How the CEO holds the key to brand trust

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer[1], a global study on population beliefs around trust, the CEO holds the key to not only building trust with employees, but the customer and the wider world. The global population is relying on CEOs in fact, to make positive change when the Government and public system is failing them. Now is the time for CEO’s to take on a Reputation Marketing strategy for brand trust.

Now, more than ever, the world needs the CEO to step up. A new genre of marketing has been created, called Reputation Marketing[2]which is a combination of PR, media liaison, social media activity, LinkedIn sales activity, content marketing and LinkedIn as a marketing machine that ties in with the business relationship marketing tools such as email marketing too. This new ecosystem centres around the CEO profile on LinkedIn.

Here are the key steps in building a Reputation Marketing Strategy:

1. Profile best practice– including use of the right keywords for your core customer as LinkedIn is starting to be used like a search engine now. Communicate your key value proposition and make sure it is written in terms of what the customer GETS from working with you, rather than be all about what your company does.
2. Stand for something– write regularly on LinkedIn and not your business blog and be clear what you stand for.
3. Connect with key influencers– such as press, editors, trade publications so they know what you’re writing about. Be cutting edge and they may publish it on their channels.
4. Connect to a wider audience– target the key customer decision makers and make a personal connection. Offer something of value and make sure you have good content on your profile to improve your results.
5. Share your point of view anywhere you can– begin to be known for your topic and offer to write, speak and sit on panels about this topic. As the CEO if you are seen and heard, so is your business.
6. Automate– Once you have a proven formula you can ramp up the scale through automation. Results are proving better than PayPerClick marketing for B2B audiences at least. Link your LinkedIn audience into your business CRM by offering valuable content through a sign up process (note that you must not take their details into your CRM without consent).
7. Let your audience sell for you – It may not be your first connections that end up buying from you but with a reputation in the market place your first connections are more likely to refer. Nothing better than a referral than a hard sell to get your foot in the door.

Here’s the challenge for our CEO’s – check their LinkedIn Social Selling Index (SSI)  at this link here: https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling/the-social-selling-index-ssi

The SSI score helps you see what the average score within your industry category is and gives you a clear path on what you need to do to improve. This is a helpful way to focus on what needs to be done within your Reputation Marketing strategy and to keep your CEO accountable.

There are many marketers out there spouting their lead generation tactics and spamming your inbox daily no doubt, but the key to the success of these campaigns is to look and feel genuine and authentic at every turn. The world needs to feel like they are connecting personally with the CEO, even if they are not.

[1]Source: https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2019-02/2019_Edelman_Trust_Barometer_Global_Report.pdf

[2]Reputation Marketing: Coined by entrepreneurial marketer Anne Miles, founder of Suits&Sneakers, a global marketing and advertising talent agent. First discussed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-sell-product-why-excluding-linkedin-reputation-anne-miles-cpm-/