LinkedIn thought leader ad examples

“Your leads aren’t ready.” If you’ve heard that from sales, this is why. - Sales cycles are longer. - Buying committees are bigger. - Buyers complete most of their journey independently. So when a lead downloads content or registers for a webinar, they are not at “ready to buy” stage. But too often, all leads are treated the same. There’s a big difference between: • A Contact Us form submission • A demo request • A content download • A webinar registration If sales don’t understand the stage, they approach every lead the same way. That creates frustration on both sides. Marketing feels undervalued. Sales feel unsupported. The solution? - Zoom out. - Review your actual sales cycle. - Set micro-conversion benchmarks. - Align on what “sales ready” truly means. - Then nurture properly before handover. Because buyers don’t want to be sold too before they’re ready. They want to be educated. And when you respect that journey, conversion improves - and confidence follows.

Low CPL is killing your lead quality - but it isn't your fault... There’s huge pressure on marketing to drive revenue. So what happens? Volume becomes the metric. CPL becomes the obsession. But when you push for cheaper leads at scale, quality suffers. And when quality suffers, trust erodes. Content syndication gets blamed. In reality, it’s a quality vs quantity issue. A few high-quality opportunities will always outperform hundreds of low-intent names. - Don’t buy on price alone. - Understand the vendor. - Understand the methodology. - Understand where your leads sit in the buying journey. Because revenue isn’t about how many leads you generate. It’s about how many actually convert.

Le poste le plus cher de votre CRM n'est jamais la licence. Tout le monde négocie le prix par utilisateur. Personne ne regarde ce qui se passe une fois l'outil en place. Et c'est là que la facture explose. Pas sur la ligne comptable. Dans le temps perdu. Ce qu'on retrouve quasiment à chaque audit chez hibiki : 📌 Des dizaines de champs créés un jour pour un besoin ponctuel, jamais supprimés, que plus personne ne remplit mais que tout le monde voit. 📌 Des automatisations qui tournent encore alors que la personne qui les a montées est partie il y a deux ans. 📌 Des doublons que les commerciaux contournent au lieu de signaler, parce que nettoyer n'est le travail de personne. Aucune de ces lignes n'apparaît sur votre abonnement. Mais elles coûtent une fortune. → Un commercial qui hésite sur la bonne fiche. → Un reporting que la direction ne croit plus. → Une campagne envoyée deux fois au même contact. On appelle ça la gouvernance de la donnée pour que ça sonne sérieux. En vrai, c'est juste ranger sa maison. Décider ce qu'on garde, ce qu'on jette, et qui tient le rangement dans le temps. Le CRM n'est pas cher parce que Salesforce ou Hubspot vous facture trop. Il est cher parce que vous payez deux fois : une fois pour stocker la donnée, une deuxième fois pour travailler malgré elle.

Lead generation won’t save you. I have to say this a lot. Lead generation is probably the most common service request we get. But most of the time, what these businesses actually need is: - A better brand - A new website - A content strategy - A thoughtful marketing plan They have none of this, yet think their problem is lack of leads. Lead generation isn’t something you just turn on. It’s the result of good foundations. If your brand isn’t credible, your messaging isn’t clear and your website can’t convert - you don’t have a lead gen problem, you have a foundational marketing problem. No amount of ad spend will save you in that situation. You might get the odd quick win. But it’ll be luck, not strategy. And luck runs out fast in a market like Dubai real estate. Leads are the reward for doing everything else well, not the starting point.

2026 is going to be a pivotal year for Dubai real estate business owners. The more conversations I’m having with developers and agencies, the clearer it becomes: Next year will be make or break for many. Competition is stronger than ever. Expectations are higher than ever. And the gap between businesses with strong foundations and those without is widening fast. Businesses that nail their marketing and trust-building now will be in a completely different league next year. Those who keep winging it will feel it. Now isn’t the time to rest. Be proactive and focus on improving things before the new year. Make 2026 your opportunity - not your threat.

The data is in🤓 My key take-outs from Linkedin's latest research report on B2B brand & demand marketing - surveying 4,000 marketers: 📌 Optimal B2B marketing campaign budget split is 46% brand & 54% demand - compared to 60/40 for B2C 📌 Targeting both new and existing customers in marketing campaigns led to 1.6x higher business growth 📌 96% of marketers surveyed were measuring ROI on their marketing investment after 3 months, when the average B2B buying cycle is 6 & my fave take-out - data proving it takes 2.5+ years to see the impact of brand campaigns, while most B2B businesses surveyed (75%) were running their campaigns for 6 months or less. This also off the back off Mark Ritson saying earlier this month that businesses need to be consistent with their messaging for 'at least 20 years' to truly solidify their brand and positioning. Tough slog selling in a 20 year campaign vision to a board / team needing monthly growth updates 🫠... but a good reminder that campaigns take way longer than we typically give them to measure whether they've been truly successful. DM me and I can send you the full report if interested👊

How many of you are planning on buying a new phone in the next two weeks? This was the question asked in a SXSW session with Tracksuit co-founder James Hurman last week. It was the best articulation of the 95/5 rule I’ve seen in practice. I keep coming back to this because short-termism keeps coming up in conversations and this framework really helps explain the reality of B2B marketing. This vid breaks down the 95/5 rule + the different attributes and mindsets of in & out of market buyers.

Wenn deine Zielgruppe „alle KMUs“ lautet, hast du keine Zielgruppe… Warum? Eine Einzelfirma tickt komplett anders als ein Betrieb mit 250 Mitarbeitenden. Andere Entscheidungswege, andere Probleme, andere Sprache. Trotzdem höre ich im B2B-Kontext oft zwei Extreme: → Entweder eine hyperdetaillierte Zielgruppe – z.B. mit psychologischen Profilen, politischen Haltungen und Verhaltensmustern. → Oder… „Wir machen (fast) alles – für (fast) alle.“ Beides ist gefährlich. Das eine führt zu einem Phantommarkt. Das andere zu verwässerter Kommunikation. Die Lösung liegt meiner Meinung nach dazwischen. Ein praktikabler Startpunkt: → Fokussiere dich auf eine Branche. → Innerhalb dieser Branche: auf ähnliche Unternehmensgrössen. → Kommuniziere so, dass sich genau diese Unternehmen wiederfinden. Nicht für immer. Aber für deine Positionierung im Jetzt. Positionierung bedeutet nicht, Türen zu schliessen. Sondern den richtigen Eingang sichtbar zu machen. Wenn du dich für eine Branche und eine Firmengrösse entscheiden müsstest – welche wäre es?

Wie ich in einer IT-Firma alleine eine Pipeline aufbauen würde? Mein Vorgehen: Bestandskunden analysieren. Welche Branchen und Grössen? Wo haben wir Referenzen? Zielgruppe definieren. Eine klare Kohorte herauslösen, damit wir Muster erkennen können. Meine 4 proaktiven Tätigkeiten: - Direkte E-Mail-Outreach - Handgeschriebene Briefe (je nach Segment) - LinkedIn-Nachrichten, sehr gezielt und sparsam - Und vor allem: Telefonate Der Punkt mit den Calls ist entscheidend. Nicht primär, um sofort Termine zu erzeugen. Sondern um die Zielgruppe wirklich zu verstehen. Die Sprache der Entscheider zu lernen. Muster zu erkennen, die sich ab dem 50. Gespräch wiederholen. Ab da spiegele ich die Zielgruppe in dem, was sie ohnehin schon denkt. Und werde als jemand wahrgenommen, der sie wirklich versteht. Es sind am Ende dann immer noch Kaltakquise-Anrufe, und ich werde mehr Neins als Ja einsammeln. Aber die reine Mathematik würde mir Termine garantieren und daraus Neukundenumsatz. Was wären deine Tätigkeiten, wenn du ganz alleine Pipeline generieren müsstest?

We're now live with Azzurri Group! 🕺 Since starting out in hospitality tech with One from Me in 2014, and then Flypay/Flyt in 2017, Azzurri have always been on the wish list of potential partners. Well loved brands and sharp digital, tech and ops teams. We’ve been delighted by how forward-thinking, collaborative, and on it they’ve been from day one. ASK Italian, Zizzi, and Coco di Mama are now live with Guestwise, and the Azzurri team made the whole thing a joy to be a part of - they GET it! Switching tech is rarely straightforward (especially across multiple brands and systems), but this rollout was one of the smoothest we’ve seen. Transparent planning, fast decisions, rapid collaboration. Openr and Zonal (Comtrex) were great integration partners, with everyone pulling in one direction under the expert guidance of Bebe Oladipo. Jim Hingston, Azzurri’s Digital & Technology Director, kindly let us share his thoughts: “From first conversation to go-live was easy from our perspective… the tech does exactly what we need. Guestwise moves fast, brings ideas, and builds what we need. It’s like a breath of fresh air.” Plenty more to come. I'm excited about where Azzurri is going next. Big ambitions, clear strategy, good tech stack, and a team that moves with real intent. Proud to be part of their journey, and love seeing them succeed. Here’s to what comes after go-live. Let’s go 🚀

When Aden Fraser and I started talking about Guestwise 3 years ago, we believed that we could help hospitality brands generate more revenue. The original website was snazzy, but was deleted a few months later in a 'code clean up'. The second one was less snazzy and focussed on potential products around revenue management, AI, dynamic pricing, real time engagement and more..... while we figured out what Customer's actually wanted to use. Three years down the track.... how is it going? Well, we won a major enterprise customer early doors, lets call them Vitlers and Cutlers, who have over 1,500 restaurants and bars. They backed our belief that we could build an AI SAAS platform that would transform digital marketing, creating real personalisation across channels, integrating with their key systems, and utilising data to drive growth in visits and retention. Is it delivering? Even after cannibalisation (guests who would have converted anyway without our intervention) Guestwise is now delivering over £40 m in year incremental revenue. That's a big number, but we are only just getting started as that number includes 10 existing customers, and we are currently onboarding a range of great new brands. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude to every one of those customers putting their faith in our vision and technology. Our new website launching next week, and is SNAZZY again, and reflects the products that customers are getting the most benefit from. We have a brilliant team, great tech, and a culture that empowers and elevates each person on the team. Start-ups are full of ambiguity, and the need to embrace the unknown and scary. Safe to say, we are very grateful to our restaurant partners and all the people in them who have embraced our kooky ways of working, and relentless push for faster, better, more fun. It's not always easy, but it is definitely rewarding. #startup #hospitalitytech

Ever wonder how a scrappy idea turns into a nationally recognized brand? On this week’s podcast, I sit down with Justin Gardner, Founder & CMO of Active Skin Repair, to unpack how innovation, authenticity, and smart, data-driven marketing helped his team disrupt one of the most stagnant categories in healthcare: first aid. Justin said it best: “Innovation doesn’t always mean inventing something new, it means solving an old problem in a better way.” It’s a masterclass in how to shake up a traditional market, connect with real consumers, and build trust in an industry that’s seen it all. 🎧 Give it a listen: https://lnkd.in/g-kv38Nn #HealthcareMarketing #Innovation

As an agency that's worked across virtually every healthcare vertical, we've observed a common challenge - even within the same organization, key terms and metrics can be interpreted differently by the marketing team versus everyone else. For example, what exactly are you calling a "conversion" or "ROI." This disconnect can lead to miscommunication, misaligned priorities, and ultimately, suboptimal results. In a recent podcast interview, I sat down with my friend Alan Shoebridge, Associate Vice President of National Communication at Providence Health & Services. Alan shared some eye-opening examples of how certain healthcare-specific terms are often misunderstood, even by those working within the same hospital. While the specifics may differ, the underlying lesson applies to any healthcare marketing organization. If you’re a healthcare communicator or leader looking to strengthen your message and impact, this episode is for you. 🎧 Listen here → https://lnkd.in/gvCgxmTp

We got our client Constitution Lending mentioned in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews for 50+ product-centric prompts — despite having a domain authority under 40. For example: ✅ #1 in Google AIO for "best LLC mortgage lenders" ✅ Top 3 across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AIO for "DSCR lenders" ✅ Consistent visibility for "private money lenders" across all 3 of those LLMs ✅ Already ranking for newer verticals like "sell my house fast" within months How did we do this? Via the direct correlation between traditional SEO rankings and AI visibility. When we rank #1 on Google for keywords like "best LLC mortgage lenders," Constitution Lending appears as a recommended brand in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AIO. When we don't rank well yet (like for some of their newer "cash for houses" content), AI visibility is limited. Data like this (and we have more coming...) destroys the myth that you need gimmicky tactics like llms.txt files (doesn't do anything) or adding bullet point summaries of content (totally unnecessary, LLMs already can understand your content at human levels). What actually works? Our Prioritized GEO strategy: 1) Target bottom-of-funnel keywords (not "what is DSCR" but "best DSCR lenders") 2) Create highly differentiated content that explains your specific value props 3) Rank in traditional SEO first 4) AI visibility follows automatically Why SEO first? Because all major LLMs search the web when users ask for recommendations. They're essentially summarizing and citing content that already ranks well in Google. That's why SEO is the #1 way to influence LLM responses. (Otherwise what is your plan? Showing up in their "training data"? Good luck.) Full case study in the comments.

If global campaign performance reviews are your responsibility...👇 I know the feeling that can come over you when thinking about the meeting prep. You know what happens next: → 20 emails to local teams → Waiting for agency reports to come in → Reconciling metrics across markets in disparate formats A day before the meeting you're still finalising reports but your data may already be outdated. Sound familiar? Here's what I've learned: The problem isn't your agencies and it's not your local teams. The problem is managing media performance with spreadsheets and PowerPoint. What can change everything: → Having one shared space where your media data lives → With a standardised taxonomy across all brands and markets → Enabling consistent reporting across all media metrics The result? Your meeting prep that used to take weeks, now takes minutes and discussions can shift from data reconciliation to strategy. Having instant access and ownership of your data is a game changer for managing media. Get in touch if you'd like to see how your data could look with Global Media Platform.

Choosing the right A/B testing tool takes more than a demo call. I broke the full process down into a short video series. Because I still see many teams make the same mistakes: 🔹 Relying too much on Google or AI instead of their own needs 🔹 Involving stakeholders far too late 🔹 Not thinking about how teams will actually use the tool 🔹 Ignoring future needs and switching costs 🔹 Going into demo calls unprepared 🔹 Not validating properly during the trial period The result? A tool that looks good, but doesn’t get adopted or used well. In the videos, I cover: - How to define your real needs - How to run demos that actually help you decide - How to validate a tool during a trial You can find them here: https://lnkd.in/eZX2VeCc One important reminder from the series: A tool won’t improve your experimentation maturity or increase conversion rates. The value comes from how teams work, how decisions are made, and how you learn. But do choose your tool carefully; it is a vital part of your organization’s experimentation capability, growth, and success. The page on the Convert.com website brings all three videos together. Let me know your thoughts :-) #conversionrateoptimization #cro #experimentation #abtesting

Convert & AI 🤖 my view as founder … interested in alfa and beta releases? At the end of the video I’ll tell you how to join!

Proud to officially launch Barracuda by Go Fish Digital today. We built it around a fundamental shift in how marketing works: performance is increasingly determined by how platforms interpret and evaluate your strategy before campaigns ever run. Barracuda is powered by proprietary modeling and patent-backed semantic clustering that maps relationships between queries, content, ads, and competitive signals. It allows us to see how platforms are likely to evaluate visibility and performance ahead of time — and adjust before budget is committed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for what is to come! Explore Barracuda/Take a look: https://hubs.ly/Q04f2nxT0

If you are a SaaS founder, this post is for you👇 Most SaaS companies are burning their marketing budget on the wrong channels. You’re paying for LinkedIn & Google Ad clicks that cost hundreds of dollars. You’re boosting your social media posts to an audience that’s half bots. And zero, literally zero is going toward the channel where your buyer is actually building their shortlist in 2026. Here’s what no one in your marketing meeting is saying: Position #1 on Google now gets 19% CTR. Down from 28% just last year. 58% of all searches now end without a single click. (Source: Seer Interactive, 2025) Meanwhile, your buyer opened ChatGPT this morning and typed: “Best [your category] tool for [your use case]” And got a shortlist. Your competitor was on it. You weren’t. This isn’t about abandoning other channels. Those still matter. But AEO gets you on the shortlist before the click ever happens. Those are two completely different games. The brands winning pipeline right now aren’t the ones with the best Google rankings. They’re the ones the AI recommends. We’ve taken SaaS brands from zero AI visibility to showing up in 53% of buyer queries, in 60 days. The playbook isn’t complicated. Most teams just don’t know it exists yet. → Want to see where your brand stands in AI search? Comment “AUDIT” and we’ll share a form link with you, fill that form and we'll share a detailed audit report with you, completely free of cost.

90% of our leads that convert comes through Chatgpt recommendations. Not ads. Not LinkedIn outbound. Not email. Here’s why that makes complete sense. When someone runs a Google Ad or sends a cold email - they’re interrupting a stranger. That stranger has no context, no intent, no reason to trust you yet. You have to earn everything from zero. On the other hand, when someone finds you through AI search - they typed a question. The AI answered it. And your brand was the recommendation. By the time they land on your website, they already believe you’re the right choice. The trust is pre-built. The data backs this up completely. LLM search conversion rate: up to 18% Traditional SEO conversion rate: 2.8% Google Ads lead-to-opportunity: less than 1% Cold outbound SQL conversion: 0.04–1% (Source: Search Engine Land, 13-month study, 2026) That’s not a channel difference. That’s an intent difference. And the intent gap between AI search and every other channel is the largest we’ve ever seen in B2B SaaS. We didn’t plan to build our pipeline through AEO and GEO. We just followed the conversion data. And it led us here every single time. Want to know where your brand stands in AI search right now? Book a free AI visibility audit with us - we'll show you exactly where you're showing up, where you're not, and what it's costing your pipeline. 👉 Comment "Audit" and we will share the form link with you if the industry is relevant.

The marketing event for event marketers is back on June 3rd! ACTIVATE returns and I'll be on stage sharing new insights. Who's coming? #ACTIVATE Free to register: https://lnkd.in/e3p3e4Qe

If someone asked ChatGPT which events are worth attending — would yours come up? 60% of searches now end without a click. AI is answering your audience's questions before they reach your website, and if your event isn't in that answer, it's not in the decision. I'm speaking at ACTIVATE on exactly this — LLMO, and what event marketers need to do to show up in AI-generated answers. #ACTIVATE Free to register: https://lnkd.in/epe9DgPf