The Age of the Digital CEO

“How can we stand out from competitor X or Y?” – it’s a question we hear often from our #PowerClients, and yet the answer can take many different forms. One of the many services we provide at The Power Group is securing thought leadership opportunities, including speaking engagements (wishing for the days of conferences and tradeshows again!) and bylined or op-ed articles in key publications.

Another strategy is executive visibility, particularly creating a presence and a voice online. CEOs and key executives who are digitally present help build credibility for the company as a whole. This includes building trust, establishing loyalty and awareness, humanizing the brand, elevating its authority and increasing its share of voice in the industry.

While sharing the CEO’s perspective on a company blog is a good starting point, LinkedIn has become a self-publishing tool for executives that gives them a platform to own and create their personal brand. Imagine having a reporter comment or privately message your CEO asking to use some of the content from his or her LinkedIn article verbatim with a link back to the original post! While reporters have turned to other social media platforms to research story ideas, we are beginning to see journalists utilize LinkedIn specifically to source thought leaders and unique POVs for their articles.

So how do you create a strong LinkedIn presence and digital CEO?

It begins with defining their personal brand and determining what makes them unique amongst other CEOs. What are they passionate about? For example, do they have an enthusiasm for mentorship and building the servant leaders of tomorrow? Are they zealous about analyzing technology’s impact on society, or how faith and medicine really do overlap? Identify a handful of topics that the CEO wants to be known for, as these will become the cornerstones of their personal brand.

Then it’s time to tell the world! A well-rounded digital CEO is one who can promote the company, provide thoughtful insights on industry trends and topics, as well as share their POV on their areas of passion. Consider the following tactics:

  • Sharing company updates, including events, new services or product releases, and new hire announcements
  • Commenting on industry peers’ posts to engage with them as opposed to simply liking the post
  • Short-form commentary – sharing an industry article and adding a few sentences or one paragraph on his or her opinion on the topic
  • Long-form commentary – developing 300-400 word articles on a particular passion, topic or industry trend (remember: the most successful articles are those that provide a unique POV or line of thinking on a topic or trend that might challenge the status quo opinion)

The key with executive visibility is to determine the white space amongst your competitors so you can be the leading voice in the industry. Additionally, remember quality content is king when it comes to SEO, and LinkedIn articles help add to the searchability of the brand and executive. Therefore, try to have a regular cadence of publishing and interacting on the platform Also, don’t forget to engage with commenters – you never know when one of them might be that reporter asking to use the content!

Need help creating a unique personal brand or developing the strategy and content for your CEO? We’re only a phone call or email away!