How To Use LinkedIn Influencers To Promote SaaS?

EXEED Team
Nov 7
5 min read

Updated: Nov 11

If you’ve been wondering whether LinkedIn influencer marketing can work for a B2B SaaS, the short answer is: yes, with caveats. The longer answer is where the real value is. A recent post we came across shared a two‑week test: $1,250 paid to five LinkedIn influencers, a Notion resource as the lead magnet, custom tracking links, and a simple funnel to trials, demos, and paid plans. The results: two influencers delivered nothing; three delivered 19 paying customers at $99/month. That’s $1,900 MRR for $1,250 spend. Not bad for a first run.

If you’re thinking about running something similar, here’s a clear, inclusive, and reusable playbook with questions to ask, guardrails to avoid the duds, and a way to scale without losing your shirt, you can Contact Us.

Why LinkedIn influencers can work for B2B SaaS?

Context fit: LinkedIn users expect business content. Buying intent is higher than most social platforms.
Trust transfer: A credible creator vouching for your tool can outperform anonymous ads, especially for early-stage or niche SaaS.
Comment loops drive reach: Creator posts with comments keep circulating, which made the Notion link handoff in the Reddit post so effective.

But the catch is obvious: not all creators are equal. Two “influencers” drove zero visits in that test, classic engagement pod behavior. So the real job is selection, structure, and measurement.

Start with your funnel, not the influencer

Before choosing creators, lock the path:

Offer: What’s the thing you’ll give freely that proves value? In the post, it was a Notion resource. That’s smart, lightweight, easy to share, and helpful.
Flow: Comment to receive > DM or reply with link > value page > clear CTAs (trial, demo, or both).
Friction: Do people need to opt in? For cold audiences, minimize forms. Let the value page do the convincing.
Tracking: One unique page + UTM per creator. If you can’t attribute, don’t spend.

Questions to pressure-test your funnel:

If I removed 50% of the text on my value page, is the “aha” still obvious?
Are my CTAs matched to intent? Trials for self-serve; demos for team/enterprise.
What’s my follow-up? Email onboarding, in-app prompts, and a 7-14 day nurture sequence should be ready.

How to pick LinkedIn influencers without getting burned

There are two groups to combine:

Niche experts: Smaller audiences, higher relevance. Often better trial and demo rates.
Viral creators: Big reach, mixed fit. Useful for top-of-funnel awareness, but not always for paid conversions.

What to check before you pay:

Audience composition: Job titles, industries, regions. Ask for screenshots from Creator Analytics, not just “followers.”
Engagement quality: Look at three recent posts. Are comments real, specific, and on-topic? Or are they “Great post, thanks for sharing!” from the same accounts?
Prior promotions: Ask for links to previous sponsored posts + results they’re allowed to share. If they can’t share numbers, ask for conversion proxy (saves, clicks, DMs).
Posting behavior: Do they reply to every comment? This directly affects reach and link delivery.
Pricing sanity: Benchmarks vary widely. Expect negotiation. The Reddit post noted 2-3x price flexibility, that matches what we see too.

Red flags:

Engagement pods (repetitive emojis, same names across posts, low-quality profiles).
Fake urgency to pay upfront.
No Creator Mode or no transparency on audience.
Promoting anything and everything.

Structure the post so it actually performs

You can (and should) write the post for the creator. Keep their voice, but control the structure:

Hook: One or two lines that clearly promise a practical outcome for a defined persona.
Context: Why this is relevant now (trend, pain, quick win).
Value: The free resource. Spell out what’s inside. Bulleted takeaways help.
CTA: “Comment ‘Guide’ and I’ll send it” or “Reply ‘Template’ for the link.” Keep it simple. Avoid multiple asks.
Comments: Creator should reply to every commenter with the resource link. The OP did this and it drove reach.

Localization wins: One creator localized for a French audience and outperformed the generic version. If you have major segments (region, role, or industry), localize copy and examples.

What to track? (and what matters?)

Here’s a practical measurement stack you can set up in an afternoon:

Per-creator page: One Notion or landing page per creator with unique UTMs.
Clicks and time on page: Basic analytics + scroll depth to ensure people see the CTAs.
Micro-conversions: Email capture (if used), resource downloads, “copy template” clicks, “start trial” clicks.
Trials started and activated: Track activation actions (e.g., connected an integration, created first project).
Demos booked and completed: Include source field on your form.
Paid conversions and MRR: Tag by creator in your CRM or Stripe metadata.

Benchmarks to sanity check:

CTR from post comments to page: 15-40% is common when the value is real and the reply is fast.
Trial conversion from views: 2-10%, depending on fit and friction.
Trial-to-paid: 10-30% for self-serve; higher if you qualify leads and push to demo.

Budgeting and ROI math

The Reddit test netted 19 customers at $99 MRR each. Here’s how to think about financials:

CAC (by creator) = Total paid to that creator / number of paying conversions from them.
Payback period = CAC / Monthly gross margin per customer.
LTV sensitivity: If your average customer stays 8-14 months, a $99 plan might be worth $800-$1,400 gross revenue. Spending $100-$300 CAC can be very healthy.

Try this budgeting framework:

Start with 3-5 creators across two segments (niche + broader).
Cap initial spend to what you’re comfortable totally losing (because two of five may flop).
Double down on any creator with CAC under your target and strong activation.
Negotiate down rates for multi-post packages and exclusivity windows.

Negotiation and safety tips (learned the hard way)

Test price: Ask for their “pilot” rate for a single post, paid after publishing. Many will agree.
Pay after posting: As the OP said "non-negotiable". Use simple agreements that state payment terms and deliverables.
Clarify deliverables: One main post, replies to first 100 comments, 24-48h support window, one follow-up comment bump, and the right to run whitelisted ads if relevant.
Disclosure: Ensure #ad or “sponsored” is included. It’s good practice and compliant.

Creative and page best practices

On the post:

Keep it story-led and specific. “How I reduced X by Y in 14 days” beats generic “Top 10 tips.”
Avoid feature lists; show outcomes.
Use native image + carousel if the creator’s audience engages with those.

On the Notion/landing page:

One tight headline that restates the promise.
Short context, skimmable bullets, and screenshots or GIFs of your product delivering the result.
Two CTAs: “Start free trial” and “Book a 15‑min demo.” If enterprise is a focus, bring demo forward.
Social proof near CTAs (logos, one quote, or a 30‑second video).

Scaling what works

Once you’ve identified one or two creators who pull their weight:

Standardize the playbook: A shared brief, copy templates, tracking UTMs, and a “reply script” for comments.
Batch creative: Build 3-4 variations of hooks and resources; rotate to prevent audience fatigue.
Create a creator cohort: Invite top performers into a monthly program with retention bonuses tied to attributable revenue.
Layer email and retargeting: Use warm audiences to retarget viewers with case studies and quick-start videos.
Consider whitelisting: Run paid under the creator’s handle to extend reach to their lookalike audiences (get permissions in writing).

Common pitfalls to avoid

Overpaying for reach: Followers aren’t buyers. Ask for audience job titles and industry.
Single-point failure: Relying on one star post. You need repeatability, not a one-off spike.
No onboarding: Trials without activation sequences waste spend.
Overcomplicating: One resource, one CTA, one page per creator. Keep it clean.