Said no CEO ever, right?
And yet, I am regularly surprised by the number of CEOs who aren’t taking advantage of the potential power of a strong presence on LinkedIn. Most of these CEOs have a profile, but it doesn’t tell a compelling story, and their activity is inconsistent or even nonexistent.
If you’ve been thinking of LinkedIn as just another social media platform (which may be code for “time waster”), now is the time to re-evaluate. With 900+ million members, 58 million companies, and continually expanding functions, LinkedIn is a powerful communications tool that, when deployed well, can help you reach your goals — raising funds, recruiting top talent, rallying your employees, impressing shareholders, or just about anything — faster.
And, when you know where and how to spend your time and energy on the platform, you don’t need to devote a ton of effort to it. In fact, a well-developed LinkedIn strategy can be executed in fewer than 15 minutes a day. And that can be 15 minutes of a trusted staff member’s time — not yours.
How Is LinkedIn Working for You? How Do You Measure Success?
Our team has worked with thousands of CEOs and senior execs, and we’ve come to understand not only what makes a profile effective, but how each executive can optimize LinkedIn to help them reach their business and professional goals. When LinkedIn is working for you, you’ll see:
Increased Visibility: With 2+ million CEOs on LinkedIn (and that’s just in the US) and 140,000+ of them leading tech companies, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. But, when your profile speaks directly to your stakeholders, you are more findable and more visible — you can be heard above the noise. And, your first impression will be positive and lasting.
Greater Efficiency: A comprehensive LinkedIn profile tells your story exactly as you want your audience to know it. Prospects who visit your profile will know who you are, what’s important to you, and why they should do business with you — before they ever meet you. Meetings are more productive, and you eliminate time wasted with people who are not a good fit.
Enhanced Credibility: An optimized LinkedIn profile tells the story of your traction — your progress and accomplishments — and it extends built-in credibility through your experience and the people you are connected with. Prospects get to know you and start to trust you more quickly. Investors can see your progress, and employees see where you’re leading them.
Greater Networking Opportunities & Engagement: A well-crafted profile attracts connections, and connections lead to engagement, which leads to conversations and relationships, and then to new business or career opportunities.
Superior Recruitment: People want to know — and respect — the person they work for. Use your profile and LinkedIn activity to attract top talent. This is especially important in the tech industry, where competition for talent is fierce.
How Do You Look on LinkedIn? Get a Free Audit!
Maximizing LinkedIn’s potential isn’t hard but navigating the multiple options isn’t necessarily intuitive either. That’s why we’re offering a free LinkedIn profile evaluation service exclusively for CEOs.
With our evaluation, you’ll get valuable insights into how your profile appears to others. We look at your profile and provide feedback on 10 different elements, highlighting areas where you’re doing well and identifying opportunities for improvement. The comprehensive review starts with these five elements:
First Impressions — When someone visits your profile for the first time, are they impressed? Do they get a good sense of who you are and why they should want to talk with you? Is your profile rich with detail, professional, sharp, and complete?
Relevance — Does your presence speak directly to the visitors who matter most? Are you clearly delivering information that is important to your stakeholders?
Storytelling — Are you telling the story of the company’s trajectory and growth, your vision, and your culture? Is it easy to understand what’s happening now and get excited about the future?
Thought Leadership — Is your contribution to the industry visible on LinkedIn?
Culture — Are you sharing insight into the company culture, your leadership style, and what it is like to work for you?
Engagement — Who are you engaging with, and who engages with you? What kind of conversations are you having?
We’ll cover five additional areas, and if you’re interested, we will also compare your profile with that of a peer, competitor, or someone you aspire to emulate. It’s a good way to clearly visualize where you stand now and where your opportunities lie.
In today’s digital age, a CEO’s online presence is more important than ever. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to leverage the power of LinkedIn to increase your visibility, enhance your credibility, and reach your goals faster.
If you’re curious about how your profile stacks up, have us do a free LinkedIn audit for you. Request your CEO LinkedIn Audit here.