Wendy van Gilst

You've done everything right, you post often, and still no leads. This is the most important reason why your content doesn't deliver leads. ❌  You don't speak directly to your ideal customer When you don't speak to your ideal customer, they don't feel addressed. A lot of the content in my feed is geared towards a general audience and is relevant to everyone. Which in the end means nobody will be directly addressed. A personal example: When I write a post about a new LinkedIn ™ profile feature, many people will engage. These people can be students, employees of small or large companies, entrepreneurs, hiring managers, business owners, or CEO's. A large part of the group is not my ideal customer. When I post about using your LinkedIn ™ profile to generate new leads and get new meetings in your calendar, a smaller part of my network will engage. Business owners and entrepreneurs. These are my ideal customers. When you are able and willing to choose, your audience will be able and willing to choose you. When you don't choose, they don't choose you. Do you speak directly to your ideal customer when you write a post?

5 days, 4 nights in Ibiza, this is what it brought me... • Beautiful sunsets • Lunch spots with fresh fish • 2 parties at the club, 1 party at a beach club • Content for a party report (!) • Dinner with wine and chips • Breakfast at the pool with sea views • Endless amount of good conversations • 3 workouts on the beach • A little (too) much Cava • Dinners with amazing views and sunsets • Tan lines But more importantly, it brought me 5 days without a laptop. I scheduled my LinkedIn posts and left my laptop at home. And I highly recommend that you do the same this Summer!

Yesterday, I spent an hour clicking on Instagram ads. And with every click, the ads became better. Normally, I barely notice most of the ads in my feed. Whether it's LinkedIn, Instagram, or Google, I scroll past the majority of them without giving them much attention. But yesterday was different. I was looking for a festival to visit this fall, so I spent some time browsing festival websites. A little later, I opened Instagram. Suddenly, my feed was full of festival ads. And not just random festivals. Relevant festivals. Interesting festivals. Festivals near Amsterdam. Even a few I had never heard of before. I found myself clicking, exploring, and actually enjoying the ads. It was a great reminder of something we often forget in marketing: People don't hate ads. They hate irrelevant ads. When the timing is right and the message aligns with a genuine interest or need, advertising becomes valuable rather than annoying. That's exactly why audience targeting and relevance matter so much. So here's a question: If your ideal customer sees your ad today, would they want to click it? Or would they scroll past it without a second thought? If you're not sure, let's talk. I help companies create LinkedIn campaigns that generate visibility, engagement, and business results.

If I were responsible for the LinkedIn strategy for a large enterprise (again), I would immediately implement this. After leaving Oracle, learning a lot about social selling and social listening, I defined my first paid social media strategy for a brand-new product called Sage Live. Quickly, I was able to implement this across the whole of Sage. Packed with knowledge and experience about paid social strategies, I joined LinkedIn. At LinkedIn, I worked with enterprise companies, and I saw the same trends happening. Being an entrepreneur for 1,5 years now, I apply all this knowledge to my clients. I recommend implementing right away: ✅ Shared goals for sales and marketing ✅ Account-Based Marketing ✅ LinkedIn ads campaigns based on Sales target accounts ✅ Sales Navigator activities on the target accounts of LinkedIn campaigns ✅ Optimized LinkedIn profiles for lead generation A successful LinkedIn strategy is a partnership between Sales and Marketing. When Sales and Marketing work towards the same goals, with the same objectives, targeting the same accounts, and they continue to learn, magic happens.

"You must be doing well. I see your content in my LinkedIn feed all the time." I recently received this comment. And to me, it means something important: My LinkedIn strategy is working. Not because of the likes. Not because of the impressions. Not because of the follower count. Because I'm staying top of mind. When someone needs advice about LinkedIn, lead generation, or thought leadership, I want them to think of me. That's the power of consistent visibility. It's also one of the reasons I regularly use photos of myself in my content. People remember faces faster than names. When people repeatedly see your face, your content, and your expertise, trust starts to build. In fact, one of the comments I hear most from potential clients is: "I felt like I already knew you before we spoke." That's the result of showing up consistently and authentically. But here's something important: Your personal brand should fit you. Some of my clients love sharing personal photos and stories. Others prefer to focus more on their expertise and insights. Both approaches can work. The best personal brand is not the one that follows a formula. It's the one that feels natural, authentic, and sustainable. Because people can tell when you're forcing it. Are you happy with the personal brand you're building on LinkedIn? 👇

"After I publish a LinkedIn post, I check LinkedIn every 10 minutes to see if I got any likes or comments. Does that feeling ever stop?" One of my clients asked me this recently. After every post, he found himself refreshing LinkedIn to see what would happen. Who liked the post? Who commented? How many impressions did it get? Did anyone engage at all? And honestly, I think most people recognize this feeling. Likes and comments can be addictive. They give immediate feedback and it's easy to use them as a measure of success. The more engagement we get, the better we feel. But over time, something changes. I still appreciate every like and every comment. I still check who engages with my content and I always try to respond. But I care much less about the number. Because that's not why I post. My focus is on building relationships, staying visible with my network, and creating business opportunities. Every post has a purpose. Some posts are designed to build trust. Some to share expertise. Some to start conversations. Some to generate leads. The success of a post depends on whether it achieves that goal, not on the number of likes it receives. As I'm writing this, I'm about to spend the entire morning on Ibiza. Which means I won't be checking LinkedIn every 10 minutes. And I'm completely fine with that. Have you ever caught yourself refreshing LinkedIn after posting?

People unfollow me, and this is good for my LinkedIn strategy. Growing my network is part of my LinkedIn strategy. I invite interesting and relevant people to grow my network and keep the quality high. I keep track of my follower number, and I see what happens daily. Some days, people unfollow me. I see my follower number drop by 1 or 2 people. This is different from the "clean up" that LinkedIn does with fake and bot accounts. These are real people who have decided to stop following me. This often happens after I post specific posts. This is good for my LinkedIn strategy because: ▶ People who unfollow aren't my ideal customers ▶ My content only reached interested people ▶ My share of voice and engagement rate within my following base will grow I prefer to have a smaller network of people who are like-minded and interested in my content, vs a large network with less relevant people. Selling my services and products is easier when my network is relevant. Every time somebody unfollows me, I'm a step closer to a higher quality and more engaged network! How do you feel when people stop following you?

Thanks for calling us. I'm a virtual assistant to help you. Am I the only one who gets annoyed when you hear this? Calling companies is a nightmare these days. You need to speak with a virtual assistant who doesn't understand you, and the waiting lines are longer than normal (always!). I get it, it saves much money for companies to use AI and chatbots. But what about the first impression you give your customers when they reach out to you? Is a virtual assistant the best first impression? (My favorites are the ones who keep on saying they don't understand the question). Waiting lines that are longer than normal. What is normal, and why does it take this long? Do you know what successful companies do in the future? They understand their customers and stand out by being human again. How refreshing would it be to call a company and speak with a real person within minutes?

Success on LinkedIn doesn't depend on going viral. Instead, it's about creating content that truly matters to your audience. Understanding what's on their agenda and what they care about is key. This insight allows you to spark meaningful conversations and engage effectively. Focus on delivering value, and the connections will follow.

10 unusual signs your LinkedIn marketing strategy is ahead of the competition • You understand the term demand marketing • You can track a lead to a paying customer • You can influence the number of leads you get per week/month • You know which campaigns generate leads and which generate MQL's • You have thought leadership as part of your strategy • You use campaign manager data together with sales navigator data • You track everything, on platform and off platform • You can easily optimize your campaigns based on the business goals • You know your ROI • You don't stress out about Q4 or increased demand for leads How many signs do you see for your strategy?