B2B marketing is a dynamic space these days.
AI is transforming how we discover and consume content as individual creators gain influence and traditional newsrooms contract. Meanwhile, younger professionals are shaping strategy and driving purchase decisions earlier in their careers. And marketing teams face growing pressure to deliver greater impact — faster and with fewer resources.
Amid all this change, it’s no wonder LinkedIn has quietly asserted itself as the go-to platform for B2B company execs to drive visibility for their brands – and for themselves.
For those who know how to use it, LinkedIn has grown far beyond its origins as a networking site or a job board. It’s a content engine with built-in distribution, a digital stage for executives to shape narratives in real time.
What used to be a “nice-to-have” channel is now an essential part of the B2B marketing toolkit. LinkedIn is no longer optional — especially when it comes to executive thought leadership.
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn is now an essential B2B marketing channel: LinkedIn is no longer just a networking site or job board — it’s a content engine where executives can shape brand narratives and drive visibility in real time.
- The platform’s network effect amplifies reach: Thoughtful posts from leaders circulate beyond immediate contacts, sparking conversations and engagement that extend far past traditional one-to-one communication.
- Personal profiles outperform company pages: LinkedIn’s algorithm favors content from individuals, with personal posts often delivering significantly higher impressions and engagement than brand accounts.
- Consistency and authenticity are critical for success: Picking a clear focus area, posting regularly and maintaining a human, relatable tone helps build a strong personal brand and outperform transactional corporate content.
LinkedIn’s Network Effects Give It a Unique Edge Over Other Channels
LinkedIn’s strength lies in its network effect. When you publish a piece of content on LinkedIn, it immediately reaches your closest contacts – colleagues, clients, partners and friends – as well as their networks.
In other words, a thoughtful post from an executive doesn’t disappear into a static inbox anymore. It circulates. It prompts reactions.
I’ve found that LinkedIn content is particularly powerful in setting the narrative. At Walker Sands, we’ve been doing a lot of work around generative engine optimization, and I’ve been sharing our journey on LinkedIn. When I encounter connections at conferences or catch up over coffee, the first question I get is, “Can you tell more more about the work you’re doing with Gen AI and GEO?”
Unsurprisingly, we see this with our clients as well. When Highspring rebranded, they didn’t lead with a press release. Their CEO posted a longform essay on LinkedIn explaining the “why” behind the change. That post drew hundreds of reactions, dozens of reposts and sparked conversations with new and dormant connections. It worked because it was human, well-timed and shared directly with people in their network who cared.
LinkedIn’s Algorithm Is Geared Toward People, Not Company Pages
LinkedIn content is exceptionally agile, supporting multiple stages of the marketing funnel from awareness to validation to decision.
As marketing leaders, we know that personal content performs better than brand content — and on LinkedIn, the gap is especially wide. The algorithm favors people. Personal posts on LinkedIn often generate 3x more impressions and 5x more engagement than brand accounts. That means leaders and experts, not company pages, are the primary engine of visibility.
Don’t get me wrong, company pages still have a role to play. They’re essential for company announcements, marking new milestones and running paid campaigns. Prospective employees or customers will give the page a scan. But if the goal is engagement, reach or visibility, personal profiles win.For marketers, this creates both an opportunity and a shift in responsibility. We can no longer rely on the corporate page to do the heavy lifting. Instead, marketing’s role is to help thought leaders create content in their own voice and provide the ideas, team structure and support to make it happen consistently.
Consider the example of Inrupt. When they needed to drive attendance and visibility for a high-priority webinar about a new AI product, their CEO shared the event on LinkedIn and provided important context about why the topic mattered.
The post not only supported a mid-funnel CTA — driving visibility and click-throughs to a priority event — it also caught the attention of tech reporters from Axios and VentureBeat, who expressed interest in the topic and company. LinkedIn both expanded the audience and drove a key outcome for the brand.
How Can AI Enhance and Improve LinkedIn?
With tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini now embedded in everyday workflows, we’re seeing a lot more formulaic, AI-generated content in the feed. Some of it is OK. A lot of it is forgettable.
Yet, as much as generative AI increases the volume of content on the platform, I actually think AI will help improve content filtering and targeting in a way that improves the user experience.
As the volume of content increases, so will the algorithm’s ability to select what reaches your feed, with a bias toward quality. With Microsoft owning LinkedIn and holding a stake in OpenAI, there’s strong potential for future innovation — think smarter content recommendations, more dynamic audience targeting and AI-driven campaign optimization.
While LinkedIn content doesn’t typically appear verbatim in generative AI outputs like ChatGPT, Walker Sands’ AI Domain Impact Index demonstrates that social media plays a growing role in shaping AI overview responses. Public LinkedIn posts — when engaging, clear, and credible — can influence AI systems’ perception of authority and relevance, even if not used directly as source material. For now, LinkedIn remains primarily a channel optimized for human interaction, but its signals are increasingly informing AI-driven summaries and brand visibility.
So the best way to succeed on LinkedIn? Be human and share something worth saying.
Crafting a Strong LinkedIn Presence: A Few Final Thoughts
If you’re thinking of building up your LinkedIn profile, it’s important to craft your personal brand. Pick a lane and stick to it. Over time, these posts become not just a feed of content, but a body of work that tells people how you think and where your expertise lies.
And let’s be honest: The bar isn’t that high. So many brands are still approaching LinkedIn transactionally — recycling press releases, posting event recaps or sharing links with no commentary. If you can develop a rhythm, a point of view and a bit of structure, you’re already ahead.
Get back to the basics of good content marketing to succeed on LinkedIn. Build out solid topic pillars and stick to them. It’s not extremely difficult, but it requires discipline, structure and execution. Once you commit to it, it’s a low barrier to entry.
