Founder-led content is dominating LinkedIn—but the pros say most are doing it wrong
Apr 20, 2025
Paramark News Desk
Credit: Outlever
Key Points
LinkedIn's potential for thought leadership-driven business growth is hindered by ineffective content strategies, according to Catalyst CEO Will Leatherman.
Tailoring content for LinkedIn involves using multiple voices, including founders, executives, and employees, to create a cohesive narrative.
Leatherman advises creating 'content ecosystems' rather than self-focused posts in order to win LinkedIn.
My entire business has been built from me posting content on LinkedIn and receiving inbound demand. If teams can stomach the investment and have a little bit of patience, we’ve seen it overtake paid channels, PR channels, all traditional marketing channels as their most lucrative and effective sales channel. I think that will continue, and I’m excited to see how that plays out in 2025.
Will Leatherman
Founder & CEO
,
Catalyst
Companies, influencers, and founders are catching on that you can build entire businesses from content posted on LinkedIn. But as more voices jump on the platform, a growing gap between those who see results, and those who don’t, is starting to catch influencer hopefuls off guard.
Will Leatherman, Founder & CEO of Catalyst, says huge swaths of people arriving to LinkedIn to be heard, many are losing their voice, unsure how to really stand out.
PR approach: "A lot of people are trying founder-led content," Leatherman said. "And a lot of people are doing it, just not that well. Many people approach it from a PR angle and just use it as a platform that kind of blurs the lines between what I’d say is like Twitter and Instagram, where the content becomes all about them." Leatherman's company is a full-service content agency that creates founder-led content to drive growth.
He believes that mindset misses the mark. "We’re conditioned by other platforms to talk about ourselves and our own personal experiences. But where LinkedIn really stands out—and what we deploy for our clients, and what we think is actually successful—is thinking about building content ecosystems."
Tailoring to the platform: That means LinkedIn isn't just a place to post—it’s a place to orchestrate a long-term strategy. "It’s a very effective distribution channel, especially compared to traditional B2B channels like a blog or a press release," Leatherman said. "Newsletters have their place, but LinkedIn is just a different kind of distribution. LinkedIn content doesn’t actually change that much. But you do have to tailor it to the platform."
Multiple voices: At Catalyst, that tailoring means activating multiple voices. "You’re using the founder, or a senior executive, employees, as well as company content. We think about that ecosystem as leveraging all three of those channels within LinkedIn," he said. "Then on top of that, you can sprinkle in some strategic personal content—things that show the human side of you in the business. But it’s not about posting a trip you took with your partner. It should still be relevant. It should be an interesting story that builds into the content."
A lot of people are trying founder-led content. And a lot of people are doing it, just not that well. Many people approach it from a PR angle and just use it as a platform that kind of blurs the lines between what I’d say is like Twitter and Instagram, where the content becomes all about them.
Will Leatherman
Founder & CEO
,
Catalyst
A good hook: At the core of good content? A compelling narrative. "Like any content on any platform or any medium, a good story is what makes it compelling. People oversimplify it with hook-problem-solution, which is the bare-bones framework of storytelling. But at the end of the day, you're telling stories that demonstrate social proof that your company is providing value or services to whoever you work with."
Metrics, playbooks, and guides: What performs best, according to Leatherman, is content that no one else can replicate. "Focus on unique data and experiences that your founders or executives can share that no one else can. Whether that’s metrics, playbooks, guides—this idea of building in public and using internal data that you can leverage for content."
Leveraging AI: He also sees a major opportunity in using AI to speed up production without sacrificing quality. "The way I view AI in general is: how do you decrease the amount of time from idea to publishing to the world? That’s where AI is powerful. If we can cut production time and stay living in that strategy, concepting, creative side of things—that’s exciting."
But with that speed, comes noise. "There’s going to be a lot more noise. And so it’s going to be about finding ways to stand out and capture people’s attention. But again, I think if you focus on just high-quality content, you’ll win."
Overtaking paid channels: For Leatherman, the ROI is undeniable. "I’m obviously a big proponent of LinkedIn content for sales. The type of results we’re seeing far outweigh all other traditional B2B marketing initiatives that teams can run, especially from an ROI standpoint."
And the results are personal. "My entire business has been built from me posting content on LinkedIn and receiving inbound demand. If teams can stomach the investment and have a little bit of patience, we’ve seen it overtake paid channels, PR channels, all traditional marketing channels as their most lucrative and effective sales channel. I think that will continue, and I’m excited to see how that plays out in 2025."
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© 2025 Paramark, Inc.
Founder-led content is dominating LinkedIn—but the pros say most are doing it wrong
Apr 20, 2025
Paramark News Desk
Credit: Outlever
Key Points
LinkedIn's potential for thought leadership-driven business growth is hindered by ineffective content strategies, according to Catalyst CEO Will Leatherman.
Tailoring content for LinkedIn involves using multiple voices, including founders, executives, and employees, to create a cohesive narrative.
Leatherman advises creating 'content ecosystems' rather than self-focused posts in order to win LinkedIn.
My entire business has been built from me posting content on LinkedIn and receiving inbound demand. If teams can stomach the investment and have a little bit of patience, we’ve seen it overtake paid channels, PR channels, all traditional marketing channels as their most lucrative and effective sales channel. I think that will continue, and I’m excited to see how that plays out in 2025.
Will Leatherman
Founder & CEO
,
Catalyst
Companies, influencers, and founders are catching on that you can build entire businesses from content posted on LinkedIn. But as more voices jump on the platform, a growing gap between those who see results, and those who don’t, is starting to catch influencer hopefuls off guard.
Will Leatherman, Founder & CEO of Catalyst, says huge swaths of people arriving to LinkedIn to be heard, many are losing their voice, unsure how to really stand out.
PR approach: "A lot of people are trying founder-led content," Leatherman said. "And a lot of people are doing it, just not that well. Many people approach it from a PR angle and just use it as a platform that kind of blurs the lines between what I’d say is like Twitter and Instagram, where the content becomes all about them." Leatherman's company is a full-service content agency that creates founder-led content to drive growth.
He believes that mindset misses the mark. "We’re conditioned by other platforms to talk about ourselves and our own personal experiences. But where LinkedIn really stands out—and what we deploy for our clients, and what we think is actually successful—is thinking about building content ecosystems."
Tailoring to the platform: That means LinkedIn isn't just a place to post—it’s a place to orchestrate a long-term strategy. "It’s a very effective distribution channel, especially compared to traditional B2B channels like a blog or a press release," Leatherman said. "Newsletters have their place, but LinkedIn is just a different kind of distribution. LinkedIn content doesn’t actually change that much. But you do have to tailor it to the platform."
Multiple voices: At Catalyst, that tailoring means activating multiple voices. "You’re using the founder, or a senior executive, employees, as well as company content. We think about that ecosystem as leveraging all three of those channels within LinkedIn," he said. "Then on top of that, you can sprinkle in some strategic personal content—things that show the human side of you in the business. But it’s not about posting a trip you took with your partner. It should still be relevant. It should be an interesting story that builds into the content."
A lot of people are trying founder-led content. And a lot of people are doing it, just not that well. Many people approach it from a PR angle and just use it as a platform that kind of blurs the lines between what I’d say is like Twitter and Instagram, where the content becomes all about them.
Will Leatherman
Founder & CEO
,
Catalyst
A good hook: At the core of good content? A compelling narrative. "Like any content on any platform or any medium, a good story is what makes it compelling. People oversimplify it with hook-problem-solution, which is the bare-bones framework of storytelling. But at the end of the day, you're telling stories that demonstrate social proof that your company is providing value or services to whoever you work with."
Metrics, playbooks, and guides: What performs best, according to Leatherman, is content that no one else can replicate. "Focus on unique data and experiences that your founders or executives can share that no one else can. Whether that’s metrics, playbooks, guides—this idea of building in public and using internal data that you can leverage for content."
Leveraging AI: He also sees a major opportunity in using AI to speed up production without sacrificing quality. "The way I view AI in general is: how do you decrease the amount of time from idea to publishing to the world? That’s where AI is powerful. If we can cut production time and stay living in that strategy, concepting, creative side of things—that’s exciting."
But with that speed, comes noise. "There’s going to be a lot more noise. And so it’s going to be about finding ways to stand out and capture people’s attention. But again, I think if you focus on just high-quality content, you’ll win."
Overtaking paid channels: For Leatherman, the ROI is undeniable. "I’m obviously a big proponent of LinkedIn content for sales. The type of results we’re seeing far outweigh all other traditional B2B marketing initiatives that teams can run, especially from an ROI standpoint."
And the results are personal. "My entire business has been built from me posting content on LinkedIn and receiving inbound demand. If teams can stomach the investment and have a little bit of patience, we’ve seen it overtake paid channels, PR channels, all traditional marketing channels as their most lucrative and effective sales channel. I think that will continue, and I’m excited to see how that plays out in 2025."
Related articles
B2B
With buyers more informed than ever, sellers are forced to get technical
Mar 24, 2025
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B2B
Businesses must own their source of truth, or risk being swept up by AI hype
Mar 17, 2025
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