LinkedIn Content Strategy for Executive LinkedIn Agencies | Netwarm
LinkedIn playbook · Case study
LinkedIn content strategy for executive LinkedIn agencies: how a Washington, DC agency founder reached 204 executives in 6 weeks
We read every reaction on 30 posts from a Washington, DC executive LinkedIn agency founder. 680 people, 204 executives. Here is what brings buyers, what brings peers, and the 5 posts we'd publish next.
Max Sawyer · Netwarm··12 min read
The creator in this case studyA Washington, DC executive LinkedIn agency founder
Followers36,333
Posts~5 a week, weekdays
SellsExecutive demand generation on LinkedIn: content, profiles and direct messages for senior executives, plus LinkedIn workshops for sales teams
These numbers are from 3 November. Your audience has already moved.
New executives turn Hot every week and others go quiet. Run your free scan to see today’s version, with the names.
Ideal client: CEOs, presidents and senior leaders at professional services, insurance and financial firms who want LinkedIn to open doors with their buyers.The challenge: The agency founder wrote that most engagement comes from friends and colleagues, and that “the real gold is in that 10% who engage that are valuable”, but you have to scroll to find them. Which posts bring that 10%?
Key takeaways
204 executives.30% of the 680 people who reacted are founders, CEOs, presidents, partners or VPs: three times the 10% the agency founder expects.
Personal stories reach the most executives per post.About 34 per post, against 19 for the AI takes, even though the AI takes have a slightly higher share (43.1%).
29 executives are Hot.They reacted to 5 or more of the 30 posts, almost always without a comment.
01
Who actually reads you, and what the LinkedIn algorithm changed
The agency founder wrote that 90% of engagers are friends or colleagues, and that the valuable 10% hide further down the list. We read who reacted to each of the last 30 posts to see how big that 10% really is.
The LinkedIn algorithm shows a post to people who already reacted to the author before. So the people who come back again and again decide who sees the next post, and here many of them are executives.
30posts read
680people who reacted
204executives
49executives on 3+ posts
Audience by roleThe 680 people who reacted, by roleFree
Peers make up 15.9% of the audience, about half the size of the executive group. For an agency that sells to senior leaders, that is a strong mix: the buyers are not hidden, they are just quiet.
Many of the most loyal executives work in insurance, financial services and consulting, the rooms where the agency founder speaks.
SeniorityAll people who reactedFree
Founder, owner, C-level29.4%
Director, VP8.2%
Manager8.2%
Independent10.9%
Other43.2%
IndustriesExecutives onlyNetwarm
Finance and wealth management18.6%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
Hidden in preview00%
See all industries and company sizes in your free scan.
Most agencies judge a post by its reactions. An agency that sells should judge it by who reacted.
We tagged each of the 30 posts by topic, then measured the share of executives among the people who reacted, and how many executives each post reached.
Your topicsWhat your 30 posts were aboutFree
30posts
AI opinions9
LinkedIn & sales tips9
Speaking & events5
Team & company news4
Personal stories3
Topics that attract executivesShare of each topic’s reactions from executivesNetwarm
Speaking & events44.8%
AI opinions43.1%
Personal stories41.6%
LinkedIn & sales tips40.9%
Team & company news33.9%
One topic reaches almost 2x more executives per post than another. See which.See which topics
Shares are close (34% to 45%), but reach is not: personal stories reach about 34 executives per post, AI takes about 19.
Posts that brought the most executivesShare of executives in each post’s reactions1 of 5 open
#1LinkedIn for Chiefs of Staff, the talk56.1%
#2The “seems like AI slop” button53.8%
#3You can AI yourself out of a relationship52.9%
#4The Identity Work podcast: know who you're trying to reach51.1%
#5AI tools create a false optimism50%
For comparison, the post on the agency's third birthday drew the most reactions of all (238), but the lowest executive share, 31.3%.
These rules come from what worked on the agency founder's own profile, and from the best-performing posts by LinkedIn strategists for executives and founders over the last 3 months.
1
Name the executive in the first line. “What every Chief of Staff should be doing” tells that reader the post is for them before they scroll past. Pick one title per post.On this profile: the Chief of Staff talk reached 32 executives, 56.1% of its reactors, the highest share of any post with 30+ reactions.
Take a side on AI, and keep the human in it. Executives are being sold AI every day. A clear position (“you can AI yourself out of a relationship”) gives them something to agree with in the next meeting.On this profile: AI opinions had a 43.1% executive share, the second highest topic. The “AI slop” post reached 53.8%.
Answer the question you get at every workshop. The question from the room is the question the reader has too. Open with it, give a straight answer, then the one thing to do this week.On this profile: the quantity vs. quality post reached 14 executives, 46.7% of its reactors.
Tie the personal story to the business. The baseball game, the bank that only had a bot: stories travel further, and the ones that end on a work lesson bring executives with them.On this profile: personal stories reached about 34 executives per post, against 19 for AI opinions.
Put one hard number in the first line. “657% more reactions” stops the scroll for a CEO who still thinks the company page is enough. Use a number from your own client work when you can.Across the niche: Noam Nisand's CEO vs. company page post drew 1,060 likes and 184 comments.
Show one client, one before and after. Weekly lists of reply titles show the work in volume. One executive's story (where they started, what changed, the meeting it opened) shows it in a way a buyer can picture.Across the niche: Ayesha Ameer's single-client story drew 200 comments on 237 likes.
When executives read: the best time to post on LinkedIn for executive LinkedIn agencies
We compared the share of executives by the day each post was published. 29 of the 30 posts went out between 8 and 10 a.m. Eastern, so there is no hour to compare.
Share of executives by posting dayAmong the people who reacted to each postFree
40.9%
Mon
40.4%
Tue
41.8%
Wed
45.1%
Thu
36.9%
Fri
Thursday brought the highest executive share, 45.1%, and Friday the lowest, 36.9%. That matches what the agency founder tells workshop rooms: Tuesday to Thursday mornings work best, and Friday afternoon is the slot to avoid.
Keep the 8 a.m. Eastern slot. Put the posts that sell the work (the client story, the lead magnet) on Wednesday or Thursday, and keep Friday for team news and lighter posts.
05
5 posts ready to publish to target executives
Each post follows the rules above, in the agency founder's voice. Swap in your own details before posting: the real client story is what makes it land.
1Ready to postNamed role + list
Chiefs of Staff: your principal's LinkedIn is your job nowRule 1: name the executive in the first line. Modelled on the Chief of Staff talk and Garret Caudle's “VPs of Comms” post.
Hook
Chiefs of Staff: your principal's LinkedIn is part of your job now.I spoke to a room full of Chiefs of Staff recently and the question I got most wasn't about writing posts.It was “where do I even start?”Here's what I'd do in the first 30 days:1. Update the profile. Headline, banner and About section should say who your principal helps, not just their title.2. Pick 3 topics they can talk about without notes. What they see in the market, how they lead, what they've learned the hard way.3. Block 30 minutes a week with them. Ask what came up in their calls. That is next week's content.4. Post once a week. Consistency beats volume, every time.5. Look at who engages. Not the count. The names. Flag the 5-10 people your principal should be talking to.The Chief of Staff sits between the executive and everything else. LinkedIn is just one more place where that matters.Chiefs of Staff, what's the hardest part of getting your principal to post?
Visual · Text onlyNo image. The named role in the first line does the work.Check before postingUse the real event and the real question from the room if it differs.
The executive who said nobody valuable engagesRule 6: one client, one before and after. Modelled on Ayesha Ameer's “A client paid me” post and the October 2 engagers post.
Hook
“Nobody valuable engages with my posts.”A CEO told me this on our first call.So we opened his last post together. 87 reactions.The first 20 were his team, a few friends and his college roommate.He stopped there. Most execs do. They don't have time to scroll.We kept going.Reaction 34: the CFO of a company he'd been trying to get in front of for a year.Reaction 52: a former client who had just moved to a bigger firm.Reaction 61: a board member at one of his target accounts.9 people in total that he'd want a meeting with.None of them commented.He sent each one a short note that week. “Great seeing your name pop up on LinkedIn. It's been too long, would love to catch up.”6 replied. 3 meetings.The value of engagers is in the details. Look through all of them.
Visual · Text onlyNo image. The reaction numbers carry the story.Check before postingUse a real client story and its real numbers. Keep the client and the companies anonymous.
The AI follow-up the prospect could spotRule 2: take a side on AI, keep the human in it. Modelled on the “AI yourself out of a relationship” post.
Hook
The fastest way to lose a high-ticket deal right now is an AI follow-up.I had a great call with a vendor recently. Real conversation, good questions, I was interested.12 minutes later, the sequence started.“Hi, it was great connecting! As discussed, here are 3 reasons…”We didn't discuss any of those 3 reasons.The next one came 2 days later. Then another.I never replied. I went with someone else.I'm all for AI. We use it every day to find ideas and save time.But there's a line.Use AI to prepare for the call. Use AI to take the notes. Use AI to remind you to follow up.Then write the follow-up yourself. 3 sentences. Something only you could know from that call.In B2B, the relationship is the product. Don't automate the one part they'll remember.Where do you draw the line with AI in sales?
Visual · Text onlyNo image. A strong opinion reads best as plain text.Check before postingUse your own real experience of an automated follow-up, or reword it as something a client went through.
“I have nothing to post about”Rule 3: answer the question you get at every workshop. Modelled on Arushi Malviya's “first 90 minutes” post and the quantity vs. quality post.
Hook
“I have nothing to post about.”I do 5+ LinkedIn workshops a month and I hear this at almost every one.It's never true.Every executive I work with has 10+ calls a week with clients, prospects and their team. Those calls are full of content.The questions people keep asking you.
The objection you answered three times this month.
The thing a client said that made you stop and think.
The mistake you see every prospect make.That's the content. You just aren't writing it down.Here's the simplest fix:1. Block 30 minutes on Friday.
2. Look back at the week's calls.
3. Write down the 3 questions that came up the most.
4. Answer one of them in a post next week.That's it. One post a week, done consistently for 6 months, will do more than you think.What's the question you get asked the most?
The 10% Engager ReviewRule 5: one hard number up top, then give the tool. Modelled on the October 2 engagers post and Fahad Nasir's free guide.
Hook
A post gets 90 reactions. About 8 of them matter.The rest are friends, colleagues and people who like everything.That's normal. The mistake is stopping at the first screen.The 8 that matter are usually further down. And they almost never comment.Here's the review we do every week for our clients:1. Open every post from the last 7 days.
2. Scroll through every reaction, not just the first 20.
3. Flag anyone who fits your ideal buyer: title, company, industry.
4. Check if they reacted to more than one post.
5. Send each of them a short, human note within 48 hours.15 minutes a week. It's the highest-value thing most executives never do on LinkedIn.P.S. I turned this into a one-page checklist with the 3 notes we send most often. Want it? Comment “REVIEW” and I'll send it over.
Visual · Single imageThe one-page checklist: the 5 steps on the left, the 3 message templates on the right.Check before postingPut your Netwarm Reveal link in the P.S. so you can see which executives download the checklist.
Free forever: unlimited scheduling through LinkedIn’s official API, with images, video and PDF carousels.
06
LinkedIn lead generation: lead magnets that work to target executives
Reactions show interest. A download shows intent. The fastest way to find out which executives are serious is to give them something useful and see who takes it.
Among LinkedIn strategists and outreach experts, these formats get the most requests:
Format 1The profile guideA step-by-step guide to fix a LinkedIn profile, offered for a one-word comment.
Format 2The DM playbookThe exact messages behind the results, packaged as a playbook.
Format 3The essentials kitSeveral short resources in one download: profile, content, DMs, targeting.
Our pick for you: “The 10% Engager Review”Built from the October 2 post on finding the valuable 10% of engagers: the 5-step weekly review plus the catch-up note the agency founder already recommends (“Hey, great seeing your name pop up on LinkedIn…”). Offer it in the P.S. of post 5.With a Reveal link, every person who downloads it is shown by name, with their role and how warm they are. Your first Reveal link is free.Create your free Reveal link
07
From reactions to clients
Content brings executives to the profile. It doesn't say when to reach out. Most never comment, so they stay invisible, and an executive reading every post in October may have hired another agency by January.
On LinkedIn, the right moment to start a conversation is when someone keeps coming back. We call that Hot: 5 or more points over 90 days, where a reaction counts 1, a repost 2, a download or a reply 4.
Hot right now29 executives · not contacted yetNetwarm
29 executives are Hot. See who to message first.See who’s Hot
First messageAn opener for each Hot person, based on the posts they readNetwarm
Hi Dana, you've been reading my posts on AI and sales for a few weeks. Is your team using AI in its follow-ups yet?Hi Chris, I saw you reacted to the Chief of Staff post. Is LinkedIn on your principal's list for next year?
A first line for each of them, ready to send.See the openers
Netwarm sends nothing for you. It tells you who and when, and you write the message. It also works inside Claude and ChatGPT: ask “Who's Hot today?” and get the list.
08
FAQ
Here, every topic brought 34% to 45% executives, so the topic matters less than the post. Name the executive in the first line, take a clear side on AI, answer the questions you hear in workshops, and tie personal stories to a business lesson.
For this agency founder, Thursday brought the highest share of executives (45.1%) and Friday the lowest (36.9%). Posts went out at 8 a.m. Eastern. Put the posts that sell the work midweek.
This founder posts about 5 times a week on weekdays, and 49 executives came back to 3 or more posts in 6 weeks. For clients just starting, 2 to 4 good posts a month done consistently for 6 months is the bar the agency founder sets.
Look at who reacts, not how many. Group reactions by role, measure the share of your ideal clients per post, and follow the people who keep coming back. A free Netwarm scan does this for you.
Yes. Netwarm only reads public reactions to your own posts. It never logs in as you, never asks for your password, and never messages anyone for you.
How we made this playbook
We read the public reactions on 30 posts published between 23 September and 3 November 2026 (the first 100 reactors of each post), and sorted the 680 people by role. Comments were not counted, so engagement figures are a floor. The 3 November post was too recent to count as an example.
Niche rules come from top posts by LinkedIn strategists for executives and founders over the last 3 months. Role groups are approximate, and some executives sell to the same audience; a Netwarm scan matches people to your own ideal client.