C-Suite spotlight: How to build a successful executive comms program
By Senior Account Manager, Olivia Manning
Your CEO mentions they want to be featured on BBC News, talking on ITV or the front page of the FT. Your CEO is fearful about speaking to journalists or lacks the confidence to discuss wider macro-economic issues. Or maybe your CEO doesn’t truly understand the power of PR or why they need to be a voice of the company.
Every PR person has come across one, if not all, of these scenarios. Executive profiling is a tried and tested component of PR – but it’s not always a simple or quick way forward. It takes education, buy-in, trust and time.
However, there are numerous advantages to this approach. Building your C-Suite’s reputation as true thought leaders and experts in the field helps build trust and connect with stakeholders on a more personal level, all while acting as an avenue for amplifying your corporate messaging. If done correctly, it can be a really powerful tool in your PR arsenal.
But the question is: how do you go about it?
1. Building forward-thinking thought leaders
In the B2B tech industry, where innovation and expertise drive decisions, thought leadership is essential. Positioning your C-Suite as knowledgeable thought leaders on key issues and topics through bylines, features and expert commentary, will help raise their expert profile while communicating key messages.
Intake calls and brainstorming sessions are a logical place to start to help understand their views on a range of relevant topics. Too often, the default positioning for experts is to respond to queries or news in an inward-looking way, thinking ‘what is the company’s view on this?’ However, it’s important to push them to be more insightful and forward-thinking – looking at the wider macro-economic landscape. For example, a CEO in the eLearning space should be thinking about topics such as the UK AI skills gap and how this will impact the government’s aims to be a world leader in AI.
A good PR agency also is constantly scouring the news for topical stories that your experts may have a view on, offering suggestions about how they can insert themselves into the conversation. A good mix of reactive – responding to news – and proactive – preparing canned commentary and anticipating the news agenda – approaches will showcase your executives’ expertise while also keeping your company at the forefront of industry discussions.
2. Discovering the ‘human’
Profiling your executives isn’t all about what their views are on industry themes and topics, it’s also about the human behind the company. Showcasing your CEO’s unique personality and leadership style can spark a range of PR opportunities that help both profile and brand building. These human elements are almost essential for landing a successful interview or podcast opportunity as journalists want to know they’ll have an interesting, rounded conversation.
To draw out more personable elements of your executive’s character, a good PR team can help develop a list of probing questions. Things like: ‘what do you struggle with most as a leader?’ or ‘what is your proudest accomplishment to date outside of work, and why?’
PR people understand what is interesting from a media perspective. By investing the time to deepdive with the executive, they can help uncover unique qualities or stories about the individual from which they can carve out an interesting pitch. For example, a hardship in childhood that sparked their entrepreneurial journey, or a learning difficulty that has shaped their leadership style, or even a hobby that has given them new insights into running a business.
These elements, often overlooked by the executives as nothing special, can in fact be the very hook they need to land a top opportunity. Read about how the Touchdown team worked with Nephos to build their CEO’s profile here.
3. Encourage engagement
Conferences, webinars, and panels can be another excellent way to elevate your executive’s profile. These platforms allow your expert to share insights with a wider audience, network with industry leaders, and establish themselves as a voice of authority.
While journalist briefings at events are becoming less and less popular, media do often still attend events to hear talks and explore. And, if an opportunity presents itself, finding time in your expert’s calendars for relationship building opportunities is still very much of value. Even a 20 minute chat at a booth or over a coffee can spark an idea for a story or keep them front of mind if something comes up.
Engaging with journalists and stakeholders via social media is another way to help build your executive’s profile. A consistent and strategic social media presence can amplify their thought leadership content, promote participation in events, and foster connections. It’s essential to maintain authenticity and relevance in these interactions to build a genuine connection with the audience.
How to get results
An executive comms program is a strategic move that can drive business success. By leveraging insightful thought leadership, building the personal, human brand, and helping them to engage with key stakeholders at events and on social media, you can help position them as respected, expert leaders in the field.
Here are 5 quickfire pieces of advice to help ensure success.
- Media train your execs – they need to feel comfortable and properly coached to handle media opportunities, as well as understand how to communicate in an interesting way
- Check availability ahead of time – there’s no point securing great opportunities if the diaries are too full to fulfil it
- Reassure your execs that we’re playing the long game – results won’t be instant but they’ll be worth it, help your executives understand that
- Invest in relationship building opportunities – sometimes a 30 minute opportunity to connect at an event can spark a fantastic media opportunity down the road
- Get high quality headshots and action shots taken – high res photos are essential for any national or profiling ops. You don’t want this to be the thing that lets you down.
A well-crafted executive comms program not only enhances the reputation of the individual but also elevates the entire company, attracting new business opportunities and solidifying industry standing.
Need help with your executive comms but unsure where to start? At Touchdown PR, we have a global PR team that has successfully built the profiles of industry leaders across the B2B tech space – while helping nurturing and educating executive’s to get results that matter.
Want to see what work you can do with Touchdown PR to secure your own top-tier coverage? Get in touch – our executive comms strategy is award winning!
