Case Study 12 / LinkedIn Content
27× organic reach on X by replying instead of posting
A small brand account on X was earning almost nothing: 408 organic impressions in February 2023. By engaging the biggest cricket accounts with replies that added something, rather than posting into the void, it reached 281,500 impressions in May 2023 (9,100 a day), and about 27× more reach in Q2 than in Q1.
Earlier work: led by Clarafold's founder at a fantasy sports app, before founding Clarafold. The company's name is withheld; figures come from the platform's own analytics, and claims that could not be verified are left out.
- organic impressions, Q2 vs Q1 2023
- 27×
- impressions in May 2023
- 281.5K
- impressions per day at the peak
- 9.1K
- impressions in Feb 2023, the starting point
- 408
01 · Client
Fantasy sports app
Consumer fantasy-sports app where cricket fans trade 'stocks' of players, competing for attention around the IPL. Name withheld.
The challenge
Below roughly 10,000 followers, an account's own posts barely travel. The app had a product built for cricket fans but almost no presence where cricket conversation happens in real time: Q1 2023 earned about 16.8K impressions in total.
02 · System
What existed before.
- Brand posts reaching a few hundred people a day
- No relationships with the journalists, teams and creators who shape cricket conversation
- IPL 2023, the year's biggest attention window, about to open
03 · Intervention
What was built and run.
Changed the unit of distribution
Replies under large accounts travel much further than a small account's own posts, so the strategy moved from posting to replying.
Built a target list
Cricket journalists, teams, players and news outlets with large, engaged audiences.
Replied with substance
Extra context, data points and questions that started threads. Never product pitches.
Turned interactions into relationships
When a large account engaged back, a direct message followed to build the relationship beyond the thread.
04 · Outcome
What changed.
Organic impressions by month, from X analytics: Jan 7.8K · Feb 408 · Mar 8.6K · Apr 114.9K · May 281.5K · Jun 63.2K.
Q1 ≈ 16.8K → Q2 ≈ 459.6K, roughly 27×. The May peak coincided with IPL 2023; June fell back to 63.2K as the season ended, which is reported here rather than hidden.
05 · Lessons
What we would tell you.
- Distribution is a design choice. Go where attention already gathers and add something to it. The B2B version is founder-led LinkedIn: see case study 10.
- Timing multiplies a system; it does not replace one. The IPL raised the ceiling. The reply system is what let a small account reach it.
- Report the drop. The June fall-off is part of the story and shows what has to be sustained.
Put It To Work