CEO personal branding is no longer optional for company leaders. On LinkedIn, executives who consistently share insights build visibility, credibility, and trust.
These core connection points are vital for business growth. Your audience is hungry for human-driven content, especially from the top heads of the brands they enjoy.
But that doesn’t mean “just post more.” Don’t run to Claude or ChatGPT just yet; you need an executive content strategy, and this post will help you get started. We will also dive deeper into why CEO personal branding is more important than ever, and how content teams can support this demand.
TL;DR
- CEO personal branding drives more trust and engagement than company pages.
- Consistency, not virality, builds long-term visibility on LinkedIn.
- A structured executive content strategy helps leaders stay authentic and sustainable.
- Companies at the enterprise stage often invest in roles like “Head of CEO Content.”
The Rise of the CEO as a Content Role
In summer 2025, PayPal posted an unprecedented job listing for “Head of CEO Content.”
Not Head of Marketing or Head of PR, a dedicated role focused entirely on building the CEO’s personal brand.
It’s a signal to the content marketing world that LinkedIn thought leadership is alive, well, and extremely important. Leaders are no longer a shiny figurehead; they’re content assets.
The numbers show it too. Sprout Social reported that 70% of consumers want to learn more about the people behind their favorite brands.
A strong CEO presence on LinkedIn can influence:
- Investor confidence
- Higher quality recruiting
- Inbound deal flow
- Overall brand reputation
👉🏻 Key takeaway: Personal brand strategy is now a core business function.
Why a CEO’s Personal Brand Outperforms the Company Page
We are wired to connect with other humans. People follow people, not logos. You don’t need to have a viral moment to make an impact on LinkedIn, you just need a consistent and easy-to-execute strategy.
Company pages have a role to play in brand awareness and product or service updates. Yet, that content doesn’t encourage connection and doesn’t drive a person to like, comment, or share.
When done strategically and without overreliance on AI, content originating from a personal profile will outperform content from a company page. A Refine Labs data study confirms that personal content from a LinkedIn profile often sees five times more engagement than a company profile.
Why is this? Because it ….
- sounds like a real person writing about real insights, not just another product update or AI-generated word salad
- brings a behind-the-scenes lens to company wins; “here’s how we designed this product” or “the meaning behind why this service came to be”
- shows thought leadership instead of basic marketing memos
👉🏻 Key takeaway: Company pages are informational, but leaders’ pages are relational.
Consistency Over Virality
A common misconception among founders and executives is that “posting on LinkedIn” has to mean going viral.
Let us assure you that going viral is not something you can learn how to do or replicate in any fashion. Even if you copied the exact copy, media, and posting time of a recent viral post, it wouldn’t work. It’s quite literally luck.
The reality is that consistency in posting and in messaging is what builds lasting visibility. Not chasing trends or waiting for inspiration to hit.
Here’s a simple framework to build that consistency:
- Post two to three times per week with a mix of personal and professional insights
- Rotate between core content pillars:
- Company vision
- Industry insights
- Leadership POV or team culture
- Engage thoughtfully with content to expand reach and foster relationships
👉🏻 Key takeaway: A reliable (and sustainable) content cadence builds trust and familiarity over time.
Building an Executive Content Strategy
Helping your CEO become visible on LinkedIn doesn’t mean rewriting their life story or turning them into a full-time content creator.
With the right structure, content marketing teams can operationalize executive content in a way that feels authentic and sustainable.
Step 1: Audit voice and audience
Start by evaluating how the leader currently shows up. Evaluate their top-performing posts and identify themes. Look through their audience to find commonalities in industries and age groups.
Step 2: Define content pillars
Identify two to three themes to rotate through regularly, like industry trends, company vision, or leadership values. Keep your content very top-and-middle of the funnel; this isn’t about directly selling. Focus on using authenticity and human connection to add a pillar to your brand’s foundation.
Step 3: Build a content calendar
Map out posting cadence and topics. Even one to two posts per week can be enough if they’re high-quality and consistent.
Step 4: Balance AI support and ghostwriting with authentic input
Using generative AI or a ghostwriter is a great time saver, especially for lean content teams with busy CEOs.
Audiences can spot purely AI content very easily now. In fact, LinkedIn posts that flag as written by AI receive 45% fewer engagements than posts written by a human. Our guide to the biggest AI flags in content shows how to spot—and avoid—these pitfalls.
Interview the CEO monthly or pull from Slack threads, meeting notes, or voice memos. Use this material to help your team and your AI tools write in their voice.
Step 5: Repurpose and scale
One strong post can become an internal memo, an article, a podcast, a short video, or part of an investor update.
Pro tip: Freelance writers can be brought in as needed to scale execution without overloading internal teams. Scaling executive content often requires better infrastructure. The 10 must-have features in a modern content creation platform highlight what to look for when your team needs to manage CEO visibility at scale.
👉🏻 Key takeaway: A structured, strategic approach keeps CEOs consistent without eating up all their time.
When to Invest in Dedicated Executive Content Roles
At what point does CEO personal branding deserve its own role?
It depends on the stage of the company:
- Startup stage: Founder-led posting, with support from marketing team members, freelancers, and generative AI support tools like Claude and ChatGPT
- Growth stage: Content or comms teams manage scheduling and strategy
- Enterprise stage: Dedicated roles (like “Head of CEO Content”) own executive content strategy full-time
Before committing budget to new hires or platforms, it’s worth understanding the hidden costs of content platforms so you can allocate resources effectively. The PayPal role came with a $236K+ salary, and the ROI is clear. When leaders show up consistently online, companies benefit through stronger brand awareness, increased sales, and better recruiting opportunities.
👉🏻 Key takeaway: Tailor your approach to the company’s size and needs, but know that executive visibility is always worth investing in.
A Personal Brand for Leaders Is No Longer Optional
CEOs without a personal brand risk becoming invisible.
Whether you manage content internally, work with freelancers, or hire a dedicated strategist, an executive content strategy should be part of your content roadmap.
👉🏻 Remember: “Going viral” is not something you can replicate; there is no hook or format that guarantees views. Strategy, not luck, is what builds a brand that sticks.
FAQs About CEO Personal Branding
What is CEO personal branding?
CEO personal branding is the practice of leaders sharing insights, values, and perspectives to build visibility and trust on platforms like LinkedIn. It positions executives as thought leaders and strengthens the company’s reputation.
Why does CEO content get more engagement than company posts?
CEO content gets more engagement because people connect with authentic voices, not logos. LinkedIn research shows executive posts often receive five to 10 times higher engagement than company pages due to their personal tone and behind-the-scenes insights.
How often should CEOs post on LinkedIn?
A practical cadence is two to three posts per week. This consistency compounds visibility over time and keeps leaders top-of-mind without overwhelming their audience.
When should a company hire a Head of CEO Content?
Companies typically invest in a Head of CEO Content once they reach the enterprise stage, when leadership visibility directly impacts brand reputation, recruiting, and deal flow. PayPal’s $236K role illustrates the clear ROI at that level.
About the Author
Katie Major is a versatile marketing professional with a passion for content creation and strategic storytelling. She’s the Founder at Major Marketing, where her clients range from home services to wedding venues. To learn more about Katie — and to have her write for your brand — be sure to check out her nDash profile page.