C level execs — CEOs, CTOs, COOs, CMOs, the list goes on — are busy people. They are often very experienced and seasoned in their area of focus, and they almost always have good stories from their years in business that are filled with insight and inspiration. The problem marketing staffers tend to have is that these key people — who by the way are crucial to building a great brand image — are usually uninterested or unable to blog. They don’t have time. They don’t have the interest. They don’t see the need. They don’t get social media. Whatever the reason, they aren’t on board. 

Let me help you solve this problem once and for all. 

As a content strategist, part of my job is building brand equity through content that emotes trust and authenticity. Well, a big part of that actually IS the CEO or founder. And so in this post — part of the series Content, Yes You Can! — I’m going to tell you how to get those pesky C-levels to contribute to your content creation efforts. Believe me, I get it. And I’ve heard it all before. They don’t understand why you want to blog. They don’t embrace the idea of content marketing. They believe in sales. Good old fashioned pick up the phone and call, call, call. And I respect that. But I also respect you for wanting to use content to help drive brand equity — and ultimately sales. So here goes.

Tap into their personal story.

As I mentioned, C-levels have great stories to tell. But how do you get those stories from their minds onto a google doc and prep it for publication?

First, do a little digging into their past to find the hidden gems. The gems are going to be your home runs. Take a look at their online profile. If they have one. Please, tell me they do. What does it say? What companies have they been at? Where did they go to school? It is within their unique story that you will find your hook. 

One particular CTO I worked with had graduated from MIT. This, I thought, could be my hook. People love to talk about their alma maters, and so, I asked him to talk about it. From that conversation came a wealth of knowledge around his experience and how MIT had groomed him for success. This became a cornerstone of my work with him. We talked. I asked a lot of questions, recorded the conversations and transcribed a Q&A that gave him some online ink. He loved it. The client loved it. Solid win. 

Listen to them speak to groups.

At company meetings, summits, conferences or any event where a C-level speaks in front of an audience, hit the record button. Record what they are saying. I use AudioNote, but there are so many digital resources for recording that I won’t even begin to list them. Anyway, listen to your C-levels speak. What do they care about? What stories do they tell? Here you will find another collection of gems for your content strategy. 

Most C-levels have a motto or a few pillars that drive them as business leaders. Learn what these are, write them down and circle them five times with a red sharpie. These are your themes. They will want to talk about their beliefs and mantras. Ask them to write about them. Maybe a paragraph here and there in the body of an email. Send them questions here and there. Maybe simply ask them to talk a bit more deeply about something they said at the company outing. Get them started this way, and see if things begin to stick. Once they get comfortable, go ahead and cut and paste their words into a blog post. Send it over to them. And if they give you the green light, post some of their stuff to LinkedIn, on their behalf. Once they begin to see attribution and feedback from their peer groups, they might just get hooked. 

Ghostwrite on their behalf, but be authentic. 

Sometimes options A and B don’t work for everyone, and you will still find that your C-level executive can’t make it work for whatever reason. That’s ok. Don’t get mad, move on to the next option. Ghostwrite. This is the process of creating a piece of original content with another person’s byline on it. (A byline is the author’s name and perhaps a sentence or two about their role within an organization.) Essentially, you are creating a piece of content so they don’t have to. I do a lot of this, and in so many cases, it’s the only way to go.

Where to start? Come up with some headlines. Think on some of the leadership mantras that your C-level embodies. Look at the areas of the business that are in growth mode. Find themes and headlines that have some depth, and look to create content where a C-level can either be quoted or '“author” the piece entirely. How to get quotes? That’s easy… create them. Create quotes for them. Insert them in the bigger picture stories you are telling, and go forward from there.

I’ve ghostwritten quite a few pieces in my day that either come from recorded material, phone conversations, invented quotes. This stuff does what it aims to do, and even though it might not feel as authentic as you’d like it to, it’s real and it’s content.

So, time to get started! Go forth and produce content. And bring your C-levels along for the ride.

Need help building out your vision for C-level content? Download my free create your own content series guide to get started.

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