“My CEO isn’t a great speaker.”

If you’re a marketer and you want to separate your company from the competition, personal branding, and thought leadership are crucial.

Author

Tristan Pelligrino
June 13, 2024

“My CEO isn’t a great speaker.”

I hear statements like this all the time.

But even if your company’s leaders aren’t the most charismatic speakers, it doesn't mean their voices can't lead your industry.

Many CEOs or execs aren't great public speakers. And I’d say most CEOs in niche tech industries don’t have over 50k followers on LinkedIn, either (I didn’t pull a report to get this data, but I’d love for you to prove me wrong).

But if you’re a marketer and you want to separate your company from the competition, personal branding, and thought leadership are crucial.

A strong leadership presence builds trust, authority, and influence — essential for any marketing team looking to break through in a specific industry.

“Ok, I agree that my CEO doesn’t have to lead a TEDx presentation to get noticed. But, as a marketer, how do I help our leaders build their personal brand?”

One way is to create a company podcast and feature your company’s leaders as hosts or recurring guests (in fact, we run nearly 50 podcasts across our agencies that do this very thing).

Here are a few other ways you can help get some momentum and establish your company’s leaders as a force in your specific industry:

Podcast Tour: Participating in podcasts (as a guest, not a host) allows CEOs to share their expertise and build a following. Identify relevant podcasts, prepare talking points, and leverage these platforms to showcase thought leadership. Platforms like Podchaser or even podcast booking companies are good resources for finding relevant shows.

Webinars: Hosting webinars engages a larger audience and establishes your CEO as an industry leader. Choose relevant topics, promote the event, and use it to connect with your audience directly. As a marketer, you can collaborate with partners and other industry connections to cast a wider net and create additional opportunities.

Small, Private Events: Intimate events with key customers foster deeper connections and gather valuable insights. These settings allow for more personalized interactions and can significantly enhance the CEO's brand. Smaller events are a great stepping stone to larger, more recognized industry conferences. If your CEO is just getting started and building presentation skills, it helps to start small and go from there.

Internal Interviews and LinkedIn Posts: Repurpose content from internal interviews for LinkedIn to showcase the CEO’s vision and personality. Regular, authentic posts can maintain a consistent online presence and strengthen their personal brand. If your CEO doesn’t enjoy writing for LinkedIn, use interviews as a foundation for the material — this way, the content is still in their own words.

A CEO or company leader with a personal brand can be a big boost for a small, scrappy marketing team.

But sometimes, the marketing team has to help them get there.

Drop me a line. Have you found something that’s worked well to establish your company’s leaders' thought leadership?

— Tristan Pelligrino

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— Tristan Pelligrino

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