The Personal Branding Myth CEOs Need to Stop Believing

Most Gen X CEOs and founders today understand the importance of building their visibility (aka their personal brand) in order to best support the marketing function of their organizations. And yet, most are hesitant to actually do it because of one key concern: The time-suck.

Nearly every time I present to a group of CEOs or have a 1:1 conversation on the topic of personal brand building, this concern inevitably comes up, and it’s not surprising. Firstly, Gen X’ers are typically very comfortable not being on social media or self-promoting. At all. In their ideal situation, they would have a public visibility of zero. Secondly, they are bombarded with well-meaning advice that “doing personal branding right” means creating content and posting daily, being on multiple social media platforms and being as overexposed as humanly possible.

Debunking the myth

So, allow me to debunk the myth. I will start with good news so that you feel encouraged to read the rest of this article. As CEO, you do need visibility, but it is substantially less than what you are hearing.

You see, this belief that we need to be social media posting machines comes from social media influencers. And yes, they do need to be constantly posting, multiple times per day, on every single platform that becomes available. Their revenue model is directly dependent on their following and engagement numbers. They don’t typically own a business as you do; they are the business. And so, they are the entire marketing and sales engine of that business.

Our reality is different.

When we run businesses, we never want to be their entire marketing and sales engine. We want — and should — play a part in the overall marketing mix, but only a part. Our visibility as CEOs of our organizations will support our companies’ credibility and trust, but the brand of the business should be the core driver of its sales and marketing results.

We, instead, play an important but still merely a supporting part. And that is what the level of our visibility should reflect. When the distinction between CEO marketing and influencer marketing is blurred, we miscalculate the level of activity our visibility requires and disengage from it altogether because it costs far too much of our time and energy.

Visibility has indeed become a required tool in the modern leader’s toolkit because of the impact on trust and credibility, both external and internal. And online presence shapes perception long before any direct interaction.

Let’s be honest here: We all Google each other and look up each other’s profiles on LinkedIn. But the good news is that as CEOs, we can prioritize strategic presence to gain that leverage. Understanding this distinction sets the foundation for choosing both the right platforms and cadence.

Platform focus creates strategic leverage

I have more good news for you here also. The myth that you need to be on as many platforms as you can is just that — a myth. In fact, opposite effects can occur: It can reduce your credibility and lead your stakeholders to wonder whether you are focused on leading your organization or are positioning yourself for a career as an influencer.

Instead, your biggest ROT — return-on-time — will come from committing to at least one and likely not more than three platforms (but really one platform is ideal). Among social media platforms, LinkedIn delivers the highest value in most cases. LinkedIn concentrates professional networks inside one environment and is typically the most relevant platform for CEOs.

So, how often do you need to post on LinkedIn to see value? Is it daily, as you hear from so many influencers or even eager peers? No, it’s not.

Weekly.

A weekly LinkedIn post published consistently on the same day and at a similar time will bring your posts to the top of the feed of your network. You can consider adding a second weekly post to strengthen top-of-mind status while remaining sustainable, but you really don’t need more than that.

Consistency will drive top-of-mind status, which will, in turn, influence trust — and trust will strengthen your authority over time. You will become visible but not overexposed.

Podcast guesting expands authority beyond social media platforms

After establishing a steady LinkedIn presence, many CEOs look for additional reach that preserves depth and credibility. Podcast guesting offers the most effective extension.

Podcast conversations allow you to expand on your perspective and articulate your thoughts in a format that supports nuance. And beyond that, podcast guesting impacts both the SEO and the AEO (sometimes called GEO) of your organization vis-à-vis mentions on multiple platforms per episode. Your team can also repurpose these interviews into blog posts and LinkedIn posts, saving you time.

All you need is to be interviewed once a month. Even here, a higher quantity may be great for someone releasing a book or launching a speaker tour. If that is not your current focus, a monthly interview is all you need to build visibility in a way that will not feel overdone.

Thought leadership articles add depth

And one final platform we recommend to Gen X’ers who create consistency on LinkedIn and podcast guesting: long-form written thought leadership, which often takes the form of articles. Articles allow us to express our ideas in a different format and, depending on where they are published, have a direct contribution to our credibility and, by extension, the credibility of our organization.

A bi-monthly cadence is all you need. If you can bump it up to monthly, this is really the recommended ceiling. Yes, you can build more articles, but you simply don’t need to.

A sustainable visibility cadence for CEOs

And here you have it:

• Good enough: One to two LinkedIn posts per week to maintain your top-of-mind status

• Great: One to two LinkedIn posts as noted above and one to two podcast appearances per month to impact your company’s SEO and AEO

• Phenomenal: LinkedIn and podcasting as above, and one thought leadership article per month, or even bi-monthly, to add depth and credibility.

I know that this is bittersweet news because most Gen X’ers I speak with would rather have no visibility whatsoever. And yes, committing to building this level of visibility will still require discipline, consistency and time. But I hope the “sweet” part of the news came from me reassuring you that the quantity and time investment needed is far more manageable than the influencers out there will want us to believe.

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Most Gen X CEOs and founders today understand the importance of building their visibility (aka their personal brand) in order to best support the marketing function of their organizations. And yet, most are hesitant to actually do it because of one key concern: The time-suck.

Nearly every time I present to a group of CEOs or have a 1:1 conversation on the topic of personal brand building, this concern inevitably comes up, and it’s not surprising. Firstly, Gen X’ers are typically very comfortable not being on social media or self-promoting. At all. In their ideal situation, they would have a public visibility of zero. Secondly, they are bombarded with well-meaning advice that “doing personal branding right” means creating content and posting daily, being on multiple social media platforms and being as overexposed as humanly possible.