
You probably know all about Thought Leader Ads and how impactful they’ve become, but maybe your boss doesn’t, or they’re just unaware of the benefits of TLA? Whether you just want to be a good employee or you stand to gain something from it, boosting your company’s revenue can never be a bad thing. If you’re wondering how exactly to convince you higher-ups to switch to this ad format, or at least consider it, you clicked on the right article! Let me throw some ideas at you and maybe you get inspired.
THOUGHT LEADER ADS ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE IN 2024
Thought Leader Ads are the way to go until LinkedIn comes up with something even better in the future. I talk in-depth about them in this article. If you don’t want to waste more time reading another article, I’ll explain in short:
- Higher Engagement Rates: People want to see people, not your logos or your soulless corporate-style infographics, thus they engage more with the content they actually find appealing.
- Human Touch: These ads will let your execs tell their story, share some insights or personal takes and connect with their audience in an authentic way.
- Cost-Effective Lead Gen: By using smart and targeted strategies (more on this here), these campaigns will drive your acquisition costs way down and maximize your ROI.
Sound good so far? Thought so.
If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading through my other article that goes in-depth on Thought Leader Ads
SPEAK YOUR EXECUTIVES’ LANGUAGE
Start with the Return on Investment
Execs care about results, pretty simple. Show them the data and evidence: for example, LinkedIn ads have higher close rates than other platforms. Paired with the fact Thought Leader Ads build trust a lot faster, while also costing less. Use projections or results from competitors in your pitch to show them the potential.
Frame it as a low-risk experiment
You’re less likely to get approval for a massive spend on something new, so present it as a pilot project program with a small starting fee ( e.g. $5,000 per month). Even that much is enough to see results in 2-3 months and after they see how good it works, you can scale up from there.
Show them the advantages
Executives love anything that sets them apart from the competition. Thought Leader Ads have the potential to make your leadership team look like visionaries. This is a perfect opportunity to:
- Build personal brands
- Build trust and boost engagement with target audiences
- Stand out in the sea of corporate noise
Want to see some real-world examples? Check out our playbook on LinkedIn Video Ads and see how other leaders are using these to their advantage.
“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO MAKE ADS MYSELF!”
Okay, valid point, I get it. Your executives are busy, and they’re not going to script and shoot a dozen videos on their own, then fiddle with editing, posting them, hiring more employees just for marketing or any other nuances.
Enter the Guided Interview, a simple process that turns your execs into LinkedIn stars without taking more than a couple hours of their time.
What’s a guided interview?
It’s exactly what it sounds like. You get your boss to sit down for a casual, online interview session with a professional who asks them targeted questions about their own expertise, company and industry. Then, the whole interview gets broken up into polished, bite-sized LinkedIn.
No hyper-fixating on scripts, no robotic delivery. Just naturally engaging content.
In under 2 hours, you’ll have enough content for weeks of high-performing short video ads.
WHY THEY SHOULD CARE ABOUT PERSONAL BRANDING
Executives who invest in their personal brand do a lot more than just boost their ego. They create real business value. Becoming a recognizable, respected voice in their industry makes it easier for them to attract top talent – high performing individuals prefer to work at companies with visionary leadership.
A LinkedIn profile that’s filled with relevant content and followers who engage with almost every post makes it so much easier to close deals with potential buyers. Your personal profile is almost as important as the company profile.
IN CONCLUSION
There’s no way around the fact that Thought Leader Ads are the future. They humanize your brand, build trust with your audiences and deliver meaningful results, all while turning your executives into, dare I say it, LinkedIn industry celebrities.
If you’re still debating it (for whatever reason), consider this: Would you rather spend your ad budget on yet another generic, corporate-speak ad campaign with deathly boring infographics, or invest in something new that truly sets your company apart? Choice is pretty obvious if you ask me.
Book a free call to find out how you can start using TLA with our guided interviews and start seeing massive gains from your ad budget in just a few months.