Hey - Matthew here!

Today's the first of many editions to the LinkedIn Lead Lab 🧪.

The newsletter where every week, I spend a few hours reviewing and breaking down the LinkedIn content strategy of a successful creator. Then, I send you an in-depth email breaking it down so you can (1) copy the most effective tactics they are using and (2) implement the upgrades they're not using (so you can increase your lead flow and revenue).

Today, we're going to talk about Jay Shetty.

The Jay Shetty Social Empire

Jay Shetty is a social media savant. Over the past 10 years, he has:

• Co-founded multiple businesses
• Gained 50 million followers across social media
• Hit New York Times bestselling author (millions of sales)
• Became an award-winning podcast host with 35 million monthly downloads

But he's leaving a lot of followers (and money) on the table.

Take a look at his follower count on the different social platforms:

• FB: 20M
• IG: 15.8M
• YT: 4.73M
• TikTok: 4.3M
• LinkedIn: 580k
• Twitter/X: 394k

Did you notice what I noticed? The text-based platforms, X and LinkedIn have wayyyy smaller audiences.

While visual platforms naturally attract larger audiences, the 30x difference between his Facebook and X following is far beyond the norm.

Big opportunity to close the gap.

How to apply this: If you're focused on 1 platform, don't worry about it. But this is a good audit to do for yourself if you're expanding on multiple platforms. Because you can find where you're getting the most reward for the least effort (and lean in harder there). You can also find, as in Jay's case, that there might be a few easy upgrades to improve growth on the other platforms.

The Root Cause

His content on X and LinkedIn aren't optimized.

And it's costing him millions of dollars.

What is he missing?

Platform-native content. It is clear X and LinkedIn are on the back-burner. All of the posts are repurposed clips from his YouTube, podcasts, or Instagram reels. There's nothing wrong with making video content for X and LinkedIn, but they are both text-based platforms first.

Better to post than not to. But there's lots of low-hanging fruit. And because I've written for 60+ accounts, split between X and LinkedIn, I'll break down both platforms.

How to apply this: Are you creating platform-native content for LinkedIn? Right now, these are some of the "native" integrations you can use: optimize the first 3 lines of your post and include an image. Use white space. No chunky paragraphs. No hashtags.

X Optimization Strategy

Here are 5 ways he could optimize his X account:

1. Instead of making the link-in-bio redirect to Instagram, take people to a lead magnet or the newsletter (so you can capture emails).

Taking people from X to IG is weird. Not just because no one does it. But because they're both short-form platforms and the goal is to get people onto the longer-form platforms (email, YouTube, podcasts). Email converts at 15x+ higher rates than social followers.

How to apply this: If you don't have a link-in-bio, add one. Ideally to a landing page collecting email subs. Alternatively, to a book-a-call page or your website.

2. Pin the best-performing tweet. I'd recommend the one with Selena Gomez or Lewis Hamilton.

Those are 2 of Jay's highest-performing, most authority-building tweets.

Your pinned tweet is a great way to be strategic. It's what most people see. The celebrity affiliations would help his brand.

How to apply this: Review your analytics to identify your 3 highest-performing posts. Pin the one that best represents your brand value proposition. Might be time for a refresh if you've had the same one for a few years.

3. Post 2 short-form tweets per day and add supplemental media.

Add an image if you'd like, but make it text-first. Videos and images should be supplemental, not the main point.

X is leaning into more video content. But the platform is still primarily text-based. Have your content represent that. And you can post multiple times per day. You're not punished for doing so.

How to apply this: Text first for text-first platforms. Post a lot.

4. Post 1 long-form tweet per week.

This can be a Twitter Thread or a regular long-form post. Again, make the text the primary but add images or videos to supplement it.

Threads and long-forms (usually) perform better than short-form. And they certainly build a lot more affinity. The goal here is to use your library of content and spread your message on X (as well as the other platforms).

How to apply this: Include longer form content.

5. Post 1 longer-form video per week.

You can do this in 2 ways. Post a 5-20 minute video straight up with some description text OR make a Twitter Thread and clip the video, using the text to glue the clips together.

Accounts using mixed media strategies (combining text and video) see higher overall engagement than single-format accounts.

How to apply this: Select one cornerstone content piece weekly and either create a standalone optimized version or break it into 3-5 clips threaded together with connecting insights.

LinkedIn Optimization Strategy

Then here are 9 ways he can optimize his LinkedIn account:

1. Get verified.

Verification provides immediate trust signaling and improves content distribution in the algorithm. For public figures, this typically increases average post reach by 20-30% and significantly boosts connection acceptance rates.

How to apply this: Apply for verification through LinkedIn's official channels. Meanwhile, ensure all other credibility markers (professional photo, complete experience section) are optimized.

2. Get LinkedIn Premium.

While it offers some benefits, it just makes you look more legit.

How to apply this: If you want to see profile visitors and/or look more professional, then get it. Otherwise, don't.

3. Earn a "Top Voice" badge.

You get a kick to your organic reach and follower growth. And you also look more legit.

How to apply this: Identify 2-3 professional topics where you have unique expertise. Create a content series focusing exclusively on these areas, publishing at least weekly.

4. Make the About section readable. It's currently a massive block of text.

Properly formatted About sections increase profile conversion rates and extend average visit duration.

Should be scannable.

How to apply this: Restructure your About section with a compelling hook, clear value proposition, proof points as bullet points, and a strong call-to-action. Use paragraph breaks every 2-3 sentences for easy scanning.

5. Use the Featured post section to link to a lead magnet and your newsletter.

Easy way to collect email subscribers.

How to apply this: Create a Featured post specifically introducing your newsletter or lead magnet with a compelling value proposition. Pin this alongside your highest-performing content pieces.

6. Optimize for the "…more" button.

Currently, none of the posts incentivize you to click "…more" and expand the text. This signals to the algorithm people want to read your post.

LinkedIn specifically measures how many readers click "see more".

How to apply this: Structure posts with a strong hook followed by a "bridge" sentence that promises valuable insights just beyond the cut-off point (typically 2-3 lines).

7. Post once per day.

4 days of the week, use an image as the 'supplementary' media (instead of video). These should be mid-to-long form, text-based posts. Then 3 days a week, post a video with the text. Text primary, video secondary.

LinkedIn's algorithm shows a clear preference for text-primary content with simple supporting visuals.

In 2025, LinkedIn videos aren't performing as well as they were in 2024. Still worth including, just not as often.

How to apply this: Include relevant media when possible. You'll likely see a 30% spike in impressions and engagement.

8. Custom button should link to a dedicated landing page.

Right now, it goes to a newsletter sign up. But you can bounce off the page. Opt-in rate could be much further optimized if people could only subscribe or leave.

How to apply this: Follow the "Rule of 1" with your landing page. Subscribe or leave.

9. Calls-To-Action

Use the posts to either:

1. Get people to engage by asking questions
2. Mention you'll drop a link in the comments (then link to a lead magnet or newsletter)
3. Occasionally include a link in your post with a hard CTA (to collect more email subscribers)

How to apply this: Do the same.

3 Key Takeaways For You:

1. Make your content platform native - look what some of the best accounts are doing and imitate the format.
2. Text-first strategies dominate text-based platforms - text is primary, media is secondary.
3. Owned audience is the ultimate goal - if you want to drive business, then getting more people from the social platforms to the owned platforms would be impactful.

Hope this was helpful!

I'll be sending one of these every Friday. The format might change a little bit here or there, but I'll be breaking down the content strategies of some of the biggest, most popular accounts. So you can generate more revenue through LinkedIn.

Have someone you want me to break down?

Drop a reply and let me know!

Matthew

PS - any feedback on this first edition? Will apply to the next one.