don’t force the sales pitch if it’s not there.
You wouldn’t try and force a knockout in the first round of a fight if it wasn’t there; LinkedIn lead gen is the same.
The more relevant the question is to the current season, the better.
If the prospect has recently posted about something, an easy Dm is “I saw your post about X, and I’m interested to know your opinion on (current industry talking point).”
People love being validated and asked their opinion; it’s how we work as humans.
If their profile isn’t particularly active, you’ll have to go with a more generic opener, but still relate it to a topic they’re (likely) aware of.
Most initial conversations are a get-in, get-out affair where you qualify, set a reminder in your CRM and don’t pitch.
Not pitching differentiates you from everyone else in their inbox, meaning when you follow up with a tailored message a few weeks down the line, they’ll trust you, because the last person who burned them didn’t do that.
You will have to read between the lines with their answers. If someone says they want to hire later in the year, there’s a good chance they’d want an increased lead flow to feel comfortable in their decision.
Once you’ve directed the convo to where you want it, pitch a meeting or send a free resource that can help them. By this point, they like you, know the problems you solve and have seen your content consistently for a while, which shows case studies.
DMs aren’t necessarily linear; people will ghost, etc. Whenever you get a positive response or a prospect qualifies themselves, make a note in your CRM and come back later.
The vast majority of your meetings will come from good/relevant follow-ups.
I can tell you all of this, but the truth is: Understanding lead gen on LinkedIn and social media as a whole (and the dynamics at play) is best learned through repetition.
I’ve done this daily for years now. If you want to roll the dice and (potentially) get some quick wins, gamble on some paid ads or cold email.
But if you want a consistent lead flow of mid-high ticket qualified meetings, LinkedIn lead gen is the way to go.
There is no better way to build a reputation and generate meetings at scale.
If you’d like me personally to look at your current lead gen systems for you, feel free to book a meeting in my calendar in the footer.
I hope you've enjoyed the read,
-Joe
More articles
(
Aug 15, 2025
)
The Secret to LinkedIn Lead Gen? Understanding social media dynamics
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast...
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast compared to any other B2B lead gen.
There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, there is a real face attached; this isn’t a cold email where you can use a fake name/photo, or cold calling, where all you can go off are the words being spoken.
On LinkedIn, your potential clients are only one click away from seeing your job history, your banner, and all your posts.
Instantly, this changes your lead gen approach.
This brings me to the second and biggest reason LinkedIn lead gen is a different beast:
Social media dynamics.
When people are in their inbox, answering their work phone, or even seeing a paid Ad, they’re in work mode; they understand the game.
For most people, LinkedIn is something they use to get away from work for a bit; they’ll scroll for a few minutes, reply to a few DMs, and maybe write a post.
Combine this with the fact that most people use LinkedIn on their phone, which means subconsiously, your potential clients are in a totally different headspace than their inbox, etc.
So if you blast your best cold email template into your favourite automation tool, you will be ghosted and likely blocked by the 3rd or 4th follow-up.
It also means that if your content comes across as overly salesy or you’re telling people how good you are, people won’t engage, and it will struggle to convert.
I know what you’re thinking, “Well, this is great, but what can I do about it?”
My show, don’t tell formula.
This is applicable to both content and direct outreach, but how you do it varies.
The goal with content is to show people how good you are, so they either reach out to you directly (inbound lead) or they respond to you when you send them a DM.
It’s the social media dynamics at play again. If they see your face in their feed consistently, they’ll subconsciously think they know you, and if the content shows the problem you solve in fun, creative ways while using case studies for authority, they’ll trust you.
I’ve had sales calls where the other person thought we were best friends because they’d seen my face consistently for months.
It’s the weird social media dynamics at play.
The show-don’t-tell in content formula
Instead of saying “in my 20 years of experience”
Say “I remember in 2005, when (industry change) happened”
I had a client who ran a high-voltage engineering firm, and the easiest way to show his experience was by mentioning his work offshore in Dubai in the early-mid 2010s. People who know the industry (his target audience) knew how impressive that was. We didn’t need to say “I’ve been working in X for 2 decades.”
Show, don’t tell.
It will always be more powerful if your potential customer concludes that you’re good, on their own.
Your competitors who’ve burned your ideal client before are screaming, “Look at me, I’m great.”
If you’re not different, they’ll assume you’re one of them.
Is it fair? Probably not, but it’s true.
The same applies to the first line of your LinkedIn post. I’m guessing you’ve tried the:
“Do you have X problem, well (my service) is the solution…”
Don’t do this, it’s the most obvious sales post of all.
Even if the info is good, people will scroll past because they’ve been burned by someone using the same structure.
Instead, ease into it. A great first line I’ve used in multiple industries is:
“People are always sceptical of people in (own industry) for good reason,
I’ve also been burned…”
People connect with this sort of writing as you acknowledge their main objection, and it’s a natural lead into why you’re different.
Another one of my favourite ways to use this formula is to mention one of your unpopular opinions in the first line, and then list a few case studies to prove you’re worth listening to. For example, if I were going to follow this structure, a hook that I’ve used is:
Content Alone Won’t Generate You Consistent £5,000+ Inbound Leads On LinkedIn.
You Need My Systems.
Systems that have also:
(case studies)
I was going to list some case studies, but then realised you’re already on my website, you know most of them.
Hooks like this are fun, interesting ways to show how good you are, create perception about the problem you solve, and make people like/trust you. Can you generate a consistent lead flow without content? Yes, but there will be fewer leads that are harder to convert.
Extra little things:
Especially in masculine industries, a semi-informal and conversational tone is a great way to create emotional resonance (think building site chat)
Even in non-masculine industries, this is effective because most of your competitors either 1) use weird AI or 2) are scared to show any personality. It’s an easy way to stand out and subconsciously make people feel comfortable reaching out.
Make the call to action at the end low commitment, make it feel easy and natural for the reader to reach out or act.
We’ve all seen the “comment X and I’ll send (lead magnet)” posts, and in the right circumstances, this can still work, but my favourite right now is linking a relevant blog/free lead magnet on a converting website (why do you think I finally invested in my own?)
Fun fact- I was the innovator who created the “Comment X for (lead magnet)” call to action, and by created, I mean stole from Instagram and started using it on LinkedIn. I apologise for making the platform worse!
Show personality; the worst-case scenario is someone feeling indifferent to you
By personality, I mean creating an established brand voice.
I’ve got clients who want to come across as super friendly and relaxed, and then there’s my brand voice. But in either case, both are recognisable.
This can be done with specific writing styles/mannerisms, a content series or 1000 other different ways, just make sure you come across as likeable and not one of those people who make “being honest” their brand voice.
Ease into a sales pitch in the 2nd half of the post
The first half should acknowledge objections, sharing an anecdote that relates to the topic of the post and mentioning a case study that shows you’re worth listening to.
The sell should feel like it comes naturally, which leads us on to…
The show-don’t-tell in LinkedIn DMs formula:
This is where everyone goes wrong. Think about it for a second. If someone messaged you saying:
“Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)”
Even if they’re right, you’ll think “What a prick” and move on with your life. The only exception to this rule is if they’ve experienced that problem recently.
If a CRM pitched me the day my CRM crashed a few months ago, I’d probably switch over.
Now this situation does happen occasionally. While doing lead gen for a project management consultant, I saw a supply chain manager write a post about their current work, and I saw a problem my client could fix. I was able to drop a semi-direct DM and get a good meeting booked.
I call this a “target-rich environment.”
Where someone is actively aware of their problem.
These are exceptions; most people aren’t aware of their problem unless you help them see it.
Meaning if you lead with the “Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)” you’ll get ignored, and that person now has a negative opinion of you.
The first goal of every cold DM is to make the other person have a positive opinion of you, as 1) people don’t buy if they don’t like you and 2) with the way the LinkedIn algo works if they respond, they’ll start seeing your posts in their feed (and posts build the sales rapport for you.)
If they’re clearly not interested in talking, e.g giving multiple 4-word responses to your questions, set a reminder in your CRM and come back. Don’t force the sales pitch if it’s not there.
You wouldn’t try and force a knockout in the first round of a fight if it wasn’t there; LinkedIn lead gen is the same.
The more relevant the question is to the current season, the better.
If the prospect has recently posted about something, an easy Dm is “I saw your post about X, and I’m interested to know your opinion on (current industry talking point).”
People love being validated and asked their opinion; it’s how we work as humans.
If their profile isn’t particularly active, you’ll have to go with a more generic opener, but still relate it to a topic they’re (likely) aware of.
Most initial conversations are a get-in, get-out affair where you qualify, set a reminder in your CRM and don’t pitch.
Not pitching differentiates you from everyone else in their inbox, meaning when you follow up with a tailored message a few weeks down the line, they’ll trust you, because the last person who burned them didn’t do that.
You will have to read between the lines with their answers. If someone says they want to hire later in the year, there’s a good chance they’d want an increased lead flow to feel comfortable in their decision.
Once you’ve directed the convo to where you want it, pitch a meeting or send a free resource that can help them. By this point, they like you, know the problems you solve and have seen your content consistently for a while, which shows case studies.
DMs aren’t necessarily linear; people will ghost, etc. Whenever you get a positive response or a prospect qualifies themselves, make a note in your CRM and come back later.
The vast majority of your meetings will come from good/relevant follow-ups.
I can tell you all of this, but the truth is: Understanding lead gen on LinkedIn and social media as a whole (and the dynamics at play) is best learned through repetition.
I’ve done this daily for years now. If you want to roll the dice and (potentially) get some quick wins, gamble on some paid ads or cold email.
But if you want a consistent lead flow of mid-high ticket qualified meetings, LinkedIn lead gen is the way to go.
There is no better way to build a reputation and generate meetings at scale.
If you’d like me personally to look at your current lead gen systems for you, feel free to book a meeting in my calendar in the footer.
I hope you've enjoyed the read,
-Joe
More articles
(
Aug 15, 2025
)
The Secret to LinkedIn Lead Gen? Understanding social media dynamics
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast...
LinkedIn lead generation is a different beast compared to any other B2B lead gen.
There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, there is a real face attached; this isn’t a cold email where you can use a fake name/photo, or cold calling, where all you can go off are the words being spoken.
On LinkedIn, your potential clients are only one click away from seeing your job history, your banner, and all your posts.
Instantly, this changes your lead gen approach.
This brings me to the second and biggest reason LinkedIn lead gen is a different beast:
Social media dynamics.
When people are in their inbox, answering their work phone, or even seeing a paid Ad, they’re in work mode; they understand the game.
For most people, LinkedIn is something they use to get away from work for a bit; they’ll scroll for a few minutes, reply to a few DMs, and maybe write a post.
Combine this with the fact that most people use LinkedIn on their phone, which means subconsiously, your potential clients are in a totally different headspace than their inbox, etc.
So if you blast your best cold email template into your favourite automation tool, you will be ghosted and likely blocked by the 3rd or 4th follow-up.
It also means that if your content comes across as overly salesy or you’re telling people how good you are, people won’t engage, and it will struggle to convert.
I know what you’re thinking, “Well, this is great, but what can I do about it?”
My show, don’t tell formula.
This is applicable to both content and direct outreach, but how you do it varies.
The goal with content is to show people how good you are, so they either reach out to you directly (inbound lead) or they respond to you when you send them a DM.
It’s the social media dynamics at play again. If they see your face in their feed consistently, they’ll subconsciously think they know you, and if the content shows the problem you solve in fun, creative ways while using case studies for authority, they’ll trust you.
I’ve had sales calls where the other person thought we were best friends because they’d seen my face consistently for months.
It’s the weird social media dynamics at play.
The show-don’t-tell in content formula
Instead of saying “in my 20 years of experience”
Say “I remember in 2005, when (industry change) happened”
I had a client who ran a high-voltage engineering firm, and the easiest way to show his experience was by mentioning his work offshore in Dubai in the early-mid 2010s. People who know the industry (his target audience) knew how impressive that was. We didn’t need to say “I’ve been working in X for 2 decades.”
Show, don’t tell.
It will always be more powerful if your potential customer concludes that you’re good, on their own.
Your competitors who’ve burned your ideal client before are screaming, “Look at me, I’m great.”
If you’re not different, they’ll assume you’re one of them.
Is it fair? Probably not, but it’s true.
The same applies to the first line of your LinkedIn post. I’m guessing you’ve tried the:
“Do you have X problem, well (my service) is the solution…”
Don’t do this, it’s the most obvious sales post of all.
Even if the info is good, people will scroll past because they’ve been burned by someone using the same structure.
Instead, ease into it. A great first line I’ve used in multiple industries is:
“People are always sceptical of people in (own industry) for good reason,
I’ve also been burned…”
People connect with this sort of writing as you acknowledge their main objection, and it’s a natural lead into why you’re different.
Another one of my favourite ways to use this formula is to mention one of your unpopular opinions in the first line, and then list a few case studies to prove you’re worth listening to. For example, if I were going to follow this structure, a hook that I’ve used is:
Content Alone Won’t Generate You Consistent £5,000+ Inbound Leads On LinkedIn.
You Need My Systems.
Systems that have also:
(case studies)
I was going to list some case studies, but then realised you’re already on my website, you know most of them.
Hooks like this are fun, interesting ways to show how good you are, create perception about the problem you solve, and make people like/trust you. Can you generate a consistent lead flow without content? Yes, but there will be fewer leads that are harder to convert.
Extra little things:
Especially in masculine industries, a semi-informal and conversational tone is a great way to create emotional resonance (think building site chat)
Even in non-masculine industries, this is effective because most of your competitors either 1) use weird AI or 2) are scared to show any personality. It’s an easy way to stand out and subconsciously make people feel comfortable reaching out.
Make the call to action at the end low commitment, make it feel easy and natural for the reader to reach out or act.
We’ve all seen the “comment X and I’ll send (lead magnet)” posts, and in the right circumstances, this can still work, but my favourite right now is linking a relevant blog/free lead magnet on a converting website (why do you think I finally invested in my own?)
Fun fact- I was the innovator who created the “Comment X for (lead magnet)” call to action, and by created, I mean stole from Instagram and started using it on LinkedIn. I apologise for making the platform worse!
Show personality; the worst-case scenario is someone feeling indifferent to you
By personality, I mean creating an established brand voice.
I’ve got clients who want to come across as super friendly and relaxed, and then there’s my brand voice. But in either case, both are recognisable.
This can be done with specific writing styles/mannerisms, a content series or 1000 other different ways, just make sure you come across as likeable and not one of those people who make “being honest” their brand voice.
Ease into a sales pitch in the 2nd half of the post
The first half should acknowledge objections, sharing an anecdote that relates to the topic of the post and mentioning a case study that shows you’re worth listening to.
The sell should feel like it comes naturally, which leads us on to…
The show-don’t-tell in LinkedIn DMs formula:
This is where everyone goes wrong. Think about it for a second. If someone messaged you saying:
“Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)”
Even if they’re right, you’ll think “What a prick” and move on with your life. The only exception to this rule is if they’ve experienced that problem recently.
If a CRM pitched me the day my CRM crashed a few months ago, I’d probably switch over.
Now this situation does happen occasionally. While doing lead gen for a project management consultant, I saw a supply chain manager write a post about their current work, and I saw a problem my client could fix. I was able to drop a semi-direct DM and get a good meeting booked.
I call this a “target-rich environment.”
Where someone is actively aware of their problem.
These are exceptions; most people aren’t aware of their problem unless you help them see it.
Meaning if you lead with the “Your X isn’t good, you need (offer)” you’ll get ignored, and that person now has a negative opinion of you.
The first goal of every cold DM is to make the other person have a positive opinion of you, as 1) people don’t buy if they don’t like you and 2) with the way the LinkedIn algo works if they respond, they’ll start seeing your posts in their feed (and posts build the sales rapport for you.)
If they’re clearly not interested in talking, e.g giving multiple 4-word responses to your questions, set a reminder in your CRM and come back. Don’t force the sales pitch if it’s not there.
You wouldn’t try and force a knockout in the first round of a fight if it wasn’t there; LinkedIn lead gen is the same.
The more relevant the question is to the current season, the better.
If the prospect has recently posted about something, an easy Dm is “I saw your post about X, and I’m interested to know your opinion on (current industry talking point).”
People love being validated and asked their opinion; it’s how we work as humans.
If their profile isn’t particularly active, you’ll have to go with a more generic opener, but still relate it to a topic they’re (likely) aware of.
Most initial conversations are a get-in, get-out affair where you qualify, set a reminder in your CRM and don’t pitch.
Not pitching differentiates you from everyone else in their inbox, meaning when you follow up with a tailored message a few weeks down the line, they’ll trust you, because the last person who burned them didn’t do that.
You will have to read between the lines with their answers. If someone says they want to hire later in the year, there’s a good chance they’d want an increased lead flow to feel comfortable in their decision.
Once you’ve directed the convo to where you want it, pitch a meeting or send a free resource that can help them. By this point, they like you, know the problems you solve and have seen your content consistently for a while, which shows case studies.
DMs aren’t necessarily linear; people will ghost, etc. Whenever you get a positive response or a prospect qualifies themselves, make a note in your CRM and come back later.
The vast majority of your meetings will come from good/relevant follow-ups.
I can tell you all of this, but the truth is: Understanding lead gen on LinkedIn and social media as a whole (and the dynamics at play) is best learned through repetition.
I’ve done this daily for years now. If you want to roll the dice and (potentially) get some quick wins, gamble on some paid ads or cold email.
But if you want a consistent lead flow of mid-high ticket qualified meetings, LinkedIn lead gen is the way to go.
There is no better way to build a reputation and generate meetings at scale.