This Is Not an Op-ed: Editorial Alternatives for Thought Leadership
By Jade Faugno-Maria
It’s not just an opinion—op-eds are becoming harder to place. “Unless you’re George Clooney or Jamie Dimon,” that is.
According to new reporting from Axios’s Eleanor Hawkins, the environment for contributed editorials has become near-impenetrable as major news outlets pull back on or eliminate opinion sections altogether.
So what’s a CEO (who isn’t Dimon) to do? And how’s a communications professional supposed to help them get their expertly written thoughts out into the world?
Self-Publishing Success
Look to self-publishing platforms—and LinkedIn, in particular—to help fill the gap. According to LinkedIn’s own data, CEOs have increased post frequency by 23% year over year, gaining 39% more followers. Though LinkedIn has made some changes to its “creator mode” in recent months, it still allows users to follow an influential executive without formally connecting, including right from a post in their main feed. This affords CEOs an opportunity to build up an audience and perpetuate their reach for future articles and posts.
While it’s often worth trying to shoot for the stars with a top-tier op-ed placement, it’s also important to recognize when self-publishing—especially on LinkedIn—can be more efficient, and perhaps just as effective. There is something to be said for the ability to completely control a message and the shareability afforded by social media platforms. A like or comment from the right user could put a self-published article in front of hundreds of thousands of people.
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