Are you a founder sitting behind a mahogany table, the old CEO way, and with zero online presence? Then you have to consider what that does to you and your company.

Social media is where successful brands are built. Brands that gain, not just followers, but interests and revenue. To achieve this kind of success, a brand needs a human element. Who best to do it if not the founder?

If you are not making your online presence felt to the world, you are sending your brand to the realms of the unknown. 

Now is not the time to play low-key and leave it all to the marketing department. It is time to become a Chief Storyteller. If you don’t know how to do it, ask your marketing team for assistance.

CEOs can use social media to position themselves as industry leaders and brand storytellers. And by doing so, the interaction they generate will bring traffic to their business. This is by far the best digital strategy; founder + company marketing.

Brand/Company Marketing is Good, BUT.. 

Companies realized a while ago that going digital is important. So they flocked there. Most companies are spending a lot of money on promotions. From influencers to ads –you name it. But for some reason, they struggle to establish a genuine connection with the target audience. Why? Well, that’s because there is a missing part to their online marketing efforts. 

Why a Founder/CEO Marketing is Important?

CEOs who have abandoned social media may be ‘quiet quitting’ on their own business.  You will lose a big chunk of people to your competitors who, in addition to company posts, have a digitally outspoken personality that gets eyes to their brand. 

Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, faculty lead at the Tekedia Mini MBA program, is an excellent example of founder marketing. He is one of LinkedIn’s top voices from Africa, engaging an audience of over 165,000 people. He is aware that a company alone (Tekedia Institute) alone will not suffice. So being active, and writing extensively on his personal profile draws students to the Tekedia Mini MBA program. 

Ndubuisi’s posts are more than simply his company updates. He contributes value and knowledge in his posts. This strategy fosters his image of a thought leader and a person that has wisdom.

Undoubtedly, a post on the CEO’s profile will gain more attention than one on the business page. Speaking from a human perspective is more impactful.

Founder’s Personal Brand: A Brand’s Best Ally

Founder’s (or CEO) marketing will complement your company’s brand marketing in a way outsider influencers can’t.  It can help earn genuine engagement of the Brand and the audience. 

Businesses cannot succeed without trust. The online visibility of the founder opens the way for credibility and trust in the Brand. See the image below:

If Microsoft promoted this from their company page, they wouldn’t get this much engagement. Why? People don’t often interact with a company page. Microsoft has over 10 million followers but likes on its posts rarely pass 200.

People need a face, not a logo. A logo cannot achieve the level of trust that a CEO of that Brand can establish. Founder Marketing contributes to the Brand’s increased visibility.

As a social CEO, you must engage with your audience meaningfully. That can take the shape of Tweets, Linkedin Posts, TikTok videos, or whatever platform you like. Just be careful not to post all about your business. Share your opinions on pressing matters such as geopolitics and how they affect business. Sometimes remember the youth and share experience-based career tips. You will be likable.

Real personalities breathe life into brands. Especially now that demand for business transparency is greater than ever. A CEO can win over consumer trust and create emotional bonding with other people. 

A social CEO consequently becomes the public face of the Brand or business. Furthermore, it is comforting to learn from their engagements that CEOs are not distant figures who only attend meetings.

A Tweet or a Post by a Social CEO is not just another noise in the realm of Social Media. It is an echo of their remarkable Leadership.

P.S.: If you are looking to see how a mix of founder and company marketing will help grow your business, click HERE to contact us.