[WEBINAR] Building your executive profile for B2B
CEO branding is an imperative, not a choice, in the modern business landscape. As soon as you opt against visibility, stakeholders instantly lose confidence, trust, and support.
In fact, our research shows that when CEOs do improve their visibility through thought leadership, they significantly boost their company's bottom line.
That said, CEO branding campaigns aren't easy to pull off. They take time to execute, the media can be difficult to reach, and competition for the spotlight is always fierce.
So, what does it take to stand out?
Many professionals will have their tips and tricks of the trade, the dos and don'ts of CEO branding, if you like. But with decades of experience building powerful profiles, we believe our insights will serve you best.
These 7 CEO branding rules will help you shape a bold, credible presence that creates lasting influence.
There’s a common misconception among CEOs that you need the perfect media story, investor milestone, or internal initiative before launching a branding campaign.
The result? Months, or even years, of missed opportunities.
But in reality, some of the most compelling CEO campaigns are built from consistent, small actions.
A thoughtful post on LinkedIn.
A podcast guest spot.
A comment in a trade piece.
An internal message that gets re-shared externally.
We understand that board rooms can be highly bureaucratic. We work with them everyday. But waiting for the “right time” often means doing nothing at all.
So, while your messaging should be thoughtful and your actions strategic, remember that visibility is a muscle. The only way to strengthen it is to use it.
Because, while you might think CEO branding can take place at your leisure, the world and media around you are constantly moving. If you don't act quick, it's very easy to be left behind.
So, don’t wait any longer. Just start.
The most memorable CEO branding campaigns always strike a balance between professionalism and personal connection. People don’t want to hear from a corporate mouthpiece. They want to hear from you, the person behind the job title.
Of course, that doesn’t mean sharing every detail of your life. But you need to give some insight into what motivates you, what you’ve learned, and what you believe in.
Done well, these moments can become some of your most impactful content.
A LinkedIn post about a leadership failure early in your career, and how it taught you the importance of listening to others, can reinforce your values and show self-awareness.
A short video from your company’s anniversary, where you speak about how starting the business changed your view on work-life balance, tells talent what matters to you as a leader.
An opinion piece reflecting on your upbringing, perhaps your experience building your business as an immigrant and the resilience it required, can help stakeholders connect with your founding story.
Each of these examples gives your business and its objectives much-needed weight.
So, before hitting publish, ask yourself:
Does this reinforce the values I want to be known for?
Does it help others see the kind of leader I aspire to be?
Does it build clarity around my mission?
You want to be relatable, grounded, reflective, and thoughtful about the role you play, both inside your business and in the wider world.
Because ultimately, people don’t want a figurehead. They want a human with a distinct point of view.
Ask most CEOs who their most important stakeholder is, and they’ll often say their employees.
After all, a happy, confident team is essential to high engagement, thriving productivity, and innovative ideas that unlock long-term growth.
However, a healthy team doesn’t just come from good salaries, progression opportunities, and big ambitions. It also depends on how business leaders present themselves publicly.
If a CEO does the right things, they’ll undoubtedly create lasting ambassadors for their company.
But act unethically, make poorly timed statements, or overstep, and you’ll quickly lose trust, damage morale, and create quiet critics from within.
The result? Retention plummets, customers flee, investment dries up, and your reputation takes a hit that can last for years.
So, how do you avoid this?
As soon as you launch your CEO branding campaign, look to incorporate your team into as many communications as possible.
Celebrate team achievements. It shows employees that you value their work and tells outsiders you're a leader who uplifts others.
Share behind-the-scenes moments, from team-building days to company milestones. It highlights that a positive, thriving culture is important to you.
Engage with topics employees care about. Speak positively about your company’s DEI values, sustainability efforts, and career growth opportunities.
Invite your team to become thought leaders with you. It signals trust and shows that your CEO branding campaign is about elevating your company as a whole, not just yourself.
With our research showing that today’s best talent wants to work for visible leaders, the sooner you align your priorities, the better you’ll protect your team and continue to grow it.
Too many CEO branding campaigns fall into the trap of saying what sounds good rather than what actually matters.
It’s tempting to rely on catchphrases like “we're building for the future” or “we're doubling down on what works”, but these empty cliché's won’t earn trust from employees, customers, investors, or journalists.
What audiences are really looking for today is proof.
Proof that you understand industry challenges.
Proof that you’re investing in long-term solutions.
Proof that you’re willing to take a stand, even if it’s not universally popular.
You don't have to shout every opinion from the rooftops. But you do need to ground your visibility in something real.
Today, there are so many tools available to support your claims that there really is no excuse.
You can regularly share behind-the-scenes content of your lab, factory, or office to showcase innovation, a hard-working team, or a thriving culture.
You can conduct case studies that present your company's measurable value and point of difference.
You can commission research to accelerate industry discussions and substantiate or make new claims.
You can share mentions from awards and initiatives you have supported.
You can promote any earned media coverage that you're proud of.
These are the kinds of messages that build trust and credibility. Don't go without them.
While LinkedIn has become an essential platform for executive visibility, particularly for attracting talent and reinforcing company culture, it’s not always the most effective channel for reaching other critical audiences like investors or policymakers.
When all is said and done, a well-executed CEO branding campaign doesn’t just rely on what you say, but where you say it.
Even the choice between writing for a trade publication versus a national outlet can carry weight.
For instance, a well-placed article in an industry trade signals to investors that you're a specialist who fully understands your sector.
In contrast, a feature in a national is better suited to influencing policymakers, shaping public perception, or demonstrating your company’s societal value.
Case in point, always map your messaging goals to the channels your audience trusts and where they're most active.
Ask yourself:
Who am I trying to reach?
Where do they get their information?
What format will resonate most with them?
Why do they trust this channel?
How should I address them?
Too many CEOs miss this trick, and in doing so, they saturate their voice across the wrong channels, limiting their impact no matter how much effort they put in.
So, while we’ll always advocate for action over perfect planning, a little upfront strategy is still essential.
This is what ensures your message reaches the right people, in the right places, at the right time.
When undertaking a CEO branding campaign for the first time, it’s easy to get overly excited.
You might jump on the back of LinkedIn trends, hoping for instant virality, network at events in the view of securing a panel slot, and pitch endlessly to journalists to no avail.
While the first two examples are relatively harmless, depending on what you do and say, overpitching can destabilise future campaigns if you’re not careful.
You might not realise this, but journalists are regularly inundated with emails from leaders looking to build their profiles, just like you are.
Even with a killer story and strong visual materials to elevate it, there's a chance that you still won't receive a response if the journalist has an approaching deadline.
After all, they have lives outside of work.
So, even while they might take days to respond, don’t scattergun pitch to others or follow up four or five times.
Instead, target a small number of journalists to ensure your pitches are hyper relevant and only follow up your emails twice, allowing at least three days for an initial reply.
And above all, don’t call journalists unless the story is one, big, and two, significantly time-bound, such as the sale of a business or a comment for a high-interest story.
Many journalists know each other very well, and you’d be surprised how quickly word gets around.
This is just as much about reputation management as your entire CEO branding campaign might be.
Our last rule you should abide by? Play the long game.
CEO branding isn’t a quarterly activity. It’s a long-term investment in trust, visibility, and influence.
You won't always see instant results.
You might publish a LinkedIn post that gets ten likes.
You might do an interview that feels like it disappeared into the ether.
You might speak at an event and wonder if anyone noticed.
But over time, these small moments compound.
People remember the CEOs who show up consistently. Not just when they’re trying to raise funding, win awards, or navigate a crisis.
A long-term approach also enables you to evolve your message as your business grows, helping you build a stronger leadership narrative, adapt to market shifts, and deepen your influence.
This is exactly why the majority of our clients work with us over many years. So, perfect your messaging, stay consistent, and never look back.