Case Study
In 13 months, LinkedIn impressions grew over 11× from the pre-strategy baseline, engagement rate went from 7.61% to 35.77%, and by March 2026 the website was generating 17 form fills a month against zero the prior year. All LinkedIn growth organic. Zero paid LinkedIn spend.
The Starting Point
When I joined Raiven in March 2025, there was no formal social media strategy, no content calendar, no tracking infrastructure, and no performance measurement framework. The LinkedIn account had 1,589 followers and a 7.61% engagement rate. In the two months before the strategy launched, the account published 11 posts — 7 of which were blog reposts — and generated 5,469 impressions. Facebook had 87 followers despite paid spend, with zero net follower growth. Instagram had 22 followers and was essentially dormant.
The full tracking stack — HubSpot, GA4, Google Tag Manager, CookieYes — was built from scratch. So was the social program.
The Tech Stack Built
Before the content program could be properly measured, the measurement layer had to exist. I built and own the entire stack end to end.
Program Timeline
May – July 2025
Baseline period — the true zero line
5,469 LinkedIn impressions across 2 months. 7 of 11 posts were blog reposts. Facebook: 178K views but zero net new followers despite paid spend. No content calendar, no strategy, no measurement.
September 2025
Strategy launch — the inflection point
September alone generated 31,133 LinkedIn impressions — roughly 11× the pre-strategy monthly rate. Content calendar, video-led strategy, and platform differentiation launched simultaneously. Supplier testimonial series begins.
October 2025
Peak organic month — highest impressions in program history
6,809 LinkedIn impressions. +240% vs. pre-strategy. +304% reactions. Full testimonial and thought leadership cadence at stride. YouTube publishes 5 Shorts. Watch time increases 57% even as view count dips — audience quality improving.
November – December 2025
Long-form video and year-end content
First long-form YouTube video published — "Do Contractors Only Care About Price?" — with full SEO optimization and chapter structure. Year ends with the infrastructure fully built and a proven content formula.
February 2026
Best Q1 month — +523% reaction growth
4,435 LinkedIn impressions, 131 reactions (+523% vs. January). First full video-led calendar of 2026. On-camera content from two team members. Every metric jumped — consistent with the video performance pattern.
March 2026
Pipeline connection — 17 website form fills
+30 new LinkedIn followers (best single month). Checklist content generated 26.85% CTR and 31.02% engagement. Team culture post hit 37.3% engagement rate — highest of the tracked period. 17 form fills against zero the prior year.
April – June 2026
Q2 — paid campaigns extend Facebook and Instagram reach
LinkedIn organic growth holding at +32 followers in Q2. Facebook and Instagram view spikes driven by SMB landing page ad campaigns. Instagram followers now at 42, up 91% from the 22 at baseline.
What Actually Moves the Numbers
13.23%
Video engagement rate (Jan ABM post)
Every tracked video post outperformed every image or article post on engagement rate, CTR, and reactions. Video is the single most reliable lever in the program.
37.3%
Team culture post engagement rate
Real people and real moments consistently outperform branded graphics. The highest-performing post of the entire tracked period was a team photo.
26.85%
CTR on downloadable checklist content
Actionable, downloadable content for contractor pain points drives click-throughs — and is most directly connected to the 17 form fills in March.
4×
Content pieces from one interview
Film one supplier or contractor, publish on LinkedIn Wednesday, YouTube Short Friday, quote graphic Monday. Each production investment compounds into a permanent brand asset.
Platform-by-Platform Growth
| Platform | May 2025 baseline | June 2026 | Growth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn followers | 1,589 | 1,774 | +185 (+11.6%) | All organic. Primary channel. |
| LinkedIn eng. rate | 7.61% | 35.77% | 4.7× improvement | vs. 7.67% for top competitor BuildOps |
| LinkedIn impressions/mo | ~2,735 | 4,000+ avg | 11× at Sept peak | 70,416 total in 2025 alone |
| Facebook followers | 87 | 109 | +22 (+25.3%) | Reach spikes via paid; follows flat (structural) |
| Instagram followers | 22 | 42 | +20 (+91%) | Built from scratch in 2025 |
| Website form fills | 0/month | 17 (March 2026) | Zero to pipeline | Social + paid search + website refresh combined |
Raiven didn't have a social media program for most of 2025. In the 13 months since one was built from scratch, LinkedIn impressions grew over 11× from the pre-strategy baseline and the website went from zero form fills to 17 in a single month. All LinkedIn growth organic. All of it compounding.
Full Scope of Work