Can a CEO become an Influencer?

Imagine walking into a room full of people and everyone gasping with surprise when they see you. They drop everything and rush to get a selfie with you.

You feel like a true celebrity and you revel in all this attention. You have become the Gary Varynerchuk of your industry.

People mob you wherever you go and clients line up to work with you. You get calls for interviews and photo shoots.

All of this is not a dream that happened overnight for Gary Varynerchuk but the result of a systematic approach that he used.

Gary realised from an early stage that if you want to grow your business, you need to build an audience, grab attention, and win sales.

Vaynerchuk was in his 20s when he realized his potential to leverage the internet to make money, as he helped catapult his family’s beverage shop into a $60 million per year business mainly through online marketing.

Once that business was established, Gary started Vayner Media, a full-service advertising agency servicing Fortune 100 clients and he was also an early investor in Twitter and Facebook.

How Did He Do this?

Gary used a variety of social media platforms (Linkedin, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook) to build his personal brand, before he built his company.

A lot of salespeople don’t think about brand building. They think a lot about how to convert people on a phone call or in an in-person meeting. But they don’t think about the long term relationship that can be formed via brand.

The biggest companies in the world don’t actually sell. They brand. Think about Apple, Tommy Hilfiger, or Mercedes Benz.

There’s a certain image that comes to mind when you think of their products, and that’s what ultimately drives you to purchase. Not a sales funnel.

What smart people like Gary and Sir Richard Branson are doing is creating a personal brand that is warm, friendly and intelligent.

They are the face of their business brands and people tend to trust and love brands that have a personal touch.

Find a Hungry Crowd for Your Business

If you want to win, you have to be practical with your understanding and execution. You have to go where the consumer actually is, and use the right tools to reach them.

If you know that 2.32 Billion people spend their time on Facebook .. It’s time to consider running a Facebook Ad.

If you’re a fashion company that plays off of it’s aesthetic, maybe it’s time to make an Instagram account and get serious about it.

If you’re in the B2B segment, LinkedIn is the place to go.

Establish Your Thought Leadership

You have proven your skills as a CEO, now prove yourself as a thought leader. Spend time engaging with your audience. Listen to their pain points. Offer free help and advice for as long as you are able.

Once you’ve proven to be someone who cares and listens, you gain the trust and appreciation of the market.

And customers will be more likely to make a purchase from you brand over someone else who’s aggressively all about the sale. And they’re more likely to come back for more.

For example, if you’re the CEO of a large company you can get a Linkedin expert to manage your Linkedin account and gain thousands of followers.

By posting thought provoking content on Linkedin, you would be able to convey the message that you are not just another CEO but a thought leader.

The personal brand that you build up for yourself will eventually translate into business for your brand, in a big way.

Bottom line: If you want to go from being an unknown professional to becoming the next Gary Vaynerchuk who is recognized everywhere and has a celebrity status in your industry, get in touch with me and we can work out the possibilities.