LinkedIn Content Guide — Founders

Design and execute founder-led LinkedIn programs that turn LinkedIn into a pipeline channel for B2B SaaS companies. This skill orchestrates the full journey — from account health through scaled team content — for client founders and executives. For Matteo's own posting strategy, use linkedin-content-guide instead.

Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout, locked 2026-06-04)

Output complies with output-tenets.md, output-simplicity.md, ai-speak-anti-patterns.md. Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]].

Refinements applied: R1 (program guide is client-team review surface — cleaned tags in appendix), R3 (founder-voice framing capability-led, not "thrilled"), R5 (founder long-form anchor cascades to short-form), R9 (verb-led headings).

---

Claude Code Triggers

Invoke this skill when user says:

• "build a LinkedIn engine for [client]"
• "founder LinkedIn strategy"
• "SME content program"
• "executive LinkedIn program"
• "thought leadership program for [client]"
• "scale [client]'s LinkedIn"
• "founder content playbook"
• "LinkedIn content engine"

Do NOT invoke when:

• User wants a single post for a founder → use linkedin-content-guide + client voice context
• User wants Matteo's own posting strategy → use linkedin-content-guide
• User wants LinkedIn Ads only → answer directly
• User wants social selling without content → use linkedin-social-selling

---

Inputs

Required

Input	Description	Source
Client/company	Who we're building this for	User provides
Primary SME	Founder or executive leading the program	User provides
ICP	Ideal Customer Profile	User provides or from client CLAUDE.md
Current state	Existing LinkedIn presence, metrics, SSI	User provides

Optional (improve quality)

Input	How it helps
Business goals	Pipeline targets, awareness goals
Content history	What's worked/failed before
Tool stack	Existing marketing/sales tools
Budget	For ads, tools, production
Timeline	Program duration expectations

Validation:

• Primary SME is identified and committed to the program
• ICP is clear enough to define content pillars
• Client has realistic timeline expectations (6+ months for full program)
• Account health check has been or will be run (Phase 0)

---

Program Overview

Phase	Timing	Focus
Phase 0: Account health	Pre-program	SSI check, connection request audit, warmup protocol
Phase 1: Foundation	Month 1, Week 1	Technical setup, SME selection, content pillars, profile optimization
Phase 2: Content engine	Month 1, Weeks 2-4	Video production, graphics, engagement routine
Phase 3: Optimization	Month 2+	Analytics, TWE scoring, LinkedIn Ads
Phase 4: Scale	Month 3+	Multi-channel cascade, team scaling, social selling integration

Phase 1-4 detail in the premium reference. Phase 0 (load-bearing operational constants) lives in body below.

---

Phase 0: Account Health & Safety (Pre-Program)

Before starting any program, verify account health. These are voice-locked operational constants that affect every founder program.

Metric	Target	Risk if below
Social Selling Index (SSI)	Above 70	Flagged faster by LinkedIn
Pending connection requests	Under 700	#1 spam signal
Connection acceptance rate	Above 30%	Auto-restriction

Connection limits (2026):

• Weekly: 100-150 standard; 200-250 high-SSI Sales Nav
• Daily safe limit: 25 connections, 5 days/week
• Monthly capacity: 800-1000 outreach messages per account

Account warmup (new or dormant accounts):

• 6-8 week warmup before scaling
• Start: 5-10 manual connection requests daily
• Never scale automation before warmup complete
• Withdraw unaccepted requests every 2-4 weeks

2026 InMail changes (CRITICAL):

• Open InMail cap reduced ~87% (from ~800/month to under 100)
• Sales Navigator Core no longer sufficient for serious outbound
• Sales Navigator Advanced/Corporate now required
• Credits returned on responses — prioritize warm signals before cold lists

Check SSI: linkedin.com/sales/ssi

---

Process

Phases 1-4 (Foundation → Content Engine → Optimization → Scale) cover the full 6+ month engagement. Each phase has its own checklists, cadences, and integration points with downstream skills (linkedin-expert-posts, linkedin-personal-posts, linkedin-sales-posts, linkedin-comment, linkedin-social-selling). Full step-by-step in the premium reference.

---

Anti-Hallucination Guardrails

1. Never invent metrics or results. Use [PLACEHOLDER] for missing data.
2. No fabricated case studies. Only reference real client examples.
3. Budget estimates must be marked. Use "[Estimate: verify]" for costs.
4. Tool recommendations must be current. Verify tools exist and prices haven't changed.

---

Quality

Pre-delivery checklist covers Phase 0 compliance (LinkedIn 2026 constants), foundation quality (SME, pillars, profile audit), content engine realism (capacity vs. cadence), and optimization/scale quality (analytics, ads, derivative content). Anti-examples + signals in the premium reference and the premium reference.

---

Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.

---

Persuasion & stickiness pass

Output complies with persuasion-and-stickiness.md — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate.

---