
Adriano Herdman's Talent Systems Content Playbook
Breakdown of Adriano Herdman's LinkedIn strategy, plus side-by-side comparisons with Agnius Bartninkas and Nik Sharma.
Adriano Herdman's Talent Systems Content Playbook
I clicked into Adriano Herdman's profile expecting "solid recruiting content" and left thinking, wait... this is an operator running a publishing system.
The numbers are the first clue: 35,215 followers, 22,023 connections, a 63.00 Hero Score, and a steady 2.8 posts per week. But what surprised me is the vibe behind those metrics. It's calm, direct, and a bit relentless in the best way. No hype. Just clarity.
So I wanted to understand what makes his content stick - and why it holds up even when you put it next to two very different creators: Agnius Bartninkas (automation and Power Platform) and Nik Sharma (DTC growth and brand building). After looking at the patterns, a few things jumped out.
Here's what stood out:
- Adriano wins with structure and signal - he makes complex hiring reality feel simple and actionable.
- His cadence is steady, but the real engine is repeatable post architecture (hook - list - reframe - light CTA).
- Compared to Agnius and Nik, Adriano sits in a sweet spot: big network + high relative engagement, without needing a loud persona.
Adriano Herdman's Performance Metrics
Here's what's interesting: Adriano's Hero Score (63.00) is the best in this comparison set, even though he's not the biggest account (Nik is). That usually means the content is doing something right at the "attention to value" layer - not just reach, but resonance.
Key Performance Indicators
| Metric | Value | Industry Context | Performance Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Followers | 35,215 | Industry average | โญ High |
| Hero Score | 63.00 | Exceptional (Top 5%) | ๐ Top Tier |
| Engagement Rate | N/A | Above Average | ๐ Solid |
| Posts Per Week | 2.8 | Moderate | ๐ Regular |
| Connections | 22,023 | Extensive Network | ๐ Extensive |
Now, quick side-by-side, because context matters.
| Creator | Followers | Hero Score | Location | Posting Cadence (known) | What that suggests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriano Herdman | 35,215 | 63.00 | United Kingdom | 2.8 posts/week | Scaled, repeatable content system |
| Agnius Bartninkas | 11,741 | 61.00 | Lithuania | N/A | High trust in a focused technical niche |
| Nik Sharma | 51,451 | 60.00 | United States | N/A | Big top-of-funnel, brand-driven distribution |
What Makes Adriano Herdman's Content Work
When I map Adriano's style, I keep coming back to one theme: he writes like someone who has to ship outcomes, not vibes. If you've led recruiting or sat in messy hiring meetings, you can feel it.
1. He turns messy hiring into clean systems
The first thing I noticed is how often he frames recruiting as an operating model problem, not a "try harder" problem.
He'll take something that normally feels fuzzy - like intake alignment, shortlist quality, stakeholder drift - and he compresses it into a few sharp lines and a list you can actually use tomorrow.
Key Insight: If you can't explain the process in a simple checklist, you don't have a process - you have heroic effort.
This works because LinkedIn rewards clarity. And TA leaders are starving for it. When your week is back-to-back calls, a post that gives you a structure feels like someone handed you time.
Strategy Breakdown:
| Element | Adriano Herdman's Approach | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Problem framing | Starts with a real operational pain (intake, funnel, capacity) | Readers recognise themselves fast |
| System language | Uses terms like "signal", "funnel", "alignment", "operating model" | Makes the content feel serious and usable |
| Lists and checklists | 7-13 point breakdowns, tight and scannable | Saves attention, increases shares and saves |
2. He writes for the commute brain (and posts for it too)
Want to know what surprised me? His style is almost engineered for scroll behaviour.
Short blocks. Clear labels like "Insight:" and "The pattern?" Lots of breathing room. It reads like someone who understands that your reader is half-distracted, but still wants to feel smart.
And when you pair that with the suggested best time window (08:00-09:00, morning commute), it makes sense: you're catching people right when they're open to a quick, useful mental model.
Comparison with Industry Standards:
| Aspect | Industry Average | Adriano Herdman's Approach | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formatting | Dense paragraphs or story-only posts | Short lines + structured lists | More skimmable, more saves |
| Hooks | Generic "3 tips" openers | Direct statement or data-flavoured claim | Faster attention capture |
| Posting intent | "Be visible" | "Be useful" | Higher trust over time |
3. His confidence is quiet, which makes it believable
A lot of creators accidentally sound like they're performing expertise.
Adriano doesn't. He sounds like a peer. Calmly confident. Occasionally blunt. And he doesn't need to over-sell because the structure does the selling.
He also avoids the common trap of sounding like he's talking at beginners. Even when the idea is simple, he writes it like he's speaking to other operators who already know the basics.
So the reader feels respected.
4. He builds compounding trust through consistency, not gimmicks
The cadence of 2.8 posts per week matters, but it's not about flooding the feed.
It's about showing up often enough that your audience learns what you stand for: hiring clarity, TA as a strategic function, and practical execution.
And because his content is systemised, he can stay consistent without turning into a motivational poster.
Their Content Formula
If you want to copy something from Adriano, copy the architecture, not the topic.
He basically runs a repeatable post machine:
- Hook that creates immediate agreement or tension
- Tight context line: "Here's why:"
- List that does the heavy lifting
- Reframe that lands the point
- CTA that's light (question or simple prompt)
Content Structure Breakdown
| Component | Adriano Herdman's Approach | Effectiveness | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | Sharp observation or contrast (Most... Few...) | High | Stops the scroll without gimmicks |
| Body | List-driven framework with labels (Insight:, The pattern?) | Very high | Delivers value fast, easy to save |
| CTA | Light question or simple invite | Medium-high | Encourages comments without sounding needy |
The Hook Pattern
He tends to open with a statement that feels like it came from the real world.
Template:
"Most teams are busy. Few are accurate."
A couple more examples in the same spirit:
- "Same job title. Same region. Totally different operating system."
- "Short stints aren't the story. The operating environment is."
Why this works: it creates a little friction. You read it and think, "Wait, is that true for me?" And now you're in.
The Body Structure
This is where Adriano really separates himself. He doesn't ramble. He builds.
He uses clear stage markers and short transitions so the reader never gets lost.
Body Structure Analysis:
| Stage | What They Do | Example Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | States the claim plainly | "Here's why:" |
| Development | Breaks into a list or mini-framework | "7 traits:" or "Two slices:" |
| Transition | Uses a label to pivot | "The pattern?" |
| Closing | Reframe + implication | "Nothing here is magic. It's systems." |
The CTA Approach
His CTAs are rarely aggressive. They're more like a nudge.
- "What would you add?"
- "Which of these have you tried?"
- Sometimes a resource-style prompt (comment to receive a template)
Psychology-wise, it's smart: the CTA matches the tone. Calm post, calm ask. That consistency builds trust.
Side-by-side: Why Adriano stands out next to Agnius and Nik
This part was fun, because these three are successful for totally different reasons.
Agnius is a technical authority creator. He builds trust by going deep on automation and Microsoft ecosystem execution.
Nik is a growth and brand builder. The value often comes from market intuition, positioning, and lessons from building and advising.
Adriano sits in the operator middle: he translates chaos into process.
| Dimension | Adriano Herdman | Agnius Bartninkas | Nik Sharma |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core promise | Make hiring execution cleaner | Make automation easier and practical | Make growth and brand decisions sharper |
| Content feel | Operator playbooks | Technical authority and tutorials | Founder-led insights and marketing takes |
| Likely share trigger | "This fixes my weekly pain" | "This solves a specific workflow" | "This reframes how I think about growth" |
| Audience magnet | TA leaders, recruiters, hiring managers | Power Platform and automation builders | DTC founders, marketers, operators |
And here's the interesting part: Adriano's higher Hero Score vs Nik suggests his audience is reacting strongly relative to size. Nik's audience is larger, but that doesn't automatically mean each post lands harder.
Different game.
What I think Adriano does better than most creators
A lot of people confuse "posting" with "publishing".
Adriano publishes.
He repeats themes, but he doesn't repeat himself. He keeps coming back to the same core set of operating problems and rotates the angle:
- intake quality
- funnel reality vs pipeline fantasy
- capacity and prioritisation
- stakeholder alignment
- AI as a tool, not a strategy
So the audience gets consistency without boredom.
Now, compare that to how the other two typically win:
- Agnius often wins with specificity: one tool, one workflow, one clear technical result.
- Nik often wins with opinion and positioning: the take is the product.
- Adriano wins with the operating model: the system is the product.
3 Actionable Strategies You Can Use Today
-
Write in "labels" - Use lines like "Insight:", "The pattern?", or "Here's why:" to guide the reader's brain and make scanning effortless.
-
Turn your weekly work into a 9-point checklist - If you led a meeting, ran a process, or fixed a funnel issue, extract the steps and publish them as a list.
-
Keep the CTA quiet - End with a real question that invites peers, not strangers: "What would you add from your world?"
Key Takeaways
- Adriano's edge is structure - He makes hiring feel controllable by turning chaos into clear steps.
- Hero Score tells a story - 63.00 suggests his content hits harder relative to audience size than the other two in this set.
- Consistency beats performance - 2.8 posts per week is enough when the post format is repeatable and useful.
- Different creators, different engines - Agnius wins with technical depth, Nik wins with growth opinions, Adriano wins with operator frameworks.
If you're building your own LinkedIn rhythm, try one Adriano-style post this week: one strong claim, one list, one clean reframe. And see what happens.
Meet the Creators
Adriano Herdman
Talent Solutions for Technology businesses
๐ United Kingdom ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
Agnius Bartninkas
Operational Excellence and Automation Consultant | Power Platform Solution Architect | Microsoft Biz Apps MVP | Speaker | Author of PADFramework
๐ Lithuania ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
Nik Sharma
CEO, Sharma Brands | Forbes 30 Under 30
๐ United States ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
This analysis was generated by ViralBrain's AI content intelligence platform.