The importance of executive thought leadership on LinkedIn
Facts & figures on the benefits of executive thought leadership
Executive thought leadershiphas become an important and effective part of content marketing. This means that key-employees of a company use their personal LinkedIn profile to position themselves as experts within their field. Through valuable and unique content, such as sharing knowledge, providing innovative insights and giving their opinion on profession-specific topics, they create their own personal brand that acts as an ambassador for their company. Today, executive thought leadership is a high priority for no less than 66% of marketers. Are you curious to find out why? In this blog, we’ll tell you everything about the benefits!
1. Increasing the confidence in companies
“People buy from people”: it may be a cliché, but executive thought leadership is yet another example that this statement shows to be true. Research conducted by LinkedIn shows that:
- 88% of decision makers have more respect for a company after they consumed content from thought leaders within this company
- 66% of the professionals would be more likely to recommend a company to others if they were connected with one of the executives of the company on social media
- 83% ofdecision makers are more inclined to request an offer after reading thought leadership content
These figures can be explained by the fact that people are simply more drawn to other people than they are to companies. In this respect, key figures within companies can convey the values, personality and culture of a company through their personal content and brand in a way that feels very authentic and personal for the receiver.
If increasing trust in your company is one of your thought leadership goals, it’s important to always keep the following things in mind:
- Don’t overshare commercial messages such as sales pitches, since a commercial approach can ruin your authentic image. By consistently sharing valuable content, sales will follow by itself.
- Try to find your own personal voice. Make sure that, besides conveying the company culture and values, you also show your own personality and character through your content.
Always opt for unique and exclusive content with a personal twist to stand out from other executive thought leaders within your industry.
2. Rising leads and conversions
The increased trust and the expert image that are created through executive thought leadership content will result in more leads and conversions. On average, 48% of B2B decision-makers spend at least one hour per week consuming content of thought leaders. content. This content ensures that the expert, as well as the company behind the expert, will be top-of-mind when purchase decisions have to be made. According to a research by LinkedIn, the purchase decision of 56% of professionals is influenced by whether or not they follow a company leader on social media.
An important side note to this benefit, is that executive thought leadership won’t provide you with instant results. Creating an expert image that builds consumer confidence takes time, but is certainly worth it in the long run.
3. Attracting new employees and increasing the engagement of current employees
Filling in vacancies with the right talent is more challenging than ever. In this respect executive thought leadership can also play an important role. Business leaders or recruiters can introduce potential candidates to the faces behind the company and the corporate culture in an accessible and personal way.
The engagement of current employees can also be stimulated through executive thought leadership.. To make everyone feel involved, it’s important to not limit your executive thought leadership strategy to the CEO of the company. Other managers and employees from different departments can also create their own personal brand.. Everyone within the company has a unique expertise that can generate a lot of value. And if the CEO ever decides to leave the company, you won’t have to start your thought leadership strategy all over again.
