Santiago Faus

I counted. 11 messages this week started with "Hey Santi, love what you're building."

Then the pitch. Then "worth a quick chat?"

The old praise and switch maneuver. I can't believe people are still using this dated GTM tactic.

In a world of terrible LinkedIn DMs, I genuinely believe we have the best DM strategy out there.

We're booking 1 out of every 10 prospects we message onto a sales call.

Here's how we do it at Maribou Partners.

1️⃣ We engage with our ideal prospects first.

2️⃣ We build an audience through that engagement and real content, not just comments.

3️⃣ We let the content do the work. They see us for 1-2 weeks before we ever reach out.

4️⃣ We open with an actual insight about their company, then one question about our offer.

Most tactics focus only on pitching prospects, but when buyers feel pitched their guard goes up.

That’s why we focus on warming our prospects up, giving them a reason to respond to us.

The result. 1 out of every 10 prospects we engage ends up in a meeting.

You've likely noticed your reach on LinkedIn decrease as of the last month.

Here are the 7 new updates to the LinkedIn algorithm that are affecting your visibility:

1. AI slop can now be reported.
Users can flag posts as "Seems like AI slop." Keep using AI for research, angles and structure. Just don't let it come up with your ideas. If anyone could get your post from the same prompt, it's not yours.

2. Engagement bait is getting suppressed.
"Comment YES if you agree" and "Tag someone who needs this" are the targets. Lead magnets get hit hardest. Put the comment CTA in your graphic and keep the post copy neutral.

3. LinkedIn knows who you are.
Ranking looks at your headline, About section, experience and what you post about. SaaS on Monday, crypto on Tuesday and fitness on Thursday makes it hard to build authority in anything. Pick 1 to 2 topics and make your profile match.

4. Every post gets tested in stages.
Quality comes first. Then LinkedIn watches how people react in the early window. Then it decides who else should see it, based on how well the topic matches your profile.

5. Saves, sends, dwell time and real comments beat likes.
Stop asking how to get more likes. Ask if the post is worth saving or sending to someone. Checklists, case studies, frameworks and detailed graphics tend to earn that.

6. Pods and automated comments are easier to spot.
A generic "Great insights" doesn't create the signal you want. Get real people to engage, and leave thoughtful comments on other people's posts.

7. More posts is not better.
One strong post a day is enough for most people. Three to five mediocre ones likely do more harm than good. Take that time and put a real example, a real opinion and a better hook into one post.

Above all LinkedIn will always prioritize good, thought provoking content.

The only thing that's changing is how you sell on the timeline.

Your post went viral on LinkedIn. Now DONT do it again.

You bring 10s of thousands of eyes to your business and then turn your profile into a meme account.

Traffic for the sake of traffic means nothing if you can’t convert it.

After a viral post I would be focusing on 3 types of content:

1️⃣ Building trust - case studies, service demos, how to’s. Speak exactly to your prospects' problem and how you solve it.

2️⃣ Demonstrate expertise - give your controversial takes, share your opinions on the niche. An expert doesn’t shy away from taking a stand.

3️⃣ Capture the traffic - throw lead magnets on the timeline. Bring value. This helps you identify prospects in the exact moment of interest.

Viral posts play their part in distribution, but they can put a gridlock on your business if you don’t know how to nurture and convert the audience you’ve built.

My ideal content strategy would be:

5% - viral posts.
15% - personal posts.
55% - educational/insightful posts.
25% - lead magnet posts.

Adjust to your needs.

Under 2500 views per post > focus on reach
Over 40k monthly impressions, but no booked calls > focus on lead magnets
Interest in lead magnets, but not a meeting > focus on building authority