You’re a successful business leader at the top of your game. You walk into a room — or enter a Zoom call — and immediately command the space.
So why is your professional brand so…ordinary?
You’re not alone. Plenty of senior executives doesn’t do much to distinguish themselves outside their immediate day-to-day roles. They’re busy enough with those roles, the thinking goes.
That’s understandable but shortsighted. Sharpening your executive brand is a reliable way to stand out from fellow business leaders against whom you might find yourself competing for better roles in the not-too-distant future.
Doing so isn’t rocket science. Nor will it add hours upon hours of effort to your workweek. If you can execute these simple strategies, you’ll find yourself pulling ahead of the pack.
1. Create or Improve Listings on High-Visibility Business Directory Websites
You have access to more free or cheap self-promotional resources than you realize. Dozens of legitimate digital business directories exist to help entrepreneurs and businesses raise their profiles online and share their stories on their own terms.
Choosing and using these properties is straightforward. As you can see from this Crunchbase profile, business directories work best as places to share objective, detailed information about who you are, what you do, and why you offer value. Decide which makes sense for your industry and role, then carve out some time to make them yours.
2. Post at Least One Piece of Original Content to Your LinkedIn Each Week
LinkedIn is the most important social media property for your executive brand. Use its publishing tools to create at least one robust piece of original content each week.
Focus this content on topics you know very well, carving out a niche that you can return to again and again. Over time, you’ll earn a reputation as a thought leader in this field and become someone looked to by your peers.
3. Use Twitter Lists to Curate Contacts and Spark Conversation
Twitter is a close second to LinkedIn, at least as a branding platform. Use the Lists feature to curate lists of contacts in your field, then work to spark conversations with them. Twitter works best when its users talk to one another, not at one another, and you’ll have more success there if you can follow that rule.
4. Publish at Least One Piece of “Tentpole” Content
This won’t happen overnight, but make it a short-term goal to publish a piece of long-form “tentpole” content like an ebook or guide.
Like your LinkedIn content, this longer piece should cover a topic that you know extremely well and can credibly position yourself as an authority on. It’s more effective when it’s directly actionable to its intended audience, like a guide to navigating the hiring process from the candidate’s perspective or an ebook on the top mistakes to avoid after receiving a promotion.
5. Start an Email Newsletter
Using your tentpole content as a “gate” or funnel to your email list, launch an email newsletter that keeps your followers updated on your activities and ensures they never miss new content when you drop it. Make sure this newsletter links to pages and posts on your personal website, LinkedIn, and blog if you have one — the idea is to get your audience more deeply immersed in your world.
6. Launch a Podcast — Or Make the Rounds as a Guest
It’s important to get your voice out there too. Many executives seeking an edge for their brand launch podcasts where they interview other experts in their field (or related fields) and discuss topics of interest with their followers. If you don’t have the time or technical acumen to manage a podcast, reach out to fellow business podcasters to inquire about guest appearances.
7. Cultivate Your Reputation as a Mentor
Finally, in the (mostly) real world, work to build your reputation as a mentor for younger, high-potential employees in your field. You don’t have to limit this work to your organization, though that’s where you’ll have the most opportunities to mentor juniors. “Coach” is a powerful signifier on LinkedIn and in real life too.
Your Brand Can Do Better
There’s always work to be done to burnish your professional brand. That work can take many forms:
- Fleshing out your presence on high-visibility business directories
- Using social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to develop your reputation as a thought leader
- Publish long-form content that acts as a funnel for people new to your personal brand
- Mentor junior employees and cultivate a reputation as a champion of the next generation
These strategies take time and effort, to be sure. But they’re well worth the work you put in. In due time, they’ll pay off.
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