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Mark J.

Matt Swain

LinkedIn for Founders & Execs

I’ve built my career as a creator, thought-leader, author and entrepreneur who helps executives and founders evolve their online presence into genuine influence. I’ve had the privilege of working with global icons such as Wim Hof, Steven Bartlett and Arthur Brooks, and collaborated directly with LinkedIn to shape the conversation around digital content, executive-led brands and how social influence can drive commercial growth.

At the start of 2024, I founded Triangle Branding, an exclusive B2B thought leadership agency built for category-leading founders and CEOs who want to turn their ideas into influence. We help them build human-led digital reputations by using their own personal voice to drive commercial impact through LinkedIn-first content, strategic storytelling and demand-generation systems. 

Over the last 18 months, we’ve helped clients raise over $100M, land deals with companies such as Sony, Nvidia and Virgin, had 100 million eyeballs on clients’ content and generate meaningful inbound opportunities by building executive-led brands that people trust.

www.triangle-branding.com

Founder of SOCIAL CLUB

Founder and Manager of SOCIAL CLUB - an exclusive social media community where members manage over 328 million followers. 

If you're an influencer or brand who wants to connect please get in touch. 
If you're interested in investing/sponsoring/collaborating please email on matt@mattswain.co.uk

I was invited by LinkedIn to attend B2Believe, and the message was clear:

B2B is shifting faster than most teams realise. Creativity, buyer confidence, and human connection are becoming the new growth levers.

Here are my 7 core takeaways (share & save this!) 

1. Creativity is becoming the language of B2B

Creative that grabs and holds attention multiplies leads by 3x. But while 92% say consistent creative matters – only 12% deliver it. 

49% B2B decision-makers say they’re more likely to explore a company if its advertising is creative

40% B2B decision-makers say they’d be more likely to consider a purchase if the ad is seen as “creative”


2. Millennials + Gen Z now make up 71% of B2B buyers 

You need to engage them differently – they respond to: Cultural references; human stories; faces, not logos. 

87% of B2B buyers now prefer content from trusted industry influencers over brand-authored content.


3. Buyability: the new model for growth

B2B buying is slow because buyers don’t feel safe with 64% of marketers saying decisions now take longer. 

The top job-to-be-done is: “Can I defend this decision if it goes wrong?”

Buyers don’t need more information — they need more confidence.


4. Your network is a marketing asset — not a distribution channel

When employees from your target accounts follow your company, you generate 2.4x more leads.

And when senior decision-makers at those target accounts are connected to your employees, that jumps to 2.2x more leads.

You are more than 20x more likely to be bought when everyone in the Buyer Group knows you on Day One. Build brand, trust & authority with the right people. 


5. Video is non-negotiable

Jonathon Palmer said it well: Sound, movement, and visual cues trigger far stronger memory formation than static content ever can.

It generates 1.4x more engagement, meaning more people stop, watch, and interact.

And most importantly: viewers retain 95% of the message when it’s delivered via video.

+20% more leads are driven with video

Attention is scarce and recall is even scarcer. Video gives you the highest chance of being remembered — and being acted on.


6. Employee content > corporate content

B2B is shifting from logos to faces; from corporate statements to human voices.

Even when only 3% of employees post regularly, companies drive 20% more leads.

So bring your team to the forefront. 


7. Brand and demand are no longer separate

Everything now all comes down to trust, Tunji Akintokun put it: “In B2B, trust is the ultimate growth metric that closes deals.”

The era of “brand OR performance” is finished. Full-funnel integration is now a growth multiplier with always-on brand activity showing +10% conversion lift. 


In summary: 

The brands that win in 2025 won’t be the ones who look good in reports — they’ll be the ones who move buyer groups to act.

In partnership with LinkedIn for Marketing #Ad

Every marketer needs to hear this (direct intel from LinkedIn):

I sat down with Jae Oh, LinkedIn’s Head of Measurement & Ads, to introduce LinkedIn’s latest series - B2B Over Bevvies, sharing the latest B2B insights direct from LinkedIn! 

For the first episode, we debunked the 3 biggest myths killing your results…

Let me know what you think in the comments! 

P.S. Check out how LinkedIn’s measurement solutions can help you deliver outcomes over optics —> https://lnkd.in/measuringROI

LinkedIn for Marketing #AD

10 unpopular opinions about LinkedIn that I'll stand by:

1. Your "thought leadership" post with zero original thought is just noise. If ChatGPT could write it, why are you?

2. Posting 3x a week without strategy is worse than not posting at all. You're training your audience to ignore you.

3. 2,100 followers who buy from you beats 100k who scroll past you. I've seen clients book calls with Nvidia, HP & Shell averaging just 5 likes per post.

4. Stop chasing viral templates. Lean into your unique advantage, core IP, and the expertise only you can deliver. That's what creates category ownership.

5. Your company page isn't going to drive results. Faces drive 10x more engagement than logos - bring YOU to the forefront. 

6. "Building in public" only works if you're actually building something and sharing your lessons from the trenches. Your morning coffee routine isn't a founder story. 

7. Most founders spend 5 hours writing one post. We get 10 posts from 1 hour of conversation. You don't need more time – you need better systems.

8. Millennials and Gen Z make up 71% of B2B buyers. If you're still writing like it's 2015, you're speaking to an audience that's already left.

9. Your audience doesn't need more information. They need confidence to make decisions. Stop educating, start reassuring.

10. LinkedIn isn't a content platform. It's a trust-building platform. If you're not increasing buyer confidence, you're doing it wrong. 

--

B2B buying is slow because buyers don't feel safe. 

Their top question isn't "Does this work?" – 
It's "Can I defend this decision if it goes wrong?"

Every post should build confidence, not just awareness.

If you still think LinkedIn is “just a place to post” – think again.

Because the results we’re generating for clients right now — from Harvard professors to £100M founders – show a completely different reality.

A reality where content isn’t vanity… it’s pipeline, authority, and multi-seven-figure opportunities.

Some of our results: 

Client A – Director, Co-working Space (London)

Goal: Increase visibility, attract inbound demand, and build a steady flow of MQLs.

Result:
- 300,000 impressions in 90 days
- 1,381 highly targeted new followers
- 51 MQLs
- One week with £300,000+ inbound leads


Client B – Leader in Emerging Tech

Goal: Build authority from scratch, grow an industry audience, and position as a recognised voice.

Result:
- 24,255,000 impressions
- 9,953 engagements on best post
- 3,034 profile views in 90 days
- Grew from 300 connections → 10,000 followers


Client C – CRO at $150M ARR B2B SaaS

Goal: Produce high-quality, technical executive content that drives engagement & industry visibility.

Result:
- 635,363 impressions in first 2 months
- 1.25% engagement rate
- 7,396 reactions, 529 comments, 35 shares
+5,609 profile views


Client D – Co-Founder at £100M Agency, Forbes 30 Under 30

Goal: Create strategic content & outbound to open enterprise doors and generate pipeline.

Result:
- 310,866 content impressions
- 55+ MQLs
- 10+ SQLs in first 2 months (including SVPs at Snap, Paramount, etc)
- Reached senior decision makers across Coca-Cola, Unilever, EA, Ubisoft, etc.
- Attracted organic engagement from execs at Nike, Mars, L’Occitane, Swatch, L'Oréal


Client E – CEO, Energy Tech Platform (1,000+ employee clients)

Goal: Build authority in the energy & climate sector and drive enterprise conversations.

Result:
- 164,676 impressions
- 410 engagements on best post
- 1,411 profile views
- Audience surpassed 16,000+ professionals
- Booked meetings with leaders at Walgreens, Starbucks, GSK, Mars


Client F – Harvard Professor & Author

Goal: Expand thought leadership reach, attract senior decision-makers, and strengthen global influence.

Result:
- 5M+ impressions in 90 days
- 40,000 engagements
- 3,000,000+ impressions on best post
- Earned LinkedIn Top Voice
- Invited to LinkedIn’s exclusive Creator Programme
- 34% of his 78,000 followers are senior decision-makers at 10k+ employee companies

This is what happens when you combine premium positioning, high-quality thought leadership, and human-led outbound into one system designed to earn attention from the people who actually want to reach. 

If you want to build the same level of authority and demand in 2026, send me a message!

If you’re struggling to post consistent, high-quality content, you don’t have a system in place. 

Yesterday we spent 1-hour with a CEO client in the energy space, who with our support is signing enterprise deals through his LinkedIn. 

We ran one of our Strategic Ideation Sessions (think podcast-styled-conversation) where we got 10 posts from 1 hour together. 

They share their incredible ideas, insights & stories. 

We layer in our LinkedIn expertise. 
We run the whole system. 
We do all the research.
We ideate, write, schedule, assets, report. 

This is the power of having a repeatable content engine.
This is how you stay consistent without burning out.
This is how you show up as a category leader every week.

Here’s the posts we ideated: 

1. Tapping into the macro narrative their ICP cares about. 

2. Riding the AI + energy discourse dominating LinkedIn. 

3. Speaking the same language as his prospects. 

4. Reframing risk to shift how his audience thinks. 

5. Building credibility through relatable leadership storytelling. 

6. Reinforcing their biggest commercial differentiator. 

7. Using story + analogy to create memorable insight. 

8. Speaking to enterprise frustration to drive demand. 

9. Delivering a simple “aha” insight for his ICP. 

10. Injecting personality and humour to increase relatability. 


All strategically building the right blend of touch-points to drive 127,221 impressions, 35 MQLs, 5 booked calls with VP's at enterprise companies - in the last 30 days. 

Building his influence - but also generating commercial value.

While everyone talks about being consistent, it is the No.1 proof point of success. 

The truth is: everything meaningful in business compounds. Authority compounds as you show up with perspective. Trust compounds as people see you week after week. Distribution compounds when your name becomes familiar. But none of these effects reveal themselves quickly. You have to be in the game long enough for the multiplication to begin — and almost nobody is.

This means you need to build a systemised Content Engine for: 

1. Volume/reps over a long time period. 
2. Quality, authentic, original, value-adding content. 

I’ve seen it with clients, we start working together and build momentum, with more touchpoints, more qualified leads, more premium positioning. Then they leave and stop posting. Within weeks, everything slows down. The awareness. The authority. The inbound demand. The shorter sales cycles. All the benefits evaporate as quickly as they appeared. Not because the strategy stopped working — but because the consistency did.

It feels like trite advice, and to be honest, it is. But I believe it is the No.1 factor determining success.

A Fortune 500 CMO called me last week: "Matt, we're posting 3x a week and getting nowhere. What are we missing?"

I pulled up their content. 

No imagination.
No strategy.
No system.
Not audience-first.
Not LinkedIn-first.
Just… posts.

That's when I showed them the framework we use at Triangle – the same one that's generated 1,500,000 impressions for our clients in the last 30 days.

Every piece of content we create passes through 4 critical filters:

1) The Content Test: Would you stop scrolling for this? We obsess over hooks, clear angles, and making sure there's one unmistakable takeaway your audience will remember. 

2) The Data Layer: Your best-performing post from 6 months ago? Run it again with a fresh hook. That viral TikTok format? Test it on LinkedIn. We track everything – which hooks work, which stories resonate, which formats your ICP actually engages with.

3) The Strategy Check: Every post needs a job. Drive traffic? Build authority? Generate leads? We time posts with industry moments, tag the right people, and always include a clear next step. 

4) The Soul Filter: This is where most content dies. If it doesn't move you, it won't move them. We ask: Could the client have written this themselves? Will anyone care about this next week? Does this actually add value or just add noise?

Posting is not enough. 

You need strategy, results, outcomes with quality & authentic content that genuinely grows your audience and builds authority & trust.

--
We've been working hard on our content formula the last couple months - the image shows screenshots of some of our client results.

Excited to be sharing our playbook with the Apollo community next week — breaking down the exact system we use to book calls with senior decision makers at companies like Nvidia, Sony Ericsson, Virgin, Starbucks, Walgreens, GSK and more. 

Through a blend of authority-building content, expert positioning, signals and high-intent human-led outbound.

Excited for this one!

90% of people don’t realise there’s a big gap between someone you like and trust… and someone you’d actually buy from.

And here’s the thing: 

Your sales calls already contain everything you need to close that gap.

Objections.
Proof points.
Your worldview.
Your unique IP.
Your stories.
Your way of solving problems.

Every sales call = at least 3 pieces of content.

I take the same insights I share on my sales calls, the objections I handle, the frameworks I explain, the stories I tell – and turn them into consistent, high-performing content in minutes with Stanley (Your Content Coach). 

Stanley pulls in all your existing LinkedIn content, giving it deep context on your world and your voice – so the insights in your sales transcripts get turned into content that sounds like you. 

When your content mirrors your sales conversations, two things happen:

(1) You’re using proven data points – straight from real buyers.

(2) Your content is automatically positioned to convert, not just get likes.

So you’re positioned as an authority that generates deals. 

—

If you've been wanting to post more consistently on LinkedIn, try Stanley (Your Content Coach). It's like having a writing partner who knows your voice and helps you post authentic content that gets engagement.

You'll get a 3-day free trial here: https://lnkd.in/ecEBMT-r #ad

Being on stage can be nerve-racking. Even more so when you’re speaking to a room of experienced business owners.

I try to bring the focus back to one thing: the value. I aim to make the content as useful as possible, and prepare over & over, tweaking the content & delivery to ensure it's as good & engaging as it can possible be. My goal is to outwork all of those nerves & imposter syndrome. 

It was such a pleasure to speak at FESPA UK Association the other week, and the best part was all the conversations & questions afterwards. Lots asked for a copy of the slides too, which is always a pretty good sign!

Here’s how we have booked clients 40+ calls, all with senior key decision-makers at multi-million and billion-dollar businesses in the last 30 days:

Most outbound teams think their problem is the message or timing. For 90% of them, the real problem is their list.

Outbound only works when you own the entire chain, from list quality to booked call. 

Most teams only own the first touch.

We start by getting painfully specific about the ICP. Real people, real buying context, real motivations. Once that’s clear, you stop chasing volume and start choosing relevance. Then we go through Sales Nav one by one, page by page, and hand-pick the list:

– Remove the “random advisor” profiles with vague investor or partner titles
– Remove the people whose companies clearly are not what they claim
– Keep the serious operators at serious companies, even if that means cutting half the “high ICP” list and then layering in signal-research to create the highest-intent leads. 

For a single campaign, that can look like:

– Around 8+ hours of manual filtering per list
– Roughly 1,500 hand-picked high-intent leads
– Built for the client's specific ICP focus 

We then build human touch points into the DM flow:

– A profile view and engaging with a recent post
– A series of touchpoints before we send any message
– A human-touch initial message to cut through their inbox 

Outbound then starts becoming something you can actually rely on.

And when combined with high-quality authority & trust-building content – you turn LinkedIn into a powerful growth channel to drive predictable SQLs each month. 

If this level of rigour is missing from your outbound, we should talk.

How to create content that gets buyers, not just likes - 5 min explainer video

Learn about:

- What “strategic posting” actually means
- Why most content fails to convert 
- How to map your B2B sales process to content
- 2 post types almost no one is using - but buyers respond to

taplio

The Battle

Mark J.

Matt Swain

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMatt Swain's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Mark J.

Matt Swain

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Matt Swain's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMatt Swain's LinkedIn Performance