At the 2025 Business Blueprint Conference@Sea, LinkedIn expert Adam Houlahan shared an eye-opening session about the evolving power of this social media platform, and how business owners can no longer afford to ignore the platform’s rapid transformation.
“2025 is the pivotal year for LinkedIn,” Adam said. “The pendulum has swung. However, free accounts no longer cut it if you want meaningful traction.”
In an engaging and practical session, Adam delivered an inside look at the latest LinkedIn strategies—many of which are only a few weeks old—and explained how they’re already reshaping how we generate leads, connect with prospects, and position ourselves as thought leaders.
LinkedIn Is No Longer Free-For-All
The message was clear: organic reach has taken a hit on LinkedIn.
Personal profiles on free accounts now average just 5% reach, with the most optimised content peaking at 15%.
Company pages fare worse, with just 2% visibility.
And, since January 2025, LinkedIn has rolled out zero new features for free users. All innovation is reserved for premium subscribers.
For business owners still clinging to free accounts, the change is stark. You’re now limited to connecting with just five people per month with a message, and you can no longer see who has viewed your profile.
Meanwhile, premium users can connect with up to 200 people per week and access advanced profile visibility and advertising tools.
Why Sales Navigator Advanced Is Worth the Investment
While there are several paid LinkedIn tiers, Adam was unequivocal: “The only one worth having is Sales Navigator Advanced. It’s worth every extra dollar.”
At around $150 per month, this subscription opens the door to the platform’s most powerful features. These include greater outreach capacity, visibility on profile visits, access to new tools like interactive profile banners, and the ability to include actionable links in both posts and direct messages—without being penalised by LinkedIn’s algorithm.
These features are critical for elevating what he calls the “organic strategy,” which involves:
- Posting two or three times per week from your personal profile
- Making meaningful comments on other people’s content
- Growing your network strategically with up to 200 connections per week
- Crafting a smarter profile that acts as a lead generator, not simply a list of achievements
- Offering a compelling call to action that pulls prospects off LinkedIn and into your sales funnel
The Rise of Thought Leader Ads
While the organic strategy still works and upgrading to a paid account will help your visibility and reach, a new paid feature is fast becoming a game changer: Thought Leader Ads.
This recently launched tool allows personal content—especially short-form video—to be promoted via LinkedIn’s ad system, but with a unique twist.
Rather than pushing traditional ads from company pages, which suffer from poor visibility, these ads come from personal profiles and are marked with a subtle “Promoted in Partnership” tag.
Here’s how it works in practice:
- You (or a client) record a short video sharing a takeaway or story.
- That video is posted to your personal LinkedIn profile.
- Your business is given permission to promote it.
- They then target your video to a custom audience—by location, industry, job title, or even postcode.
- Once people engage with two or more videos, they’re sent a personalised message directly via LinkedIn’s sponsored messaging feature.
- That message includes a valuable lead magnet—like an eBook or assessment—which users can download without filling in a form (LinkedIn auto-fills their contact info).
- Leads flow straight into your CRM for instant follow-up.
This strategy blends authenticity with automation, giving businesses the reach of advertising and the trust of peer-to-peer content.
Is This Strategy Right for You?
Adam was transparent that LinkedIn isn’t for every business.
To see a meaningful return, your average client value should be at least $10,000.However, “That doesn’t mean they have to pay you that upfront,” Adam explained. “It could be over 12 months via a subscription model. But if the lifetime value isn’t there, paid LinkedIn ads might not deliver the ROI you need.”
And, of course, your audience needs to actually be on LinkedIn. If your clients are busy scrolling TikTok or Instagram, no amount of ad budget on LinkedIn will help.
For those who meet the criteria, however, the opportunity is huge. “This strategy has only been live a few weeks,” Adam said. “You’re getting in at the ground floor.”
What Happens Next?
LinkedIn might not be the world’s trendiest social media platform but it is incredibly powerful, especially because only 1% of the platform’s 250+ million monthly users publish posts on a regular basis. If you’re part of this 1%, you’re giving yourself a better chance of being noticed and attracting more of the leads you want.
Whether you’re a seasoned LinkedIn user or someone who’s let their profile gather dust, 2025 is the year to step up. With the right strategy—and a modest monthly investment—you can turn LinkedIn into a powerful source of consistent leads and authority in your industry.
