LinkedIn marketing experts I follow for lead generation

Most "LinkedIn marketing experts to follow" lists are padded with names the writer has never read. This isn't that. These are five people I actually follow, and the reason I follow each one. They're here because each is good at a different part of turning LinkedIn into a source of leads: lead gen for professional services, the insider's view of the platform, content strategy, personal branding, and paid ads.

If you want LinkedIn to bring you customers rather than likes, these are the people worth your feed.

Melanie Goodman

Melanie is a lawyer who became a LinkedIn trainer, and she runs Trevisan, a CPD-accredited LinkedIn training and marketing business. She works mainly with finance, legal and wealth-management professionals.

I follow her because her focus is lead generation for professional services, which is the world a lot of my readers live in. Her advice is practical and grounded in what she's actually tested with clients, not theory. If you sell expertise to a serious, professional audience and want LinkedIn to bring you the right introductions, she's the closest fit on this list.

Alicia Teltz

Alicia spent years inside LinkedIn as a Global Client Executive before leaving to start her own business, The Hype Department. She built a following of tens of thousands in a matter of months by sharing what she knew from the inside.

I follow her for exactly that: the insider's view. Most LinkedIn advice is reverse-engineered from the outside. Alicia worked at the company, so when she explains how the platform thinks and what it rewards, it carries a weight most commentary doesn't. She's especially good on using your profile as a positioning asset rather than a CV.

Tommy Clark

Tommy runs Compound Content Studio, a B2B social media agency, and writes the Social Files newsletter. He works with founders and B2B companies on content that actually performs.

I follow him for content strategy. His whole approach starts with getting obsessed with your ideal client, then building content around them, rather than chasing whatever the algorithm rewards this week. If you struggle with what to post and who you're really posting for, he's the one to read. He's also refreshingly honest that a bad idea won't be saved by clever packaging.

Jasmin Alić

Jasmin, known as Jay, is one of the most-followed LinkedIn creators in the world, repeatedly ranked the number one LinkedIn creator by the tools that measure it. He runs the Link Up community and the Hey Jay agency.

I follow him for personal branding and copywriting, and for how he uses generosity to grow. His reach isn't built on tricks. It's built on showing up, supporting other people in the comments, and writing posts people genuinely want to read. If you want to see what consistent, human, well-written content looks like at scale, watch what he does.

John Stewart

John runs Min Maxed Media and built what he calls the Controlled Growth Framework, a client acquisition system. His focus is LinkedIn and Facebook ads, lead generation and SaaS growth.

I follow him for the paid side. Most of this list is about organic, earning attention through content and connection. John covers what happens when you want to put money behind it: running LinkedIn ads as a system rather than a one-off boost. If you've got the organic foundations in place and want to scale with paid, he's worth following.

The catch with following experts

Following smart people is useful. It's also the easy bit. You can fill your feed with the five best LinkedIn minds available and still generate nothing, because watching isn't doing.

Everything these five teach comes down to the same handful of things: show up consistently, post content only you can write, support other people, and reach the right audience deliberately. Reading about it builds the knowledge. Doing it builds the pipeline. Follow them, take what's useful, then go and put it to work.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the best LinkedIn marketing experts to follow for lead generation?

There's no single best, because they specialise in different things. For lead generation specifically, it helps to follow a mix: someone strong on professional-services lead gen, someone who understands the platform from the inside, someone on content strategy, someone on personal branding, and someone on paid ads. The five above each cover one of those.

Do you need to follow LinkedIn influencers to generate leads?

No. Following experts speeds up your learning, but it doesn't generate leads on its own. The leads come from applying what you learn consistently: a clear profile, content only you can write, deliberate outreach, and showing up week after week.

How do you turn LinkedIn into a lead generation machine?

You build a system rather than posting at random. That means a profile that works as a landing page, a clear lane of content aimed at your ideal client, genuine engagement with the right people, and a consistent weekly rhythm. The experts above each teach a part of that system.

By Heather Baker, founder of the AI Edit (lead gen strategy for B2B businesses) and the Humans in the Loop (AI for leaders)