MJ Smith's LinkedIn Strategy, CMO @ CoLab

Opening a big role at CoLab today: VP of Demand Gen (fully remote - USA or Canada). Here's why I think it's the most exciting DG role in B2B SaaS 👇 Momentum: We've doubled pipeline twice in the la…

428731928 viral

Marketing12 months ago

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The angry LinkedIn mob is right — your first move as a new marketing leader shouldn’t be brand refresh + new website. But there’s something the angry mob is missing: The reason why so many marketing…

29453217 viral

Marketing12 months ago

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I’m hiring CoLab’s first ever Creative Director. Can you help me find someone great? What you’ll love about CoLab (the pros): 💙 Meaningful work: our mission is to help engineering teams deliver lif…

191412317 viral

Hiringabout 1 year ago

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I’ve never pushed a team as hard as I’ve been pushing CoLab’s marketing team the last 4-5 weeks. On Monday, we announced our Series C. And in the early hours of that morning, we quietly pushed a huge…

20625110 viral

Leadership11 months ago

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This one's for the marketers that are sick of people throwing ideas over the wall at you. I have a challenge for you (you're going to hate this): The next time someone outside of marketing comes up w…

1562919 viral

Marketing10 months ago

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CoLab has raised a $72M Series C. We’re setting the pace and showing what’s possible with applied AI in engineering. Here’s what’s next: In June we launched our first AI agent, AutoReview, which now…

1311907 viral

AI11 months ago

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Topics & Content Focus

Primary Topics

Practical B2B SaaS marketing strategy for complex, technical productsApplied AI for mechanical & hardware engineering workflowsGo-to-market leadership under startup pressure (fundraising, launches, crunch cycles)Category creation vs. category differentiation in enterprise softwareCompany-building narrative as proof of product-market fit (growth, waitlists, hiring)

Secondary Themes

Cross-functional collaboration between marketing and the rest of the businessTradeshow and field marketing conversations as live positioning testsWebsite UX, navigation, and messaging as core GTM leversEngineering knowledge graphs and org-specific data as AI foundationsEmployer branding and recruiting for high-growth, AI-driven startups

Industry Focus

B2B SaaS marketing for engineering and product development teamsApplied AI in CAD, PLM, and mechanical design collaborationVenture-backed startup growth and go-to-market leadership

Content Categories

Operator-level thought leadership (frameworks, decision models, positioning)Product and AI vision storytelling grounded in real features and dataCompany milestones and social proof (funding, rankings, waitlists)Team and culture spotlights tied to execution (website launches, design work)Talent and hiring posts anchored in mission and momentum

Performance Insights

Avg Engagement Rate

STABLE

Performance Trend

Best Performing Topics

Operator-level marketing and collaboration frameworks for marketersBehind-the-scenes execution around major launches and funding eventsLeadership narratives that mix pride, pressure, and team appreciation

Virality Signals

High comment density when posts challenge marketers’ default reactions or ego (e.g., assume stakeholders are right)Stronger interaction on posts that combine a personal leadership story with tangible execution detailsNews posts that pair hard numbers (growth rate, funding, waitlist size) with clear future direction and hiring hooksOccasional shares on milestone and vision posts that act as social proof for the company’s trajectory

Structure & Quality

300

Avg Length (Words)

HIGH

Depth Level

ADVANCED

Expertise Level

0.82/10

Uniqueness Score

Common Hooks

Directly calling out a specific audience segment (e.g., marketers, startup teams, engineers)Situational openings that drop the reader into a concrete scenario (e.g., at a tradeshow booth)Strong news-led hooks around funding, rankings, or major product milestonesConfessional leadership lines that hint at intensity or pressure (e.g., pushing the team hard)Problem-framing statements that challenge default thinking (e.g., assume stakeholders are right)

Common Endings

Open invitations for feedback or discussion (e.g., “Let me know what you think”)Forward-looking vision statements about the future of engineering and AISoft hiring CTAs tied to momentum (“we’re hiring across all functions”)Implicit product discovery prompts after painting a compelling use case

Value Delivery Methods

Transforms lived startup and GTM experience into reusable mental models for other operatorsDemystifies abstract ideas like category creation by anchoring them in real-world conversations and examplesConnects AI hype to highly specific engineering workflows, constraints, and datasetsProvides credible social proof and context that helps candidates, customers, and investors evaluate the companyBalances conceptual thinking with detailed, concrete execution choices (e.g., nav design, imagery strategy)

Formatting Style

Short paragraphs with frequent line breaks for readabilityBulleted lists to organize frameworks, use cases, and categorizationsUse of italics via asterisks for emphasis on key words (e.g., *why*, *what*)Sparse, intentional hashtag usage (primarily category tags like #b2bmarketing)Light but deliberate emoji use to underscore tone on milestone posts

Audience & Tone

YES

Question Usage

0.5%

Response Rate

Detected Tone

Operator-in-the-trenches strategistSmart-casual, confident but non-flashy expertBuilder-in-public sharing real-time learnings from a scaling AI startupTechnical-adjacent marketer fluent in engineering realitiessemi-formalfirst-person

Interaction Style

Mentor-like guidance that still treats the audience as peersSecond-person coaching that directly addresses the reader’s situation (e.g., at a startup, in marketing)Collaborative tone that frames ideas as challenges or experiments to tryCommunity-building via shared identity (marketers, engineers, startup operators)

Community Building Signals

Regularly invites readers to respond with their experiences or thoughts, especially on process and mindset postsFrames company growth and funding updates as shared wins and opportunities for ambitious talentBuilds a cross-functional audience by acknowledging both marketers and engineers as key players in the storyUses real-world scenarios (tradeshows, website launches, design reviews) that many in the ecosystem recognize and want to discuss

Writing Style Patterns

Content Strategy

Hook: Directly calling out a specific audience segment (e.g., markTone: semi-formalCTA: Low-friction, conversational asks for opinions or

Writing style breakdown

Core characteristics

Tone is professional, conversational, and confident — aimed at a B2B / tech / startup / marketing audience.

It is clearly authoritative (speaker is an experienced leader/founder/CMO) but never pompous. It reads like a peer talking to other senior operators.

Style is informative and persuasive, with light motivational undercurrents. Not “rah-rah” motivational; more “here’s how to think better / operate better.”

The writing is structured and methodical, not free-flowing. Posts are tightly organized with clear logical segments.

Energy level is medium-high: calm but driven. There’s enthusiasm, but it’s controlled and grounded in specifics.

Emotional tone and energy

Emotionally steady, optimistic, and pragmatic.

The energy rises around wins (funding, rankings, launches) and mission (changing engineering, life-changing products) but stays grounded in details, metrics, and next steps.

Rarely negative or ranty; even when challenging common advice (“angry LinkedIn mob”), the tone is measured and reasoned, not reactive.

- Frequent use of rhetorical questions to lead the reader

So why not do this first? Because of the risk of getting it wrong.

Is it worth the effort to challenge your own thinking and be a better partner to the business? I think so.

- Occasional hypothetical scenarios to illustrate a point

If you work at a startup and you stand in your booth at a tradeshow, you'll have the same interaction 100 times…

- Light humor and self-awareness

you’re going to hate this

Caution: angry LinkedIn mob

I’m a marketer so they have to let me say things like ‘fall out of the sky’

- Strategic repetition for emphasis

Repeating a phrase in pros/cons (“Founder/CEO cares deeply about brand and visual identity” appears in both lists).

Repeating structure: “What you’ll love… / What you will find extremely challenging…”

- Direct engagement with the reader

Give it a try, let me know what you think.

Can you help me find someone great?

Who is the best person you know…? I want to talk to them.

Addressing the reader

Heavy use of second-person “you” when giving advice or describing what the reader experiences (“If you work at a startup and you stand in your booth…”).

- First-person singular “I” used for

Opinions (“I think it’s the most exciting DG role…”)

Personal experience (“I’ve never pushed a team as hard…”)

Hiring and announcements (“I’m hiring a VP of Demand Gen…”).

First-person plural “we” used to represent the company/team (“We’re already making that real”, “We do this every time…”).

- Direct commands are common, but not harsh

Start by assuming they’re right.

Use the existing category name.

- “Consider this implication” style embedded in explanations, or

If you want to join the team, we’re hiring…

Voice summary

Smart, experienced operator.

Practical mentor tone: “I’ve done this, here’s what works and why.”

Confident but approachable; no jargon for its own sake, but not “dumbed down.”

MJ Smith

Warm Analysis

Performance Overview

Top Posts by Engagement

Posting Patterns & Frequency

Best Performing Days

Best Performing Times To Post