Insights

Leaning into LinkedIn

By Global Gateway Advisors

May 27, 2025

“The content that creates a memory is the content that drives action.”

That’s the message from LinkedIn’s head of customer insights, Nicole Moreo. We sat down with her this week to learn more. With over 1 billion users, including 8.2 million C-level executives, LinkedIn continues to evolve as a powerful and cost-effective tool for building brand visibility, trust and influence, and shaping industry dialogue.

Executives are creating consistent, expert, human content that resonates long after the scroll. In today’s newsletter, we explore why LinkedIn is more essential than ever and how to lean into the latest trends to reach your most important audiences.

ICYMI: The previous edition of COMPASS explored why organizations should embrace generative engine optimization (GEO), as traditional search engine optimization (SEO) declines amid the rise of AI chatbots and Google’s AI-generated results. Read it here.

Why CEOs and leaders should all be active on LinkedIn

The platform offers thought leaders a powerful hub with multiple ways to advance business goals — delivering strong returns on time invested. And as one’s personal profile gains visibility, so does their company’s brand and impact.

1. Establish presence, authenticity and credibility

People prefer hearing directly from executives rather than brands. CEOs active on LinkedIn humanize their companies, building trust, enhancing authenticity and expanding their influence. Executive posts also tend to generate higher engagement and shares than brand posts.

  • Executives are building trust with direct-to-audience video. According to Moreo: “We’ve seen video make a huge difference in true business return.” Short, informal walk-and-talk videos are more authentic and memorable.

  • Video also creates what LinkedIn calls dwell time — the most important metric for platform performance and eventual conversion.

Measure it: A rise in profile views indicates your content is resonating, and dwell time is the new impression. LinkedIn’s latest data show that how long someone engages with your content (not how many people see it) is a leading predictor of conversion.

Who is doing it well? Jon Gray, COO at Blackstone, is known for sharing business and personal insights in a casual tone — he’s often on a run! — which makes him feel relatable while strengthening his professional brand.

2. Gain unparalleled access to decision makers

LinkedIn’s user base has nearly doubled since 2019, significantly growing its network of C-suite leaders, influencers and key decision-makers who use the network to seek expert insights, collaboration opportunities and fresh ideas. And 91% of executives consider LinkedIn their top source for professionally relevant content.

Why it matters:

  • Directly engage senior stakeholders in conversations, skipping intermediaries and delays.

  • Connect with decision-makers in target industries and sectors.

  • Access to relevant groups and forums where industry leaders drive key conversations and influence trends.

3. Attract top talent

According to LinkedIn data, 75% of job seekers evaluate an employer’s brand before applying. Gen Z engagement on LinkedIn is growing fast, and “Gen Z is more likely to follow people than brands,” Moreo said.

Why it matters: Organizations with a strong executive presence that highlights company culture and values attract higher-quality candidates.

  • Candidates are drawn to workplaces that align with their values and offer a supportive culture — priorities that matter even more to Gen Z, who will make up 30% of the workforce by 2030.

4. Lead generation

The unique combination of professional data, advanced search filters and content-driven engagement positions LinkedIn as a top platform for generating high-quality leads.

Marketing and communications teams must think beyond the funnel, says Moreo. At any given time, only 5% of your audience is actively in-market –- the other 95% isn’t ready to buy, but is ready to remember you. That’s why brand-building content on LinkedIn matters. “You have to create a memory when they don’t even realize they need you,” said Moreo.

  • By the numbers: LinkedIn accounts for 80% of all B2B leads generated through social media.

5. Supplement traditional comms channels

Thought leaders increasingly use LinkedIn to sidestep conventional avenues like press releases or media interviews, allowing them to speak directly to their audiences — faster, more authentically and with greater control.

In action: Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno recently announced her plans to step down via LinkedIn. Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff responded, thanking her and noting that he will be stepping in to lead Tinder. Media reporting the news then linked directly to Iosotaluno’s post.

The bottom line: LinkedIn has evolved to become a public mainstage for executive thought leadership. The most effective voices are the most consistent, human and memorable. Whether you’re sharing insights, announcing a bold move, or just showing up, every post is an opportunity to shape reputation and build trust.

Global Gateway Advisors helps leaders communicate with clarity through smart, resonant content strategies tailored to your goals and your audience. Get in touch to elevate your executive presence.

AFS Youth Assembly: Empowering global citizens

Hundreds of delegates aged 18-35 representing over 100 countries will gather in New York City Aug. 8-10 for the AFS Youth Assembly, a global platform dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders through cross-cultural exchange, education and action. If you would like to send someone from your organization, apply by Aug. 1.

What to watch: In response to the global youth mental health crisis, the Assembly is launching a dedicated program track on mental health for the first time. Global Gateway Advisors is proud to support this important initiative by fostering strategic dialogue and amplifying youth-led solutions to break down mental health stigma globally.

Click here to receive our biweekly youth mental health insights newsletter.

Upcoming events

  • Aspen Ideas Festival (Aspen, Colo., June 25-July 1) Leaders and thinkers gather at this annual event to explore critical issues and ignite new ideas around themes like prosperity reimagined; the global contract; breakthroughs and innovations; and what it means to live a good life. Speakers include Susan Rice, former U.S. domestic policy adviser; Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund; Brené Brown, research professor and author; and Laurence Fink, chairman and CEO, BlackRock. More here.

  • American Hospital Association Leadership Summit (Nashville, Tenn., July 20-22) Senior health care executives, clinicians, and industry experts convene to explore strategies for delivering higher-value care, ensuring financial sustainability, tackling workforce challenges and enhancing the consumer experience. More here.

  • Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore (Singapore, July 22-23) This year’s event focuses on the rise of AI agents, the shift from AI planning to implementation and the urgent need for sustainable, responsible scaling. Featured speakers include Tan Su Shan, CEO, DBS Bank; Oliver Jay, managing director, international, OpenAI; and Madhu Kurup, vice president of engineering, Indeed. More here.

Bookmark Global Gateway Advisors’ event tracker, updated weekly.

Media news + moves

What we’re reading and watching:

  • News sites feel the impact of AI search results: As more people rely on chatbot responses for information, news sites are seeing a significant drop in organic search traffic. When Business Insider laid off 21% of its staff last month, CEO Barbara Peng cited “extreme traffic drops;” data show a 55% decline between April 2022 and April 2025. Read more.

  • Bloomberg Television announces expansion this month: The new launches include Bloomberg Tech: Asia and Bloomberg Tech: Europe. Read more.

  • Social media surpasses TV for the first time in the U.S.: According to a new digital report from Oxford’s Reuters Institute, the proportion of Americans accessing news via social media and video networks (54%) is “sharply up,” outpacing both TV news (50%) and news websites/apps (48%) for the first time. Read more.

  • The Atlantic goes on a hiring spree: With many in the industry heading to Substack — where dozens of writers now earn over $1 million a year — The Atlantic is offering salaries of up to $300,000, with several hires coming from the Washington Post. Read more.

  • Introducing Fortune AIQ: A new series exploring how businesses are adopting AI with a thoughtful, strategic approach — hence the “IQ.” Read more.

  • A new podcast from NBC News: “Here’s the Scoop,” hosted by Morgan Chesky, Brian Cheung and Yasmin Vossoughian will mix deep dives with quick news rundowns every day at 5 p.m. ET. Read more.

  • TechCrunch isn’t leaving Europe after all: According to Michael Reinstein, chairman and founder of private equity firm Regent, which recently bought TechCrunch, the plan is not to retreat, as widely reported, but to “double down.” Read more.

  • Subscriptions surge at The Economist: The outlet said it reached its “highest-ever number of subscriptions” in 2025. Read more.

  • The BBC considers charging Americans: Executives are considering charging U.S. consumers for access to help shore up finances, seeing the country’s media polarization as an opportunity to attract audiences with impartial coverage. Read more.

The Substack takeover continues:

  • Derek Thompson, longtime staff writer at The Atlantic, joined the platform: The move comes on the heels of his new book. “…I felt like maybe the best way for me to say all the things that I have to say about this one thing in my life, the fallout of and potential of ‘“Abundance,’” the best way to do that was to do so as an independent journalist and not as a sort of de facto semi-political actor working for a non-political institution,” Thompson said. Read more.

  • Former ABC anchor Terry Moran made the jump, too: The longtime anchor and correspondent was dropped by the network after calling Trump a “world-class hater.” He subsequently launched a Substack, making the announcement in a video titled “Independence Day.” Read more.

  • News anchors embrace the side hustle: Recent Indeed data revealed that 52% of professionals said they have to take on secondary jobs to make ends meet. Among them are TV news anchors, as networks grow more flexible with staff experimenting with content distribution on Substack. “They’re opening the door because talent who’s left had such immediate impact on Substack,” said Catherine Valentine, Substack’s head of news and politics, of the shift. Read more.

Media moves:

  • Axios hired Madison Mills as a senior markets reporter and author of the daily Axios Markets newsletter.

  • Fortune promoted Emma Hinchliffe to its Most Powerful Women Editor.

  • Business Insider hired Kim Last as editorial director of its news events business, of BI Live.

  • Steven Tweedie was named deputy executive editor at Business Insider.

  • ​​TechCrunch reporter Rebecca Bellan is now covering artificial intelligence.

  • Bloomberg News hired Patrick Howell O’Neill as a cybersecurity reporter.

  • Business Insider hired Julia Herbst as senior leadership and workplace editor.

  • Reporter Brian Delk joined Business Insider’s economy team.

  • The Los Angeles Times hired Eric Bellman as deputy business editor,

  • Adam O’Neal was hired as opinion editor at The Washington Post.

  • Maxine Joselow joined the climate desk at The New York Times.

  • Emma Haidar joined the Bloomberg News Work + Management team as a summer intern.