In today’s market, buyers research leaders before they buy from companies. Your online presence is now a due diligence artifact: it signals credibility, competence, and culture. Strong executive branding shortens sales cycles, improves recruiting, and increases media opportunities. Here’s what to do and what to avoid.
What Executive Branding Is
Executive branding is the intentional, consistent expression of a leader’s expertise, values, and impact across digital channels. It’s not “personal PR.” It’s reputation design: shaping how customers, investors, partners, and talent perceive you, before they ever meet you.
Why It Matters (5 Business Outcomes)
- Trust acceleration: Prospects feel safer engaging with visible, thoughtful leaders.
- Deal flow: Public thinking (essays, posts, talks) turns into inbound opportunities.
- Talent magnet: High-caliber people follow leaders whose values and vision are clear.
- Pricing power: Credibility supports premium positioning and reduces discount pressure.
- Crisis buffer: A history of transparency and value builds goodwill when things go wrong.
The Pillars of a Strong Online Presence
- Positioning & narrative: One sentence that connects your market, promise, and proof.
- Example: “I help global HR leaders build resilient, culturally fluent teams that scale.”
- Proof library: Case snippets, metrics, media mentions, stage talks, awards, and curated testimonials packaged as short posts and pinned assets.
- Point-of-view content: Weekly, practical insights (not platitudes). Frameworks, checklists, and mini-cases beat hot takes.
- Platform focus: Go deep on LinkedIn as a home base; syndicate to X and YouTube Shorts.
- Digital hygiene: Consistent photo, banner, headline, and handle; updated bio; clean link-in-bio pointing to a single landing page.
- Community engagement: Comment with substance on industry conversations; host quarterly AMAs or 20-minute live Q&As.
- Design system: Reusable templates for carousels, one-pagers, and thumbnails to maintain visual consistency.
A 90-Day Executive Branding Sprint (Kensington Method)
Weeks 1–2: Foundation
- Clarify 3 audience segments and their #1 outcome.
- Draft your “Credibility Triad”: (a) 3 signature topics, (b) 5 proof points each, (c) 10 content angles.
- Refresh headshots, banners, and LinkedIn headlines.
- Build a Notion/Drive library: bio, boilerplates, case snippets, stat bank.
Weeks 3–6: Publish & Engage
- Cadence: 2 LinkedIn posts/week, 1 short video/week (60–90s), 1 comment/day on relevant threads.
- Formats: “Framework in 5 bullets,” “Mistakes & fixes,” “Before/after client arc.”
- Add 1 downloadable asset (e.g., “Global Hiring Readiness Checklist”) behind an email capture.
Weeks 7–10: Authority & Reach
- Host a 30-minute live session with Q&A.
- Pitch 3 podcasts or industry newsletters with a sharp topic line.
- Create a 5-slide “Media One-Pager” with your POV, topics, and booking link.
Weeks 11–13: Systemize
- Repurpose top posts into a LinkedIn carousel and a 2-minute LinkedIn video.
- Document an SOP for content: ideation → draft → design → schedule → engagement.
- Delegate design/formatting; keep your voice on strategy and final edits.
What to Post (Proven Prompts)
- “The 3 most expensive mistakes I see leaders make in ____ and how to avoid them.”
- “Our 5-step decision framework for ____ (with a real example).”
- “A client asked me yesterday: ‘Is now the time to ____?’ Here’s my answer.”
- “Data check: We reviewed 50 ____ projects. Here are the patterns.”
Measurement That Matters
- Leading indicators: LinkedIn profile views, follower quality (job titles), saves, and DMs mentioning your content.
- Mid-funnel: Booked intro calls from content, speaking invites, PR mentions.
- Revenue adjacent: Inbound opportunities, ACV lift, and shorter sales cycles.
- Talent: Applicants referencing your posts; referral volume.
Risk & Ethics (Non-Negotiables)
- Avoid hype; prioritize accuracy and attribution.
- Separate confidential client details from lessons learned; anonymize rigorously.
- Disclose partnerships and sponsored content.
Common Mistakes (and Fixes)
- Generic bio: Replace with outcome-driven positioning.
- Posting only wins: Share the process, trade-offs, and lessons, not just the outcomes.
- Inconsistent visuals: Adopt a simple, repeatable design kit.
- Ghost-posting without oversight: Maintain your voice; review everything.
The Compounding Effect
Executive branding compounds like interest. The first 90 days establish a signal; the next 9 months build durable authority. Leaders who show their thinking consistently become the default choice.
Kensington Worldwide helps executives turn expertise into measurable credibility. Want a 30-minute audit of your executive presence? Let’s talk.
