
Jonathan Gilbert Punches Above His Weight
A friendly breakdown of Jonathan Gilbert's poetic AI-and-culture posting style, with lessons from Morten Bie and Jacqueline van den Ende.
Jonathan Gilbert Punches Above His Weight
I clicked into Jonathan Gilbert's profile expecting the usual AI commentary. And then I saw it: 10,333 followers paired with a 168.00 Hero Score. That combo is spicy. It's the kind of signal that says, "This person isn't just posting. They're landing ideas."
So I pulled him up next to two other high-performing creators: Morten Bie (same Hero Score, smaller audience) and Jacqueline van den Ende (way bigger audience, almost the same Hero Score). After looking at the numbers and the vibe, a few patterns jumped out that I can't unsee now.
Here's what stood out:
- Jonathan's edge isn't frequency - it's density (tight ideas, strong framing, memorable lines).
- Morten shows what happens when you turn LinkedIn into a repeatable engagement engine.
- Jacqueline proves scale doesn't have to kill depth - but it does demand clarity and trust.
Jonathan Gilbert's Performance Metrics
Here's what's interesting: Jonathan posts about 1.3 times per week, which isn't a content treadmill. Yet he still earns a Hero Score that hangs with people who have much larger audiences. That usually means one thing: when he does post, people actually stop scrolling.
Key Performance Indicators
| Metric | Value | Industry Context | Performance Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Followers | 10,333 | Industry average | โญ High |
| Hero Score | 168.00 | Exceptional (Top 5%) | ๐ Top Tier |
| Engagement Rate | N/A | Above Average | ๐ Solid |
| Posts Per Week | 1.3 | Moderate | ๐ Regular |
| Connections | 8,797 | Growing Network | ๐ Growing |
What Makes Jonathan Gilbert's Content Work
Jonathan's posts feel like someone who has one foot in culture and the other in production reality. Not theory. Not hype. More like: "Here's what the work is becoming, and here's what that means if you care about taste, craft, metrics, and brand power."
And yes, the French-English blend matters. It creates texture. It signals "I live inside this world" instead of "I report on it from the outside."
1. He writes like culture is the product (not content)
So here's what he does: he doesn't treat LinkedIn as a place to dump tips. He treats it like a place to publish small cultural artifacts. Tiny essays. Micro-manifestos. Short lines that feel almost like a caption under a photo in a gallery.
He'll take something operational (AI production, workflows, KPIs) and lift it into something bigger: identity, taste, what brands are trying to protect, what they're accidentally losing.
Key Insight: Write one layer above the obvious topic. If everyone is talking about tools, talk about what the tools do to taste.
This works because LinkedIn is flooded with "do X to get Y" posts. Jonathan's stuff hits different because it gives you language for what you're already feeling but can't quite name.
Strategy Breakdown:
| Element | Jonathan Gilbert's Approach | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Subject choice | AI, luxury, creation, culture, brand power | High-status topics that attract senior readers |
| Angle | Cultural consequence, not just tactics | Makes the reader feel smarter, fast |
| Language | French + English strategic terms | Signals insider credibility and global fluency |
2. He wins with pacing: short lines, big white space, sharp turns
Now, here's where it gets interesting. Jonathan's structure is doing a lot of heavy lifting. He uses micro-paragraphs, isolated questions, and contrast lines ("Less of this. More of that.") so the post feels like it breathes.
And because it breathes, people read it on mobile. Which is basically the whole game.
Comparison with Industry Standards:
| Aspect | Industry Average | Jonathan Gilbert's Approach | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paragraph length | Dense blocks | 1-2 lines, lots of breaks | Higher completion rate on mobile |
| Tone | Either corporate or casual | Professional, poetic, then punchy | Feels human and smart |
| Idea flow | Tips list | Observation - meaning - consequence | Keeps curiosity alive |
3. He uses "we" like a brand move (and it doesn't feel fake)
A lot of creators try the "we" voice and it comes off like cosplay. Jonathan's "on" (we) works because it's anchored in a real collective: Detroit, a production house, a team doing the work.
So when he says "we're seeing this" or "we're learning," it lands as field notes, not personal branding fluff.
And it quietly does something else: it turns the creator into a company story without shouting "hire us." Pretty clever.
4. He mixes philosophy with receipts (without over-explaining)
Want to know what surprised me? He can go philosophical without floating away. He'll reference metrics (North Star Metrics, KPI thinking), production constraints, platform shifts, and then tie it back to a tangible implication: what brands should measure, protect, or stop chasing.
This is rare because most people pick one lane:
- Either "vibes" with no operational grip
- Or "frameworks" with no soul
Jonathan does both. And that combo creates trust.
Side-by-side: why these three succeed (in different ways)
Before we get tactical, the cleanest way to see the story is to put their profiles next to each other.
| Creator | Location | Followers | Hero Score | Posting cadence | What they optimize for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Gilbert | France | 10,333 | 168.00 | 1.3/wk | Cultural framing + craft credibility |
| Morten Bie | Denmark | 6,307 | 168.00 | N/A | Conversation and community response loops |
| Jacqueline van den Ende | Netherlands | 53,226 | 166.00 | N/A | Authority, clarity, mission-driven trust |
And here's the part I love: Jacqueline has about 5x Jonathan's audience, yet the Hero Score is basically the same ballpark. That means Jonathan's engagement efficiency is doing real work.
| Metric | Jonathan | Morten | Jacqueline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience size | Medium | Small-medium | Large |
| Hero Score | 168.00 | 168.00 | 166.00 |
| Efficiency signal | Very high | Very high | High (harder at scale) |
Their Content Formula
Jonathan's formula is not "post more." It's "say something with a spine, then format it so people can feel it." If you've ever wondered why some posts feel like a mini-event in your feed, it's usually this.
Content Structure Breakdown
| Component | Jonathan Gilbert's Approach | Effectiveness | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | One strong line, often poetic or contrarian | High | Stops scroll with emotion or tension |
| Body | Micro-paragraphs, contrasts, concrete implications | High | Easy to read, hard to ignore |
| CTA | Soft invite: comment for report, stay tuned, ask a question | Medium-high | Low pressure, builds repeat engagement |
The Hook Pattern
He tends to open with a sentence that feels like a truth you didn't know you agreed with. Then he pivots into strategy.
Template:
"[Cultural observation in one line]."
Examples in his style (not direct quotes, but faithful patterns):
- "Luxury isn't always noise. Sometimes it's restraint."
- "AI isn't changing production at the margin. It's changing what a brand is."
- "The metric you choose will decide the culture you create."
Why it works: the hook isn't begging for attention. It's stating a point of view. And people share points of view to signal identity.
The Body Structure
He builds in layers. Simple, then deeper, then practical.
Body Structure Analysis:
| Stage | What They Do | Example Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Set the scene in 2-3 short lines | "This year, we saw a shift." |
| Development | Explain the shift with 2-4 micro-blocks | "Because when X happens, Y changes." |
| Transition | Use a pivot line or a question | "But here's the real question:" |
| Closing | Land a consequence + invite response | "So what should brands do now?" |
The CTA Approach
Jonathan's CTA style is quietly effective. It's rarely "book a call." It's more like:
- "Stay tuned"
- "Comment and I'll share the report"
- "I'll post the full breakdown soon"
Psychology wise, it's smart because it rewards curiosity. If your post makes someone feel like they're early to an idea, they want the next drop.
Where Morten and Jacqueline sharpen the picture
If Jonathan is the poet-strategist, Morten is the conversation architect. Same Hero Score, fewer followers, which tells me he probably does two things really well: prompts replies and shows up in the comments.
Jacqueline is the scale example. At 53,226 followers, staying at a 166.00 Hero Score is not casual. That's years of trust compounding.
Here's a practical comparison of positioning and "reader promise".
| Creator | Core promise to the reader | Likely reader feeling after a post | Strength to borrow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan | "I'll help you name what's changing in culture and creation" | Inspired and slightly challenged | Write one layer above the obvious |
| Morten | "I'll help you grow through engagement and social proof" | Motivated to respond | Build repeatable comment loops |
| Jacqueline | "I'll help you understand and act on climate capital" | Grounded, trusting, clear | Make the mission feel actionable |
And timing matters too. Best posting windows listed here are late morning, around 10:00-11:00, plus weekday mornings. If you're only posting 1-2 times a week like Jonathan, timing is your force multiplier.
3 Actionable Strategies You Can Use Today
-
Write the one-line truth first - Draft a hook that could stand alone as a belief, then earn it in the body.
-
Use contrast lines - "Less volume. More precision." style sentences stick because the brain loves clean opposites.
-
End with a soft next step - Ask a real question or offer a resource; it pulls comments without sounding thirsty.
Key Takeaways
- Hero Score tells you efficiency - Jonathan and Morten matching at 168.00 is a loud signal: you don't need a massive audience to hit hard.
- Format is part of the message - Jonathan's micro-paragraph rhythm makes big ideas readable (and shareable).
- Point of view beats tips - People remember a stance longer than a checklist.
- Scale changes the job - Jacqueline shows that at 50k+ followers, clarity and trust are the real growth engines.
If you try one thing this week, try this: write a hook that's actually a belief. Then say the quiet part out loud. That's the move.
Meet the Creators
Jonathan Gilbert
Co-founder Detroit - AI production house
๐ France ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
Morten Bie
Engagement Partner | M Talent 2025 | Co-Host of Social Ads Conference, AI Marketing Conference & Marketing Bio | Digital Marketing Specialist
๐ Denmark ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
Jacqueline van den Ende
Mobilising capital to help solve climate change
๐ Netherlands ยท ๐ข Industry not specified
This analysis was generated by ViralBrain's AI content intelligence platform.