3 min read Audience

The LinkedIn Marketing Playbook: How to Find, Understand, and Connect With Your Ideal Clients - ?!?

The LinkedIn Marketing Playbook: How to Find, Understand, and Connect With Your Ideal Clients - ?!?
Photo by dlxmedia.hu / Unsplash

Getting seen on LinkedIn is easy.

Getting seen by the right people is where most strategies fail.

We’ve seen consultants, service providers, and founders go viral… and then realise the likes came from peers, competitors, or people who’d never buy from them.

At The Trusted Voice, we help you cut through that noise — so your time and content reach decision-makers who can actually hire you.

Here’s how to build a LinkedIn marketing strategy that attracts the right audience:

Step 1: Get Clear on Who You Want to Reach

If you try to talk to everyone, you’ll get lost in the feed.

The clearer your audience, the easier it is to find, connect with, and influence them.

Build an Ideal Client Profile with:

  • Role or Title: Who makes the buying decision?
  • Industry/Niche: Be specific — “B2B SaaS” is better than “tech.”
  • Current Situation: What’s happening in their business right now?
  • Pain Points: What’s keeping them stuck?
  • Desired Outcome: What do they actually want?

💡 Tip: Use LinkedIn’s free search filters to find profiles that match this description. Study how they describe themselves, the groups they join, and the hashtags they follow.

Step 2: Map Out Where They Spend Time on LinkedIn

We call this building an Audience Visibility Map:

  • Groups: What industry or peer groups are they part of?
  • Hashtags: Which hashtags do they regularly follow or engage with?
  • Influencers: Who are they commenting on and reacting to?
  • Timing: When are they most active (check time stamps on their recent posts)?

By knowing where your audience already is, you can show up in their world — instead of waiting for them to stumble into yours.

Step 3: Listen Before You Talk

Your audience will tell you what matters to them if you know where to look.

Pull language from:

  • Their LinkedIn posts and comments
  • Industry news they share
  • Pain points mentioned in groups or discussion threads
  • Keywords in their About sections

When you use their exact language, your posts feel like they’re speaking directly to them — because they are.

Step 4: Interact With Them Before You Pitch

On LinkedIn, comments can be more powerful than posts for starting relationships.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Follow them and turn on notifications for new posts.
  2. Leave thoughtful comments that add insight or ask smart questions.
  3. Engage consistently — one comment isn’t enough. Show up over time.
  4. DM strategically — when a comment exchange creates an opening, move it to a private conversation.

We’ll break down exactly how to turn those DMs into real opportunities in our upcoming guide: From First Message to Real Conversation: The Art of LinkedIn Engagement.

Step 5: Use LinkedIn Analytics to Refine Your Strategy

LinkedIn gives you built-in clues about whether you’re reaching the right people.

Check:

  • Who’s viewed your profile: Look at job titles, industries, and seniority levels.
  • Post analytics: Are the people engaging with your content actually in your target audience?
  • Follower growth: Are you gaining decision-makers or just other creators?

If you’re not attracting the right mix, adjust your topics, language, and engagement to realign.

(Want to dive deeper? LinkedIn explains their analytics tools here: LinkedIn Analytics Overview — a great starting point.)

Step 6: Adjust as You Learn

Your audience isn’t static. Industries change. Priorities shift.

Revisit your Ideal Client Profile and Visibility Map every quarter:

  • Are the same hashtags still relevant?
  • Are your top engagers still in your target industries?
  • Has a new group or influencer emerged that’s worth following?

The Business Impact of Audience-First Marketing

When your LinkedIn strategy is built around who you want to reach:

  • Your connection requests come from potential clients, not random peers.
  • Your inbound messages are warmer and more relevant.
  • Sales conversations feel easier because they already understand your expertise.

We’ve seen clients double their inbound leads in under 90 days by focusing on audience targeting first, content second.

Quick FAQ

  1. Should I only connect with potential clients?
    No — connect with referrers, collaborators, and people in their network too.
  2. Do I need to post daily to attract my audience?
    No — but you do need to show up where they are and stay visible.
  3. How fast will I see results?
    Most see higher-quality engagement within 4–6 weeks of following an audience-focused plan.

Take Action This Week

  1. Define your Ideal Client Profile in detail.
  2. Build your Audience Visibility Map.
  3. Spend 10–15 minutes/day engaging where your audience already is.
  4. Track who’s engaging and adjust based on the data.

Want help defining your audience?

Download our Ideal Client Avatar Template — so every post you write speaks directly to the people who matter most.