The Linkedin Famous Podcast

Turning Authenticity Into Pipeline with Irina Novoselsky

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Description

Hootsuite’s CEO Irina Novoselsky has turned her personal LinkedIn feed into a bona-fide growth channel. Early experiments taught her that “leading with product is just propaganda” that repels readers, so she flipped to a give-first cadence Hootsuite calls “nine times before you take once”.

That mindset shift, paired with a ruthlessly consistent 20-to-30-minute daily routine of posting and high-value commenting—even from taxis between meetings—keeps her visible without swallowing her calendar. The results? In Q1 2025 alone she logged 10 million impressions and showed up on 37 percent of all Hootsuite deal calls tracked in Gong, while internal attribution shows about 40 percent of net-new pipeline now traces back to her LinkedIn presence. Those numbers have opened doors to multimillion-dollar RFPs and accelerated renewals.

Irina’s operator chops make the story even sharper. Before taking Hootsuite’s helm in 2023, she cut her teeth at Morgan Stanley and Apollo and executed a turnaround as CEO of CareerBuilder at just 32. Today she applies the same data-driven discipline to social: testing formats, doubling down on what lands, and empowering her 1,500-person team with the engagement insights her feed surfaces.

In short, this episode shows how a Fortune-level leader uses a lightweight, value-forward LinkedIn habit to create real pipeline, brand affinity, and even unexpected CEO-to-CEO friendships—proof that strategic generosity at scale still wins on the timeline.

Why Listen?

Chapter Timestamps00:00:00 - Intro

00:08:37 - Kill the Propaganda
00:19:00 - Social → Revenue Loop
00:22:14 - Decoding Gen Z Buyers
00:25:40 - DMs vs Email
00:34:13 - Follower ≠ Reach
00:37:00 - Social Isn’t Junior Work
00:38:00 - Outro

Notable Quotes

  1. “Give nine times before you take once.”
  2. “This generation… will do anything not to use the phone to talk to you.”
  3. “You don’t need a huge followership to get reach.”
  4. “People that see social as a job for the 22-year-old intern are the brands that slowly die.”
  5. “Posting in a bathing suit? Save it for Insta—LinkedIn is still a professional room.”
  6. “I spend 20–30 minutes a day on LinkedIn; that tiny input fuels multi-million-dollar RFPs.”
  7. “Five billion people spend three hours a day on social—your customers are there.”
  8. “An email open rate of 30 % is ‘fantastic’; DMs hit 90 %+ without breaking a sweat.”

Actionable Takeaways

  1. Adopt the 9 : 1 give/ask ratio to build trust fast.
  2. Block 30 mins daily — half for posting, half for smart commenting.
  3. Turn employees into creators; their voices convert better than logo posts.
  4. Warm-prospect with DMs — automated value drops crush email open rates.
  5. Speak to Gen Z’s research style: authentic stories > cold calls.
  6. Track what matters: post mentions in Gong calls and CRM notes, not vanity likes.

Stay Connected. 

Want to connect or share feedback? Brad welcomes connection requests from listeners—reach out on LinkedIn and share your thoughts!