Best of LinkedIn: Social Selling CW 33/ 34

LinkedIn's B2B growth playbook is splitting into two tracks that reinforce each other. On one side, the platform's own ranking logic is rewarding relevance, saves, and human effort over raw reach, pushing creators toward narrower positioning and slower, feed native writing. On the other, AI search engines are quietly turning individual LinkedIn profiles into the primary source B2B buyers and chatbots cite when vetting a company, which is pulling employee advocacy and personal brand work into the centre of go to market strategy rather than treating it as a side project.

Date

August 26, 2026

Social Selling

Thomas Allgeyer

Methodology: Every two weeks we collect most relevant posts on LinkedIn for selected topics and create an overall summary only based on these posts. If you´re interested in the single posts behind, you can find them here: https://linktr.ee/thomasallgeyer. Have a great read!

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Listen to our podcast

If you prefer listening, check out our podcast summarizing the most relevant insights from Social Selling CW 33/ 34:

Personal Branding & Positioning

Matt Gray named seven personal brand pillars, led by point of view and an owned email list
Rehana Perveen said angle, language, and voice differentiate a profile more than expertise
Kevin Box called the profile photo a logo and pointed to AI headshots as a faster fix
Markus Peter dropped AI generated photos after they read as inauthentic
Terry Heath mapped LinkedIn success to eight stages, capped by the weakest link
Andrea Lehwald said she'd take a clear position earlier if restarting on LinkedIn
LIAM DARMODY said consistency beats guru "authenticity" advice over time

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Content & Algorithm Strategy

Peter Hössl said posts written directly in LinkedIn reach 22 percent further than pasted drafts
Florence Grégeois said one post save now adds 64.7 percent more views
Niklas Benzenberg said reach is falling as engagement, relevance, and saves gain weight
Holly Joyner reported LinkedIn's visible hook expanding from 2.5 lines to five
Moritz Neuhaus said LinkedIn now judges topical consistency across a whole profile
Paulina Stricker said her strongest posts come from reacting within the same week
Bianca Kollwitz shared seven habits for retraining the LinkedIn feed algorithm

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Lead Generation & Outreach

Amelia Sordell's five step founder funnel adds 191 qualified leads every 60 days
Chris Cozzolino said manual outreach beats automation threefold across 1,000-plus meetings
Michel Lieben found sub 150 character messages earn 22 percent more replies
Aidan Collins said his seven step call funnel generated $49,500 in 60 days
Lucas Wollschlager's referral partner campaign produced millions in pipeline
Mykyta Khnykov listed five recurring B2B lead generation failures, from ICP to timing
Christian Krause found voice and video DMs earn the most replies

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Employee Advocacy

Astrid G. launched Atradius Voices, its second corporate influencer programme
Iveta Degulyte named Deloitte, Clay, and Starbucks as investing in employee advocacy
Sarah Hodges said buyer trust builds before a prospect enters the market
Quentin Bordage called company culture the first marketing channel
Benjamin Hayes said sustaining advocacy is harder than launching it, as motivation fades
Lee Densmer proposed a minimum viable LinkedIn strategy over mandated posting

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AI Search Visibility & AEO

Tyrona Heath said 75 percent of AI search citations come from member profiles
Ivana Brutenic said 94 percent of B2B buyers now use LLMs to research
Kaleigh Moore said most cited LinkedIn profiles have under 10,000 followers
Katheline Jean-Pierre said LinkedIn authority shapes how AI tools vet B2B expertise
Carmen Vicente linked social strategy to answer engine optimisation via Profound
Shira Lazar said 82 percent of B2B buyers say creator content shapes their decisions

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Thanks to Matt Gray, Rehana Perveen, Kevin Box, Markus Peter, Terry Heath, Andrea Lehwald, LIAM DARMODY, Peter Hössl, Florence Grégeois, Niklas Benzenberg, Holly Joyner, Moritz Neuhaus, Paulina Stricker, Bianca Kollwitz, Amelia Sordell, Chris Cozzolino, Michel Lieben, Aidan Collins, Lucas Wollschlager, Mykyta Khnykov, Christian Krause, Astrid G., Iveta Degulyte, Sarah Hodges, Quentin Bordage, Benjamin Hayes, Lee Densmer, Tyrona Heath, Ivana Brutenic, Kaleigh Moore, Katheline Jean-Pierre, Carmen Vicente, and Shira Lazar for the insights that shaped this edition. Find the full list of posts and voices on LinkedIn: