How CEOs Can Be
Great Marketers
http://bit.ly/ceomarketers




           Rand Fishkin | @randfish | Linklove 2013, London
Let’s Talk About the CEO’s Job.
Set the Mission, Vision & Strategy


Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Why will this set us apart?
Live, Breathe, & Spread the Core Values




You can probably tell that one of Moz’s core values is Fun.
Hire & Manage the Executive Team




Holiday party shenanigans with 4/5 of Moz’s exec team members.
Ensure the Business is Properly Capitalized




Reaction from Will & Richard after I announced our $18mm funding in April 2012: http://goo.gl/BTUhX
Allocate the Company’s Resources




At Moz, we spend ~$750K/month on servers and ~$700/month on cupcakes. Both are critical to operations.
Be the Brand’s Chief Evangelist




When evangelizing in the UK, I strongly suggest embracing their moustaches and bumbershoots.
Why Should the CEO Do
Marketing Themselves?
No One Else Will Ever Know the Business As Well




Via Mindjet & Jess3: http://goo.gl/elqw1
No One Else Has the CEO’s Reach or Coverage




Via Fresh Web Explorer: http://goo.gl/rJTgx
No One Else Has the CEO’s Authority




Google’s Larry Page shut down numerous internal businesses w/ $10mm+ in revenue & high growth to focus resources
Much of What Makes Leaders Great Also Makes Them Great Marketers



Via the White House Flickr Feed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/8191317327/ - Inbound marketing in action!
The 3 Kinds of Great CEO Marketers
The Richard Branson




Branson markets through celebrity, intelligent use of press, and a willingness to adopt new media (blog, Twitter, etc).
Ben Huh helps Cheezburger
       earn massive amounts of
       press & brand awareness.




Ben Huh on not fearing the press: http://benhuh.org/don-t-fear-the-press And my reply: http://bit.ly/I7DX3z
The Danielle Morrill




Danielle is CEO/Founder of Referly, and an active blogger/social user: http://www.daniellemorrill.com/
Smart. Authentic. Adds value.
                                                                                Good marketing, too.




HN Comment from Ray Grieselhuber of Ginza Metrics: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5236837
The Jeremy Stoppelman




Jeremy is personally passionate about SEO. Some notes on Yelp’s SEO success: http://goo.gl/NnJ3h
Betabrand rocks e-commerce marketing, from
     naming conventions to SEO, to some of the
          best product detail pages on the web.

Chris Lindland of http://betabrand.com is quiet on the blog/social front, but knows exactly how to make inbound marketing work
together, e.g. http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/profiting-hoodiegate-140898
What If I Can’t Be That CEO?
(or can’t convince my CEO to adopt these recommendations?)
Option #1: Delegate to an Internal Marketing Leader




Hilary Mason of Bit.ly: http://www.hilarymason.com/about/
Option #2: Rely on Your Product,
   Your Persona, and/or Your Paid
      Marketing to Take You Viral.




Priceline hasn’t (historically) invested in strategic inbound marketing, yet benefits from great viral reach.
Option #3: Accept that Inbound Marketing (SEO, social,
             content, etc) Won’t Be a Competitive Advantage




It’s OK to intentionally make inbound a weakness. It’s not OK to pretend it’s a strength if it’s not.
10 Tactical Tips for CEOs
Engaging in Inbound Marketing*

* I would strongly urge CEOs not to engage in any other kind of marketing, mostly because these others do
not scale as well, nor do they leverage the unique advantages CEOs possess.
#1: Understand & Evangelize How Your Funnel Works




This dynamic funnel is visible to everyone at Moz via a dynamic web interface.
#2: Be a Proactive Industry Contributor




Matt Blumberg of http://returnpath.com sits on the DMA’s board, & contributes to industry publications.
#3: Leverage the Press Wisely




Create press-worthy news: http://www.fullcontact.com/2012/07/10/paid-paid-vacation/ then be accessible.
#4: Empower Your Marketing Team w/ Devs




                Casey                                       Devin                                 Jake



Moz has an “inbound engineering” team that focuses exclusively on marketing-related development
#5: Get Good at One or More Forms of Content




Delegating most of these is fine. But you have to find at least one that fits your strengths.
#6: Recognize Marketing Accomplishments the Way You
         Do Product, Engineering, and Financial Milestones




Recognition is an incredibly powerful way CEOs drive action & show what matters to the culture.
#7: Optimize Your Online Bio (& Update It, Too)




Your bio gives you full control over links & anchor text. Keep it useful & updated, and provide it to whomever needs
it (events, charities, interviewers, etc).
#8: CEOs Amass Favors. Ask for Links & Shares!!




100s of people I connect with ask me how/if they can “repay the favor.” Other CEOs get this, too.
#9: Leverage Your Contacts to Amplify Messages


                                   You can/should do
                                     this manually
                                   through email, but
                                  Wonk makes it easy
                                   to export & search
                                   your followers for
                                  those who can help.
#10: Embrace
                                              Authenticity




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEtAfAa67TY
Download the slides:
 http://bit.ly/ceomarketers




    Rand Fishkin | @randfish | Linklove 2013, London

How CEOs Can Be Great Marketers

  • 1.
    How CEOs CanBe Great Marketers http://bit.ly/ceomarketers Rand Fishkin | @randfish | Linklove 2013, London
  • 2.
    Let’s Talk Aboutthe CEO’s Job.
  • 3.
    Set the Mission,Vision & Strategy Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Why will this set us apart?
  • 4.
    Live, Breathe, &Spread the Core Values You can probably tell that one of Moz’s core values is Fun.
  • 5.
    Hire & Managethe Executive Team Holiday party shenanigans with 4/5 of Moz’s exec team members.
  • 6.
    Ensure the Businessis Properly Capitalized Reaction from Will & Richard after I announced our $18mm funding in April 2012: http://goo.gl/BTUhX
  • 7.
    Allocate the Company’sResources At Moz, we spend ~$750K/month on servers and ~$700/month on cupcakes. Both are critical to operations.
  • 8.
    Be the Brand’sChief Evangelist When evangelizing in the UK, I strongly suggest embracing their moustaches and bumbershoots.
  • 9.
    Why Should theCEO Do Marketing Themselves?
  • 10.
    No One ElseWill Ever Know the Business As Well Via Mindjet & Jess3: http://goo.gl/elqw1
  • 11.
    No One ElseHas the CEO’s Reach or Coverage Via Fresh Web Explorer: http://goo.gl/rJTgx
  • 12.
    No One ElseHas the CEO’s Authority Google’s Larry Page shut down numerous internal businesses w/ $10mm+ in revenue & high growth to focus resources
  • 13.
    Much of WhatMakes Leaders Great Also Makes Them Great Marketers Via the White House Flickr Feed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/8191317327/ - Inbound marketing in action!
  • 14.
    The 3 Kindsof Great CEO Marketers
  • 15.
    The Richard Branson Bransonmarkets through celebrity, intelligent use of press, and a willingness to adopt new media (blog, Twitter, etc).
  • 16.
    Ben Huh helpsCheezburger earn massive amounts of press & brand awareness. Ben Huh on not fearing the press: http://benhuh.org/don-t-fear-the-press And my reply: http://bit.ly/I7DX3z
  • 17.
    The Danielle Morrill Danielleis CEO/Founder of Referly, and an active blogger/social user: http://www.daniellemorrill.com/
  • 18.
    Smart. Authentic. Addsvalue. Good marketing, too. HN Comment from Ray Grieselhuber of Ginza Metrics: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5236837
  • 19.
    The Jeremy Stoppelman Jeremyis personally passionate about SEO. Some notes on Yelp’s SEO success: http://goo.gl/NnJ3h
  • 20.
    Betabrand rocks e-commercemarketing, from naming conventions to SEO, to some of the best product detail pages on the web. Chris Lindland of http://betabrand.com is quiet on the blog/social front, but knows exactly how to make inbound marketing work together, e.g. http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/profiting-hoodiegate-140898
  • 21.
    What If ICan’t Be That CEO? (or can’t convince my CEO to adopt these recommendations?)
  • 22.
    Option #1: Delegateto an Internal Marketing Leader Hilary Mason of Bit.ly: http://www.hilarymason.com/about/
  • 23.
    Option #2: Relyon Your Product, Your Persona, and/or Your Paid Marketing to Take You Viral. Priceline hasn’t (historically) invested in strategic inbound marketing, yet benefits from great viral reach.
  • 24.
    Option #3: Acceptthat Inbound Marketing (SEO, social, content, etc) Won’t Be a Competitive Advantage It’s OK to intentionally make inbound a weakness. It’s not OK to pretend it’s a strength if it’s not.
  • 25.
    10 Tactical Tipsfor CEOs Engaging in Inbound Marketing* * I would strongly urge CEOs not to engage in any other kind of marketing, mostly because these others do not scale as well, nor do they leverage the unique advantages CEOs possess.
  • 26.
    #1: Understand &Evangelize How Your Funnel Works This dynamic funnel is visible to everyone at Moz via a dynamic web interface.
  • 27.
    #2: Be aProactive Industry Contributor Matt Blumberg of http://returnpath.com sits on the DMA’s board, & contributes to industry publications.
  • 28.
    #3: Leverage thePress Wisely Create press-worthy news: http://www.fullcontact.com/2012/07/10/paid-paid-vacation/ then be accessible.
  • 29.
    #4: Empower YourMarketing Team w/ Devs Casey Devin Jake Moz has an “inbound engineering” team that focuses exclusively on marketing-related development
  • 30.
    #5: Get Goodat One or More Forms of Content Delegating most of these is fine. But you have to find at least one that fits your strengths.
  • 31.
    #6: Recognize MarketingAccomplishments the Way You Do Product, Engineering, and Financial Milestones Recognition is an incredibly powerful way CEOs drive action & show what matters to the culture.
  • 32.
    #7: Optimize YourOnline Bio (& Update It, Too) Your bio gives you full control over links & anchor text. Keep it useful & updated, and provide it to whomever needs it (events, charities, interviewers, etc).
  • 33.
    #8: CEOs AmassFavors. Ask for Links & Shares!! 100s of people I connect with ask me how/if they can “repay the favor.” Other CEOs get this, too.
  • 34.
    #9: Leverage YourContacts to Amplify Messages You can/should do this manually through email, but Wonk makes it easy to export & search your followers for those who can help.
  • 35.
    #10: Embrace Authenticity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEtAfAa67TY
  • 36.
    Download the slides: http://bit.ly/ceomarketers Rand Fishkin | @randfish | Linklove 2013, London