LinkedIn has long grown beyond just a networking tool, expanding into a multi-faceted platform where you, as a CEO, can build your brand and extend your thought leadership. Creating a strong LinkedIn presence lets you showcase your vision, industry expertise, and approach to trends in an authentic and accessible way.
With data showing that nearly half of a company’s market value can be attributed to the reputation of its CEO, your visibility is more important than ever – especially your digital presence. In the B2B space, LinkedIn is prime real estate for CEOs.
From the front lines of communications and integrated marketing, here are three reasons why you need to uplevel your LinkedIn presence now.
Related Read: How Social Media Can Help Executives Hit a Brand Storytelling Home Run
1. Boost Your Reach and CEO Thought Leadership Awareness
When was the last time you remember seeing a brand in your LinkedIn feed that wasn’t your own company, or something that was paid to place? Chances are you haven’t in some time. This is because LinkedIn prioritizes organic content from individuals, making it more likely for their posts to show up in the newsfeed over content from a company page.
As CEO, you are (often) the face of your company. Your LinkedIn, and CEO thought leadership, is key to getting those brand messages in front of the people you’re trying to reach. It’s also a place where they can look for your added insights and perspectives on these messages, generating even more buzz and conversation about you and your company.
Nearly half of a company’s market value can be attributed to the reputation of its CEO.
At PAN, we often see executive social become one of the most impactful unpaid channels, as there aren’t as many hurdles to overcome from a platform algorithm perspective. Data from Refine Labs uncovered that sharing content from a personal LinkedIn profile led to 2.75x more impressions and 5x more engagement when compared to content from a brand page.
To drive higher reach and increase awareness for yourself, your brand, or both, a steady cadence of content and interaction via your own LinkedIn profile is the way to go. For example, reworking blog articles from your company website into new LinkedIn Articles for your page can help extend the reach of owned content, exposing it to a wider audience that may not be familiar with your brand.
2. Have a Consistent Platform for Your CEO Thought Leadership
You’re a CEO, which means you have a story to tell and valuable knowledge to share, whether it’s with stakeholders, colleagues, prospects, or industry peers. So, why wouldn’t you leverage the free tools that can host those thoughts and perspectives?
In addition to extending your reach, LinkedIn can serve as a controlled environment where you can consistently host your insights and CEO thought leadership. Whether it’s a quote from a recent media interview or a recap of takeaways from an industry event you recently attended, this is a place where you can share those thoughts, knowing the narrative and positioning will be reflected just the way you want them.
Does this really make an impact? Yes. Strong CEO thought leadership has been proven to help influence buying decisions. Research shows that more than half (52 percent) of company decision-makers spend an hour or more each week reading thought leadership content. Further, 75% of decision-makers and c-suite executives said a particular piece of thought leadership led them to research a product or service they weren’t considering before.
Executives who consistently post on social media attract more talent and investors, plus navigate crises better, than their off-the-grid peers. Additionally, LinkedIn is the social platform that most people use to learn about a CEO. Not actively engaging in this space means missing out on opportunities to reach new or target audiences.
Related Read: Make Social Media Work for Your Buyer Journey
3. Stay Connected with Industry Influencers and Reporters
If your brand is looking to engage industry influencers, you’ll be far more successful when leveraging your own LinkedIn profile versus the brand’s. Whether commenting on a reporter’s post, or engaging an industry influencer in conversation, it’s always better when we can put a human face, your face, to the interaction as opposed to a faceless brand.
This is also a great way to extend an earned media program. When your communications team pitches you to reporters, one of the first things the media usually does is check your online presence. They’ll look to see if you’ve been quoted in articles before, but also, they’re keen to understand if you’re active on social media. For B2B CEOs, LinkedIn is often one of the first places a reporter will check.
Oftentimes, when we pitch you to the media, we will even proactively share your LinkedIn profile so reporters can easily gut-check that you are a credible resource for their stories. Increased activity on LinkedIn builds the credibility that you are in fact an expert and what you have to share is worth listening to.
You should also be using LinkedIn as a way to engage influencers and reporters in a more non-traditional media setting. For instance, LinkedIn Lives are a great way to conduct trend discussions, opening the door for you to lead a hot topic narrative while also building a stronger relationship with influencers and media who matter for your brand.
What’s Next: Establish a Consistent LinkedIn Presence
Getting social media right is all about consistency. You’re not doing yourself any favors with the algorithm by posting multiple times one week, then going ghost for the following month or more. You need to be an active participant, and this may mean rallying a team to help with content creation, posting schedules, and live community management.
Before you panic and/or write this recommendation off, telling yourself, “I don’t have time,” start by finding a cadence that works for you. Maybe you only post once or twice a week in the beginning. Depending on how you feel after a couple of months, you can increase the rate from there. Consistency is what builds followers and keeps you visible in front of your target audiences, so whatever the cadence, be sure to stay with it.
This is to say: CEO thought leadership doesn’t need to happen five times a week at the start. What’s important is that you find your pace.
Want to know more? Stay tuned in the coming months as we continue to share our expertise on building a LinkedIn presence and what to do to get the most out of it.
