LinkedIn in 2025: What’s working and how to use it to generate B2B leads?

Cold outreach alone doesn’t cut it anymore, and viral posts without real strategy don’t convert. 

In 2025, LinkedIn is stricter, users are smarter, and the feed rewards authentic, value-driven interaction.

Let’s see what actually works.

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Automation has limits – and risks

LinkedIn caps connection requests at around 100-150 per week. That’s forcing many sales teams to rethink how they scale. 

Tools like HeyReach can rotate real profiles which is helpful, but heavy automation can get you flagged. 

Even prominent founders have been banned for it and had to build their “LinkedIn empire” from scratch. 

Moreover, LinkedIn has officially banned popular automation platforms such as Apollo.io and Seamless.AI for violating its Terms of Service. They scraped user data and sent mass connection requests without consent, leading to their removal from the platform.

Don’t get us wrong – we’re not against using tools. Just be smart about it: choose the reliable ones, use them intentionally, and don’t base your entire strategy on them.

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Your profile is the pitch

When someone clicks on your name after a message or comment, that’s your shot. If your profile is outdated, empty, or generic, you just lost a lead.

Here’s what you should do:

• Optimize your headline and About section.
• Share content that reflects your actual expertise.
• Use a high-quality photo or intro video to humanize your presence.

A polished, trustworthy profile lays the groundwork for every conversion. People look for mutual connections, your tone, your recent activity. Your profile either builds trust or immediately burns it.

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Combine content + outreach 

Most B2B teams fall into two buckets:

• Cold DM spam: hoping mass messages land.
• Passive posting: waiting months for inbound.

Which side to choose? Blend both. Post content that showcases your knowledge, then do soft outreach to people who engage with it. 

Always start with value.

For instance, at Peakflow, we tested this with a client by shifting from asking for audits to offering a simple “5 Google Ads mistakes” PDF. Cold outreach got 1 reply in 2 months. 

And the PDF? 4 meetings in 4 days.

That’s the power of smart lead magnets.

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Give people the content they actually want

LinkedIn's average engagement rate by impressions stands at 5.00%, with engagement increasing by 30% year-over-year.

But what content works best in 2025?

• Carousels (PDFs): Achieve the highest engagement, averaging a 6.60% engagement rate.
• Native documents: Follow closely with a 5.85% engagement rate.
• Videos: Video is the most shared type of content on LinkedIn.
• Image posts: Receive 98% more comments than posts without images.
• Live streams: 7 times more reactions and 24 times more comments compared to regular videos.

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Now that you know what works best, move to checking the profiles of your target audience – what are they liking, commenting on, or sharing? What formats catch their eye? 

Use that insight to shape your strategy and choose the type of content you’ll go with. 

Don’t just post to stay active. Post with purpose.

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Stop with pointless comments

If your idea of engagement is “Awesome post, Jeff!”, you’re wasting time. You should:

• Comment with unique insight.
• Reference specifics from the original post.
• Treat LinkedIn like a live panel, not a megaphone.

LinkedIn shows comments that spark real discussion. For example, check this comment:

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Jill shares her personal experience, opinions and even sort of emotions in this comment making it real, making people want to react to it, interact with it, support it.

Five meaningful comments will always beat 200 “Nice one!”s. 

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One strong personal profile > Five brand pages

You don’t need a big team or a massive audience to win on LinkedIn. A well-positioned founder, exec, or rep with a sharp POV can outperform a faceless brand.

A great example is ZoomInfo’s CEO, Henry Schuck.

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He’s active on his personal profile, dropping behind-the-scenes takes from ZoomInfo, personal stories, and the occasional face-to-camera video, which instantly makes things more real and relatable. 

And it clearly works – you can see it in the comments, reposts, and all the engagement his posts pull in.

But…

What if you’re a sales rep or SDR who’s just not into content? Does every single person in the team need to post regularly on LinkedIn?

Not necessarily.

Yeah, content-driven sales teams often outperform the ones that never post. And sure, in small teams, it’s easier to get everyone on board – people are hyped, aligned, and ready to try new things.

But in bigger orgs? Most reps just want to hit their quota and clock out. Forcing everyone to post isn’t scalable or even realistic. And that’s totally fine. If you have one or two people up for it, that’s enough to make an impact.

Content isn’t replacing outreach – it’s just evolving alongside it.

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Warm outreach > Cold volume

Did someone view your profile? Comment on your post? Like a breakdown you shared two weeks ago?

That’s your moment.

• Use tools like Clay to track signals – e.g. hiring or job changes.
• Build audience lists.
• Reach out respectfully, days after the first engagement, not minutes after a like.

Pro tip: Nurtured leads convert better than cold hits.

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Audience activation funnels are a must

You could have the best content on LinkedIn, but it won’t necessarily move the needle. You need to activate your audience. That means giving them a reason to step into your funnel.

Here’s what works:

• Offer lead magnets that are genuinely helpful (not bait).
• Use posts like “Spent 100 hours creating this – comment if you want it” to build lists.
• Get people into your newsletter with low-friction offers.
• Consider thought leadership ads to boost content reach from personal profiles.

If we had to break our funnel strategy down into just four steps, it’d go something like this:  content > engagement > signal tracking > warm outreach. 

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It's slow. But it’s sustainable. And that’s why it works.

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Final thoughts: What not to do in 2025?

Quick hits that make you look spammy or outdated:

• Mass connect with the same template
• Pitch on connection request
• Repost generic blog links with no insight
• Drop “value bombs” without context or story

Remember, LinkedIn in 2025 isn’t about being louder. It’s about being smarter. Your profile can be your best-performing sales channel.

So, stop chasing hacks. Start building trust there. 

Need help planning your LinkedIn funnel? Or want someone to turn your content into leads? 

Let’s make LinkedIn work for you – not the other way around.