Eminence

Effective Positioning of C-Suite
Professionals to Enhance Thought Leadership

Nowadays the online and offline presence of most C-suite professionals are an extension of organisations’ reputation. While leaders must be cognisant of the risks that their conduct can pose to a firm, their personal brand can also be leveraged to enhance a company engagement. Moreover, several senior leaders are not just representatives of the brand, but also of the industry concerned.

One such senior leader had a unique requirement. As an industrialist and serial entrepreneur, the client had substantial experience in starting and growing businesses effectively. He had ventured into the relatively less-known nutraceuticals industry. A prominent voice in the corporate world, the client now wanted to create an influential presence in this industry. Understanding his profile positioning, Eminence created a strategic plan with a multi-pronged approach to stakeholder engagement. The objective was to focus on conversations around the nutraceutical industry, while positioning the client as one of the strongest voices in the space.

≫ Creating a Strong Content Strategy

With content at the heart of our recommended approach, one of the crucial objectives was creating awareness about the nutraceuticals industry as it was still in the nascent stage in India. We highlighted key messages that should be considered through every communication piece. These involved establishing nutraceuticals as mainstream for health and wellness. Additionally, separate messaging was created for different stakeholders like doctors, pharma professionals, educators, agriculturalists, media, industry body leaders and so on.

Soft profiling is another aspect of good content strategy. As a C-suite professional, it is important to position a holistic persona that gives a balance between work and other interests. We highlighted softer aspects of the client’s personality and recreational activities, which increased engagement on various platforms.

≫ Enhancing Media Visibility as a Key Influencer

While a strong social media presence is important, we recommended prioritising relevance over mass and quality over quantity. As a first step, we analysed the leader’s base in the social media and studied the relevant platforms for the industry. Highlighting LinkedIn as the main platform, we suggested a strategic approach to establishing the leader’s social media presence. To establish the client as a leader in the nutraceuticals space, we redefined his profile, and key achievements.

Next, we researched and curated interesting content. To keep the content relevant to the right audiences, we combined content about the industry with topical issues. A calendar was designed to keep track of important events and plan a weekly schedule for different types of posts.

Apart from social media, we also worked on increasing the leader’s visibility in earned media. While focusing the messaging on building awareness about the nutraceuticals industry, we created authored articles, organised interviews, and participated in industry stories through quotes. This helped to build a holistic positioning for the client.

≫ Participation in Events & Webinars

Events are not only crucial for networking they also become an important platform for establishing thought leadership. We thus identified speaking opportunities in various events and online webinars in the health and wellness space. These helped strengthen the leader’s views and insights on the industry.

Our efforts in content-led thought leadership positioning are now helping the leader increase his visibility amongst important stakeholders and in earned media. Meanwhile, his LinkedIn profile has now garnered a significant follower base with a recurringly higher SSI score month-on-month. The leader is now an influential voice in the nutraceuticals industry.