The key steps to build an effective LinkedIn strategy

Why building a LinkedIn strategy is crucial in 2025?

📌 What’s covered in this article:

• 5 fundamental steps: objectives → audience → profile → content → engagement
• Avoid 3 fatal mistakes that sabotage most strategies
• Concrete action plan for results in 30 days

In 2025, LinkedIn is much more than just an online resume. It’s THE essential platform to develop your business, establish professional relationships, and build your personal brand.

In January 2025, LinkedIn had 1.20 billion members and its advertising reach capacity grew by +17% in 12 months, according to DataReportal (DataReportal – Global Digital Insights).

Here’s the reality: Based on our experience with over 500 IndiPen users, many entrepreneurs approach LinkedIn without a real strategy. They post sporadically, add contacts randomly… and often end up disappointed with the results.

Client case: Jordan, an IT consultant, followed our method. Result? 10 qualified prospects contacted him in 14 days and new clients. His secret? He religiously applied the 5 steps you’re about to discover.

In this article, you’ll discover the exact method to build a LinkedIn strategy that attracts prospects, strengthens your credibility, and develops your business.

Step 1: Define your precise professional objectives

Why objectives are crucial

Without clear objectives, you’re navigating blindly. Damien, a solopreneur, was posting 5 times a week without results. By defining 3 precise objectives, he now generates 15 qualified prospects per month.

The 4 main types of objectives

🎯 Lead generation:

• Attract 20 qualified prospects per month
• Increase your conversion rate by 15%
• Get 5 sales appointments per week

89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn, and 62% claim to generate leads there, according to Sprout Social (Sprout Social).

🚀 Brand visibility:

• Triple your profile views
• Become a reference in your sector
• Increase engagement on your posts by 200%

🤝 Strategic partnerships:

• Connect with 10 potential partners per month
• Develop your network of collaborators
• Create lasting business alliances

👥 Talent recruitment:

• Attract the best candidates
• Strengthen your employer brand
• Reduce your recruitment costs by 40%

The SMART method adapted to LinkedIn

Concrete example:

• Specific: “increase my qualified prospects”
• Measurable: “by 20 per month”
• Achievable: with your current resources
• Relevant: aligned with your business
• Time-bound: “within 3 months”

Step 2: Target your audience and define your persona

The importance of LinkedIn persona

Your success depends on your ability to attract the right people. Marie, a business coach, was targeting “all executives.” After applying our persona creation method, she now attracts only tech SME CEOs with a training budget of 50K€+.

LinkedIn is a platform with high purchasing power: 44% of users earn more than $75,000 per year. And 94% of B2B marketers publish there regularly (Tamarind’s B2B House).

How to define your persona effectively

📋 Demographic criteria:

• Industry: tech startups, SMEs, large corporations?
• Position and level: CEO, marketing director, HR manager?
• Company size: 10-50, 50-200, 200+ employees?
• Geography: France, Europe, international?

🧠 Psychographic criteria:

• Daily problems: lack of time, tight budget, demotivated teams?
• Professional objectives: increase revenue, optimize processes?
• Barriers and objections: price too high, lack of trust?
• Information sources: blogs, influencers, events?

🎯 Concrete example: “Antoine, 38 years old, CEO of a 50-person B2B SaaS startup. He wants to automate his prospecting but lacks time and internal expertise. He follows growth marketing influencers and participates in tech events.”

Step 3: Optimize your LinkedIn profile to get prospects matching your persona

Why optimization is crucial

Many don’t take the time to optimize their profile, when it can really be worthwhile: a well-crafted profile can passively generate several prospects each week.

Discover our complete guide: 5 steps to boost your LinkedIn profile visibility

Essential elements to optimize

📸 Profile photo: authentic smile, neutral background, HD quality

✍️ Compelling headline: avoid “marketing consultant,” prefer “I help tech SMEs triple their qualified leads.” Discover our 10 tips for a compelling LinkedIn headline

🎨 Cover photo: consistent with your branding + clear CTA. (complete guide: our best practices to optimize your banner)

Step 4: Create content that generates results

Why content is the fuel of your strategy

Based on our analysis of 10,000+ posts, only 5% of LinkedIn content generates real engagement. To stand out, you must publish what captivates and brings value.

The 5 content formats that perform in 2025

According to a Socialinsider study (1 million posts analyzed in 2024), multi-image posts generate an average of 6.60% engagement, followed by native documents at 6.10% and videos at 5.60% (socialinsider.io).

📝 Text posts with storytelling (150-300 words, problem → action → result → lesson structure)

🎠 Carousels (7-10 slides max, last slide with CTA). Master creating carousels that generate prospects

🎥 Authentic videos (30-90s, subtitles mandatory)

📊 Interactive polls (2-4 options, relevant question)

📄 Educational PDF documents (guides, checklists, templates)

Contrary to popular belief, publishing a link in your post generates +13% interactions and +5% views, according to a LinkedIn study by Metricool (Influencer Marketing Hub).

Optimized timing strategy

Post when your audience is active. According to our data, the best LinkedIn time slots are:

• Tuesday-Thursday: 8am-9am and 12pm-1pm
• Avoid: Friday evening, weekend morning

Content examples by sector

Tech: “How I reduced bugs by 80% in 30 days” + methodology

Consulting: “3 mistakes that cost my clients 100K€” + framework

Services: “Marie’s transformation: from 0 to 50K€ revenue in 6 months” + testimonial

Step 5: Engage and develop your network

Why engagement is the secret of successful entrepreneurs

Publishing content isn’t enough: a post can generate many views without transforming these interactions into prospects.

By applying effective approaches to convert engagement into opportunities, it’s possible to generate several qualified appointments per week.

Discover our methods in this article: 10 approaches to transform engagement into prospects.

Effective engagement strategies

Smart commenting: Avoid generic “Congrats!” comments, comment like an expert with a consultative approach

Develop your targeted network: Discover why and how to add prospects strategically

Advanced social selling: Transform your prospecting with our social selling guide

Daily engagement method (25 min/day)

Morning routine (15 min):

• Like 10 posts from prospects/clients
• Comment on 3 posts with added value
• Reply to your comments
• Send 2-3 personalized messages

Evening routine (10 min):

• Share your daily content
• Accept and thank new connections
• Prepare tomorrow’s content

If you want to save time and automate part of this routine, you can try

IndiPen and focus on the essentials: creating engagement and generating prospects.

The 3 fatal mistakes that sabotage your LinkedIn strategy

Based on our experience with 500+ clients, these mistakes destroy most strategies. Absolutely avoid them by consulting our guide to 5 LinkedIn mistakes:

❌ Mistake 1: Ignoring analytics and KPIs → publishing without measuring results

❌ Mistake 2: Neglecting your personal branding → generic profile without differentiation

❌ Mistake 3: Lack of consistency → posting inconsistently without a calendar

Concrete action plan on LinkedIn

Measure and optimize your performance

The 4 essential KPIs

📊 Visibility:

• Profile views (goal: +200% in 3 months)
• Post impressions (goal: 10,000/month)

🎯 Engagement:

• Engagement rate (goal: >3%)
• Qualified comments (goal: 50/month)

💬 Prospect generation:

• Incoming messages (goal: 20/month)
• Qualified connections (goal: 100/month)

💰 Business conversion:

• Appointments generated (goal: 8/month)
• Clients signed (goal: 2/month)

Free measurement tools

• Native LinkedIn analytics: profile + post statistics
• Google Analytics: website traffic from LinkedIn
• Simple CRM: track prospects → clients

Conclusion: build your winning LinkedIn strategy

Building an effective LinkedIn strategy is no longer an option in 2025, it’s a necessity to develop your business. From defining precise objectives to authentic engagement, every step counts to maximize your return on investment.

Key points to remember:

✅ Set SMART objectives and an ultra-precise persona

✅ Optimize your profile as your main showcase

✅ Publish valuable content consistently and at the right timing

✅ Engage your target network daily (25 minutes is enough)

✅ Measure and adjust your actions according to results

🎯 Ready to take action?

Your challenge: choose ONE step from this guide and apply it within 48 hours. In 30 days, you’ll see the first results.

To go even faster: test IndiPen now to automate part of your LinkedIn strategy and save time on your engagement, content, and prospecting.

👉 Test IndiPen for free

FAQ:

How long to see results?

3 to 6 months on average according to our client experience. The first positive signals appear after 4 to 6 weeks of regular activity.

What publication frequency do you recommend?

Beginners: 3 posts per week minimum

Intermediate: 1 post per day

How to measure the effectiveness of your strategy?

4 key KPIs to track: profile views, post impressions, qualified connections, incoming messages.

And of course, the revenue generated through LinkedIn

Should you invest in LinkedIn Premium?

Not at the start. Focus first on organic optimization. Premium becomes useful if you do intensive prospecting (Sales Navigator).

How to prevent LinkedIn from becoming time-consuming?

Plan your content in advance, use proven templates, and dedicate a maximum of 25 minutes per day: 15 minutes in the morning for engagement, 10 minutes in the evening for publishing.

What to do if your content doesn’t generate engagement?

Test different formats, improve your storytelling, publish when your audience is most active, and analyze posts that perform in your sector to get inspired.

How to adapt your strategy to your sector?

The key is to analyze what works for leaders in your field and adapt it with your personality