Key Takeaways
- •Narrative Chaos is the problem: Random executive posts get 10-20% engagement, but without sequencing, buyers see your content out of order and lose context.
- •Story Arcs are the framework: A 7-episode narrative sequence (Problem → Mechanism → Proof → Solution) designed to move named accounts from 'Problem Aware' to 'Evaluation Ready.'
- •Sequenced LinkedIn Ads are the delivery mechanism: Use Thought Leader Ads with frequency-based sequencing (30 imps/7 days, then 3 imps/7 days) to guarantee narrative delivery.
- •Warm Account Lists are the outcome: Track which accounts consumed the full sequence (Episode 1-7) and hand Sales a list with context, not cold leads.
Employee-sponsored posts get 10–20% engagement on LinkedIn.
Company posts get 1–2%.
Same content. Same audience. 10x difference.
But here's what most GTM teams get wrong: they treat every post as a one-off. Random insights. No sequence. No narrative.
Your VP shares a brilliant framework on Monday. Your CMO posts a case study on Wednesday. Your CEO drops a contrarian take on Friday. Each post lands. Each post gets likes. But there's no throughline. No story. No journey.
The Problem: Narrative Chaos
Most B2B ad campaigns fail because of Narrative Chaos: Your target accounts see your content out of order.
- • Monday: They see your "Solution" ad (Episode 7)
- • Wednesday: They see your "Problem" ad (Episode 1)
- • Friday: They see your "Case Study" ad (Episode 5)
Result? Confusion. No context. No trust.
They never connect the dots because there are no dots to connect.
Story Arcs fix this.
What is a Story Arc?
A Story Arc is a 7-episode content sequence delivered to named accounts via Sequenced LinkedIn Ads. Instead of random posts hitting random people, you guide your target buyers through a narrative:
Problem → Mechanism → Proof → Solution
Episode 1 sets up the tension. Episode 7 delivers the pitch. In between? You educate, build trust, and warm the account.
Think Netflix, not cable TV.
The 7-Episode Framework
| Episode | Goal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Problem | Create tension | "Your content isn't the problem. Distribution is." |
| 2. Mechanism | Educate on why | "Why boosting gets likes but TLAs get pipeline" |
| 3. Proof | Show it works | "How Mutiny gets 10x engagement" |
| 4. Mechanism | Explain the how | "How to target named accounts" |
| 5. More Proof | Reinforce | "Customer story: 7-episode arc results" |
| 6. Application | Make it tangible | "The exact arc we use at Ampy" |
| 7. Solution + CTA | Invite action | "Ready to automate? Here's Ampy" |
Key principle:
Episode 1 isn't about your product. Episode 7 isn't about the problem. Each episode advances one step on the buyer's journey.
Why Story Arcs Work
1. Sequenced narrative beats random insights
Humans don't remember isolated facts. We remember stories.
When you deliver Episode 1 (the problem), then Episode 2 (the mechanism), then Episode 3 (the proof), you're not asking the buyer to connect the dots—you're drawing the line for them.
By Episode 7, they're not hearing a pitch out of nowhere. They have context. They've been educated. The ask makes sense.
2. Trust compounds over time
Here's what happens in a buyer's head across a Story Arc:
- • Episode 1: "Interesting problem definition" (scrolls)
- • Episode 2: "Wait, this is the same person from Monday" (reads)
- • Episode 3: "They really know this space" (engages)
- • Episode 4: "I need to remember this framework" (saves)
- • Episodes 5-6: (building trust)
- • Episode 7: "Okay, I want to talk to them" (books call)
Trust doesn't happen in one scroll. It compounds over time, over touches, over value delivered. Sequenced LinkedIn Ads accelerate this by ensuring the same person sees the same voice multiple times—in order.
3. Guaranteed delivery via frequency-based sequencing
This is where Story Arcs become weaponized.
Sequenced LinkedIn Ads use a Frequency Squeeze:
Phase 1 (Saturation)
- • 30 impressions/7 days on Episode 1
- • Goal: 70% of your target audience sees this episode
- • When achieved → Rotate to Episode 2
Phase 2 (Maintenance)
- • 3 impressions/7 days on previous episodes
- • Keeps share-of-mind while budget shifts to next episode
- • Ensures narrative consistency
You're not optimizing for clicks. You're optimizing for guaranteed narrative delivery.
The Data: Cold vs Warm Audiences
When Mutiny ran employee-sponsored posts across their funnel using Sequenced LinkedIn Ads:
Cold Audience (First Touch)
$600
per conversion
- • Volume: Tens of conversions
- • Goal: Awareness building
Warm Audience (Sequenced Narrative)
$200
per conversion
- • Volume: Hundreds of conversions
- • Goal: Demos & tours
Result: Sequenced LinkedIn Ads = 3x better cost efficiency through narrative progression.
The throughline? The warm audience had already started their buyer journey—on their terms. They trusted the voice. They understood the problem. Now they were evaluating.
Same format. Same voices. 3x efficiency.
How to Build a Story Arc
1Step 1: Audit Existing Content
Pull your execs' last 50 LinkedIn posts.
Categorize them:
- • Problem-setting posts (contrarian takes, pain points, stats)
- • Mechanism posts (frameworks, explainers, how-tos)
- • Proof posts (case studies, customer stories, data)
- • Application posts (templates, playbooks, tools)
Most teams discover they have 30 problem posts and 2 mechanism posts. You need balance.
2Step 2: Map the 7 Episodes
Use the framework table above. Pick 7 posts (or create new ones if there are gaps). Order them:
- Problem
- Mechanism (why)
- Proof
- Mechanism (how)
- More proof
- Application
- Solution + CTA
Don't skip episodes. Don't double up. Each episode earns the next.
3Step 3: Target Your Named Accounts
Upload your target account list to LinkedIn Matched Audiences:
- • CSV with company names + LinkedIn Company Page URLs
- • You need 300+ matched members to run a campaign
- • Layer in job titles (VP Marketing, CMO, Director of Demand Gen, etc.)
Pro tip: Don't over-filter. If you narrow to "CMO at enterprise SaaS in North America with 5+ years experience," you'll have 12 people. Start broader.
4Step 4: Set Up Sequenced LinkedIn Ads
Each episode = one Thought Leader Ad campaign.
The Frequency Squeeze:
- • Episode 1: High frequency (30 imps/7 days) to ensure saturation
- • Episode 2: Rotates in after Episode 1 achieves 70% penetration
- • Episode 3: Continues the narrative sequence
- • Episodes 4-7: Maintains presence with tightened frequency (3 imps/7 days)
The problem:
Each TLA takes 15 minutes to set up manually. You can't automate this frequency rotation. You can't see when an account has reached 70% penetration. It's tedious.
This is why we built Ampy—but more on that in a second.
5Step 5: Track Account Penetration & Generate Your Warm Account List
The metric that matters isn't impressions or clicks. It's account penetration. (See our guide on measuring this)
Track:
- • How many of your 500 target accounts saw Episode 1?
- • How many made it to Episode 3?
- • How many consumed all 7 episodes?
The accounts that make it to Episode 7 are warm.
This becomes your Warm Account List—the accounts you hand to Sales every week with:
- • Which episodes they consumed
- • Which content resonated (based on engagement)
- • Suggested talking points based on what they saw
Result: Sales doesn't call blind. They call warm, with context.
Story Arcs in Action: Mutiny Example
Mutiny ran employee-sponsored posts across their full inbound funnel using Sequenced LinkedIn Ads. The content came from their team—real insights, real experiences, no pitch.
Cold Audience
- • Who: Target accounts who don't know Mutiny yet
- • What: Team sharing frameworks, insights
- • Engagement: 10–20% (vs 1–2% company posts)
- • Cost/conversion: $600
- • Goal: Build awareness
Warm Audience (After Sequencing)
- • Who: Users who engaged with cold content
- • What: Same format, sequenced narrative
- • Cost/conversion: $200
- • Volume: Hundreds of conversions (demos, tours)
- • Result: 3x efficiency
What NOT to Do
Here's a bad Story Arc:
- • Episode 1: "Check out our new AI feature"
- • Episode 2: "Here's another feature we launched"
- • Episode 3: "Book a demo to see it in action"
Why this fails: No story. All pitch. No trust-building. Just features shouted at a cold audience.
The buyer's reaction? "Who are you and why should I care?"
The Automation Challenge (Why We Built Ampy)
Here's the uncomfortable truth about Story Arcs.
The strategy works. The data proves it. Mutiny's results speak for themselves. But executing Sequenced LinkedIn Ads manually is a nightmare.
The manual workflow:
- 1. Your exec posts on LinkedIn
- 2. You manually check for new posts
- 3. You decide which post maps to which episode
- 4. You log into LinkedIn Campaign Manager
- 5. You set up a TLA (15 minutes per post)
- 6. You manually monitor frequency and reach daily
- 7. You rotate creatives when thresholds are met (Ep 1 → Ep 2)
- 8. You track results in a spreadsheet
Time cost: 2–3 hours per Story Arc, per exec, per month.
If you have 3 execs posting weekly, that's 25+ hours a month just on TLA setup.
And you still don't have clean account-level reporting. "Which accounts saw all 7 episodes? Which dropped off after Episode 3?" Good luck answering that in Campaign Manager.
This is why we built Ampy.
How Ampy Automates Sequenced LinkedIn Ads
Ampy is the automation engine for Sequenced LinkedIn Ads.
You focus on content. Ampy handles distribution.
See how Ampy builds Sequenced Campaigns from your existing content.
Start with One Story Arc
You don't need to build 10 Story Arcs tomorrow.
Start with one.
Pick your best-performing exec. Audit their last 50 posts. Map 7 episodes (Problem → Mechanism → Proof → Solution). Target 100 accounts. Run it manually if you want to see how it works.
Then, when you're ready to scale—when you want to run Sequenced LinkedIn Ads for 3 execs across 500 accounts without spending 25 hours a month on TLA setup—that's when Ampy makes sense.
About the Author
Karl Newlin is the Founder & CEO of Ampy. With 12+ years in B2B Demand Gen, he pioneered the "Story Arc" methodology for LinkedIn ABM.
He helps B2B revenue teams turn executive thought leadership into targeted pipeline using Account-Based Influence.