LinkedIn Content Strategy for Founder-Led Brand Storytellers | Netwarm
LinkedIn playbook · Case study
LinkedIn content strategy for founder-led brand storytellers: how a London founder and creator reached 214 founders and marketing leaders in 6 weeks
We read the reactions on 15 posts from a London beauty founder turned creator and B2B creative strategist. 835 people, 214 founders and marketing leaders. 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 London beauty founder turned creator and B2B creative strategist
Followers14,019
Posts
These numbers are from 2 November. Your audience has already moved.
New founders and marketing leaders turn Hot every week and others go quiet. Run your free scan to see today’s version, with the names.
SellsCreative direction and campaign strategy for B2B brands, branded content and keynote speaking
PeriodSep 23 – Nov 2
Ideal client: founders, heads of marketing and brand leaders at B2B and consumer brands who want campaigns and stories people actually watch.The challenge: The founder built a brand from £100 to £13M in sales with organic content, then lost it, and now writes about starting again: investors, the UK versus the US, founder lessons and campaigns for B2B brands like the Xero “Financial Therapy” idea. The posts draw 40 to 340 reactions, and a good part comes from creators, freelancers and students. Which posts reach the founders and marketing leaders who buy creative work?
Key takeaways
1 in 4 readers is a buyer.214 founders and marketing leaders reacted in 6 weeks: 26% of the 835 people who reacted. 17% are creators, coaches, consultants, freelancers and students.
Investor posts bring 1.5x more buyers than UK vs US posts.34% founders and marketing leaders on the investor and capital posts, against 22% on the posts about building in the UK or the US.
7 of them are Hot right now.They reacted to 5 posts or more. One of them reacted to 9 of the 15.
01
Who actually reads you, and what the LinkedIn algorithm changed
The founder posted 15 times between 23 September and 2 November: the £100 start, the investors who said no, a week at Advertising Week in New York, the UK ambition debate, brand breakdowns and B2B campaign work.
The LinkedIn algorithm shows a post to the people who reacted to the last ones, then to people like them. A founder story with a big number travels far, and a lot of that reach goes to aspiring founders, creators and students. Reach can’t tell them apart from a head of marketing who could hire you. Who reacted can. We sorted every person who reacted by role.
15posts in 6 weeks
835people reacted
214founders and marketing leaders
27came back 3+ times
Audience by roleThe 835 people who reacted, by roleFree
Founders, CEOs, owners, heads of marketing and brand214 · 25.6%
Creators, coaches, consultants, freelancers and students142 · 17%
Everyone else479 · 57.4%
17% of the people who react are creators, coaches, consultants, freelancers and students. They like the founder stories and push reach, and they rarely commission a campaign.
The 214 buyers are founders, CEOs, owners, heads of marketing, brand managers and partnership leads. About a third work in marketing, branding, creative and media, and about 1 in 6 run beauty, wellness, fashion or lifestyle brands.
SeniorityAll people who reactedFree
Founder, owner, C-level30.8%
Director, VP4.9%
Manager9%
Independent7.8%
Other47.5%
IndustriesFounders and marketing leaders onlyNetwarm
Marketing, brand, creative & media31.3%
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See all industries and company sizes in your free scan.
Core audience27 founders and marketing leaders engaged 3+ times · 7 engaged 5+ timesNetwarm
27 founders and marketing leaders keep coming back. One of them reacted to 9 of the 15 posts.See your regulars
Engager company sizeEveryone who reacted, by company sizeNetwarm
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See which company sizes your founders and marketing leaders work at.See company sizes
02
What to post on LinkedIn to reach founders and marketing leaders
Most founder-creators judge a post by its reactions. A founder who sells creative work should judge it by who reacted.
We tagged each of the 15 posts by topic, then measured the share of founders and marketing leaders among the people who reacted, and how many each post brought.
Your topicsWhat your 15 posts were aboutFree
15posts
Marketing and brand stories4
Career and founder lessons3
UK vs US ambition3
Events and rooms3
Investors and capital2
Topics that attract founders and marketing leadersShare of each topic’s reactions from founders and marketing leadersNetwarm
Investors and capital34.3%
Marketing and brand stories29.0%
Events and rooms25.7%
Career and founder lessons25.5%
UK vs US ambition22.1%
One topic brings 1.5x more founders and marketing leaders than another. See which.See which topics
Investor and capital posts reach 34% founders and marketing leaders, the UK vs US posts 22%: 1.5x more buyers per reaction. Marketing and brand stories come second, at 29%.
Posts that brought the most founders and marketing leadersShare of founders and marketing leaders in each post’s reactions1 of 5 open
#1I built my first business in public. But I never thought I’d see investors going viral on Instagram40.5%
#2I spoke to over 100 investors. Not a single one said yes31.6%
#3£20 million on creators. From a personal injury law firm31.1%
#4I think every brand will eventually have a documentary31%
#5If your business is in a “boring” category, read this29.3%
For comparison, the post on building the next business outside the UK had 342 reactions, among the most of the period, and reached 24% founders and marketing leaders. The “ambition problem” post reached 21%.
6 rules for LinkedIn engagement from founders and marketing leaders
These rules come from what worked on the founder’s own profile, and from the best-performing posts by UK founders, brand builders and storytelling creators on LinkedIn over the last 3 months.
1
Open with the number that sounds wrong. “100 investors. Not one yes. After £5 million in revenue.” The gap between the number and the result is the hook. Founders stop because they have been on one side of it.On this profile: the 100 investors post brought 31 founders and marketing leaders, the most of any post, at 31.6%.
Write about the people your buyers need to win over. Investors, retailers, customers. When the post is about the people founders are trying to convince, the founders read it closely, and the aspiring ones scroll past.On this profile: the post on investors going viral on Instagram reached 40.5% founders and marketing leaders, the highest share of the period.
Tell the story in detail, then hand over the lessons. The art is the scene: the room, the nerves, the moment. The science is the numbered list of what it taught you. Founders save the list and remember the scene.Across the niche: a London VC and podcast host’s post on storytelling as art and science drew 1,033 likes and 212 comments.
Show the campaign, not just the opinion. One real brief, the human truth under it, and the idea you pitched. Marketing leaders read it as a portfolio piece, and it tells them what hiring you looks like.On this profile: the Xero “Financial Therapy” post reached 29.3% founders and marketing leaders, above every career and UK post.
Break down another brand’s move, then name what to copy. A documentary, a creator programme, a launch that sold out. Explain why it works in three points, then say what a smaller brand can take from it.Across the niche: a B2B creator-led growth strategist’s breakdown of how Lovable built its creator programme drew 178 likes and 33 comments. On this profile, the brand documentary post reached 31%.
Share this week’s mistake with a client in it. Not the old failure everyone knows, a fresh one: the deal that slipped, the call you got wrong. A brand lead and a founder appear in the story, so buyers see themselves in it.Across the niche: a social media strategist’s post on losing a brand client before the contract was signed drew 1,189 likes and 148 comments.
When founders and marketing leaders read: the best time to post on LinkedIn for founder-led brand storytellers
We compared the share of founders and marketing leaders by the day and hour each post was published (London time). Each day had 2 to 4 posts, so the gaps are a direction, not a law.
Share of founders and marketing leaders by posting dayAmong the people who reacted to each postFree
24.0%
Mon
26.6%
Tue
28.0%
Wed
24.6%
Thu
31.4%
Fri
Best time to post, by hourShare of founders and marketing leaders among people who reactedFree
25.9%
6:00
26.2%
8:00
32.2%
14:00
Friday brought the highest share (31.4%, about 25 founders and marketing leaders per post), then Wednesday (28%). Monday was lowest (24%, 15 per post).
By hour, the three posts published around 2 p.m. reached 32% buyers, against 26% for the morning posts. Morning posts reached more people in total, so the afternoon is better for the posts that carry the business. One post at 10 a.m. was left out of the chart.
Put investor, campaign and brand breakdown posts on Wednesday and Friday, and keep Monday for personal and UK ambition posts.
05
5 posts ready to publish to target founders and marketing leaders
Each post follows the rules above, in the founder’s voice. Swap in your own details before posting: the real story is what makes it land.
1Ready to postPersonal story + lessons
What I’d do differently with investors the second timeRules 1 and 3: the number that sounds wrong, then the lessons as a list. Modelled on the 100 investors post, the one that brought the most founders and marketing leaders, and a London VC’s art-and-science storytelling post.
Hook
100 investors said no to my first business. I’m not making the same mistakes with my second.The 100th no came on a Tuesday.I remember because I had two more calls booked that afternoon, and I took them anyway.We had done £5 million in revenue the year before. I thought the numbers would speak for themselves.They didn’t.As I prepare to launch my second business in 2027, here’s what I’m doing differently:1. Meeting investors before I need them.
Relationships take TIME. Raising when you desperately need capital is a terrible strategy.2. Treating my audience as part of the pitch.
Distribution is an asset. A community that buys is proof most decks can’t show.3. Learning how each investor thinks before the first meeting.
Some of the best insight I’ve had this year came from investors posting their thinking online.4. Saying no to the wrong money.
The horror stories exist for a reason. Not every cheque is worth it.I still have a LONG list of things I’d do differently.But you don’t start from zero knowledge the second time.Founders who have raised twice: what changed the second time?
Visual · Single imageA photo of you at your desk with a notebook, and the line “100 no’s. Here’s what changed.” in large type.Check before postingThe Tuesday detail is written plausibly: use your real memory of the last no, or drop the scene. Check the four lessons match how you really plan to raise.
The brief behind “Financial Therapy”Rule 4 and the lead magnet: show a real campaign and the thinking behind it, then offer the template. Modelled on the “boring category” Xero post (29.3% buyers) and the playbook offers that work across the niche.
Hook
Boring categories don’t need boring marketing. They need a human truth.When I pitched Financial Therapy for Xero, I didn’t start with the software.I started with a feeling every founder knows.We treat our tools like therapists. We expect them to fix everything, while half the time we aren’t even using them properly.That one line became the whole idea.A founder.
A financial therapist.
And Xero as the prescription.Every campaign idea I pitch starts on one page with four questions:→ What does the customer feel before they buy?
→ What do they secretly get wrong?
→ What would make them laugh, or wince, in recognition?
→ Where does the product show up in that story?If you can’t answer them, you’re about to make another ad about features.If you can, your category doesn’t have to be entertaining.Your perspective on it does.I’ve turned the page into a template, with the Xero answers filled in as an example.Comment BRIEF and I’ll send it to you.
Visual · CarouselFour slides: a still from the Financial Therapy campaign, the human truth line, the four questions, and the filled-in example page.Check before postingMake the one-page template before posting and share it through a Reveal link to see which marketing leaders open it. Check what you can show from the Xero campaign.
Why B2B brands should spend like that law firmRule 5: break down another company’s move and say what to copy. Modelled on the £20 million on creators post (31.1% buyers) and a creator-led growth strategist’s Lovable breakdown.
Hook
A personal injury law firm is spending £20 million on creators. Most B2B brands are still debating one.That was one of the first conversations I walked into at Advertising Week in New York.Billions of impressions. A category nobody calls exciting. And an ROI model that made me rethink how I size up my own opportunities.Here’s what I think B2B brands can copy:1. Treat creators as distribution, not decoration.
They bought attention at scale, then measured it like any other channel.2. Pick the human truth, not the product feature.
Nobody wants to think about an accident. Everyone wants to feel someone is on their side.3. Commit long enough to learn.
One post with a creator is a test. A year of them is a strategy.I’ve seen the same pattern from the other side.My first business had no big marketing budget. I had to get as many eyes on good products as possible, for as little money as possible.The brands that win now think like that, with a bigger budget.B2B marketers: what’s the boldest creator idea you’ve seen this year?
Visual · Single imageA photo from Advertising Week with the line “£20M on creators. From a law firm.” overlaid.Check before postingKeep the three lessons only if they match what you heard in that conversation. Don’t name the law firm unless it’s public.
The pitch I over-preparedRule 6: a fresh mistake with a client in the room. Modelled on a social media strategist’s lost-client post (1,189 likes, 148 comments).
Hook
I lost a pitch this week because I was too prepared.Forty slides.
Three campaign routes.
A moodboard for each one.The head of brand was lovely. The founder asked great questions.And then a very polite “we’ll be in touch”.They went with someone who brought one idea.One.And you know what? Fair enough.Because looking back, I gave them homework. Three routes meant they had to do the hard part themselves: decide.What I’m changing from now on:→ One idea, with the human truth under it.
→ One page on why it works for their customer.
→ The other routes stay in my notebook, in case they ask.I built my first business by testing ideas in public. This is just another one that didn’t work.Next pitch, I’m bringing one idea.Tell me I’m not the only one who’s done this 😂
Visual · Text onlyNo image: the story carries it. If you want one, a photo of a thick printed deck next to a single page.Check before postingThis story is a placeholder in the right shape: use a real pitch or client moment from this month, with no names. Drop the post if nothing like it happened.
Audience is the new due diligenceRule 2: write about the people founders need to win over. Modelled on the post on investors going viral on Instagram, the highest buyer share of the period (40.5%).
Hook
Investors used to do due diligence on founders. Now founders do it on investors, from their phones.I watched three investors break down pitch decks this week.In my pyjamas. On Instagram.And I LOVE this shift.When I was raising for my first business, I knew almost nothing about the people across the table until I was sitting there asking for money.Now I know how they think, what they look for and why they passed, months before I ever need them.Here’s what that changes for founders:1. You can pick investors the way they pick you.
On fit, on values, on how they behave when things go wrong.2. Trust starts before the first meeting.
On both sides.3. Your own audience counts too.
Investors are increasingly recognising the value of digital capital. A community that buys is an asset in itself.Financial capital and digital capital are becoming increasingly connected.The founders who build both will raise on better terms.Investors: has a founder’s audience ever changed your decision?
Visual · Single imageA phone screen showing an investor video next to a pitch deck page, with the line “Due diligence goes both ways now.”Check before postingCheck the “three investors this week” detail matches what you really watched. Keep the investor names out unless you tag them with their OK.
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 founders and marketing leaders
Reactions show interest. A download shows intent. A head of marketing who asks for a campaign brief template is telling you a campaign is on the agenda now.
For UK founders and marketing teams, these formats get the most requests:
Format 1The free tool founders wish they hadSomething you built for your own work, given away behind a comment keyword.
Format 2The seasonal playbookEverything you’ve learned about one moment in the year, packaged for brands before it arrives.
Format 3The research reportOne headline finding in the post, the full study sent on request.
Our pick for you: “Our pick for you: the one-page campaign brief”The founder already pitches B2B brands with a human truth first, like the Xero “Financial Therapy” idea. Turn that thinking into a one-page template: four questions to find the human truth, with the Xero answers as an example. Offer it on “The brief behind Financial Therapy” post (comment BRIEF) and share it through a free Reveal link to see which marketing leaders open it.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 founders and marketing leaders to the profile. It doesn’t say when to reach out. Most never comment, so they stay invisible, and a head of marketing who read every campaign post may brief another studio before anyone writes to them.
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 now7 founders and marketing leaders · not contacted yetNetwarm
7 founders and marketing leaders 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 Sophie, you’ve followed the brand breakdowns closely this month. Is a campaign on your plan for next year?Hi James, I saw you reacted to the post on boring categories. What’s the human truth under your product?
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
For this founder, investor and capital posts reached 34% founders and marketing leaders, against 22% for posts about building in the UK or the US. Marketing and brand stories came second at 29%. Open with the number that sounds wrong, write about the people founders need to win over, and show real campaign work.
For this founder, Friday brought the highest share of founders and marketing leaders (31.4%), then Wednesday (28%). Monday was lowest (24%). Posts around 2 p.m. London time reached a higher share than morning posts.
This founder posts about 3 times a week, and 27 founders and marketing leaders came back 3 times or more in 6 weeks. Three strong posts a week is enough when they land on the best days.
Look at who reacts, not how many. The post on building outside the UK had 342 reactions and 24% buyers; the post on investors going viral on Instagram had 42 and 40.5%. Group reactions by role, measure the share 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 15 posts published between 23 September and 2 November 2026, up to the first 100 people per post, and sorted the 835 people by role. Reposts, deleted or duplicate posts and posts written by other people were left out. Comments were not counted, so engagement figures are a floor.
Niche rules come from top posts by UK founders, brand builders and storytelling creators over the last 3 months. Role groups are approximate; a Netwarm scan matches people to your own ideal client.
