See how a LinkedIn thought leadership program bolstered credibility, increased brand awareness, and boosted employee engagement for an industry pioneer.
In 2021, client Netafim USA, Orbia’s Precision Agriculture business and a pioneer in drip irrigation technology, faced a pair of challenges.
First, Netafim USA needed to stand out and establish a competitive edge over competing products that traded out Netafim’s superior quality, expertise, and customer service for lower up-front costs.
Second, Netafim USA and its CEO, Mike Hemman, sought to overcome the pandemic’s adverse impact on community engagement initiatives. Cancellations and postponements of in-person events limited the ability to connect with the community of farmers, dealers, partners, as well as the agriculture industry, as a whole. The company sought new avenues to connect with audiences and to keep the brand top of mind surrounding important topics and themes in the industry.
Leveraging Netafim’s expertise, TPG proposed the implementation of a LinkedIn Thought Leadership program designed to position Netafim USA’s CEO Hemman as a prominent voice within the industry, amplifying the company’s brand messaging and fostering meaningful connections with stakeholders. The program represented a strategic approach aimed at enhancing Netafim’s online presence, leveraging its credibility, while driving tangible outcomes.
With a comprehensive look into the objectives, TPG set out to deliver and execute a LinkedIn Executive Thought Leadership program.
Objectives
Building Industry Credibility and Influence
The primary goal was to position Netafim USA’s CEO as a thought leader within the agriculture, irrigation and water conservation sectors. By sharing Hemman’s insights and expertise, Netafim aimed to establish itself as a leading voice in these areas.
Increasing Visibility and Brand Awareness
Through Hemman’s LinkedIn posts, Netafim looked to enhance brand awareness and reach a wider audience within, and beyond, their industry. By sharing valuable content, we sought to engage with stakeholders and highlight the company’s expertise.
Attracting Top Talent
By showcasing the company culture, insights, and expertise, Netafim also aimed to attract top talent to their organization. Through thought leadership, we sought to position the company as a purposeful industry leader worth joining.
Tactics
To achieve these objectives, we deployed a strategic approach to content ideation, creation, and publishing.
Content Creation and Adaptation
Regular fact-finding interviews were conducted to gather insights on key topics. These insights were adapted into written content, leveraging the agency’s ghostwriting services to ensure posts’ copy aligned with Hemman’s personal tone and voice as well as with that of the Netafim brand. The LinkedIn posts were a mix of longer-form articles that dived into key industry challenges and company initiatives, and short-form posts that focused more on leadership-focused angles, current events, and trending industry topics. More than original native articles were created for Hemman which can be viewed here.
Content Repurposing
Existing content items, such as blog articles and news releases, were repurposed to enhance thought leadership positioning. This content was shared with the media and through LinkedIn to reach a broader audience.
News Monitoring and Commentary
The agency actively monitored agriculture-specific industry news and trends, offering timely commentary on relevant topics such as commentary on the latest Farm Bill or adding perspective to the City of Tucson’s new regulations implementing water restrictions for residential developments. This helped posts maintain relevance and engage with current discussions within the industry.
Visual Asset Sourcing
Visual assets, including images from company events and agriculture imagery, were sourced as needed to accompany LinkedIn posts. These visuals enhanced the engagement and visual appeal of the content.
Results
The implementation of these tactics yielded significant results for Netafim USA and Hemman:
Increased Speaking Opportunities
Hemman received new speaking opportunities and engagements through LinkedIn outreach, continuing to establish his thought leader position and increasing Netafim’s visibility within the industry.
Enhanced Company Culture Showcase
Hemman’s posts were shared with prospective executive-level hires, positively showcasing the company’s culture and values.
Strong Partner Engagement
Netafim’s LinkedIn posts saw strong engagement from partners and prospects, strengthening existing connections and fostering potential collaborations.
Offline Connections
The thought leadership initiative facilitated offline conversions and connections, as seen at events like the World Ag Expo, where attendees-initiated business discussions tied to Hemman’s LinkedIn posts, opening up additional networking opportunities.
Team Engagement and Confidence
Company team members engaged with the CEO’s posts, fostering confidence in the company’s leadership, and building a cohesive team culture.
Follower Growth: Hemman experienced substantial follower growth on LinkedIn, growing followers and connections from approximately 500 followers in August 2021 to over 3,533 followers in March 2024 for a 135% increase.
Brand Awareness Metrics: Over the timeframe of the campaign, Hemman’s posts garnered over 372,000 impressions, 6,400 article views, with over 8,000 engagements. On average posts saw 4,006 impressions per post, eclipsing Hemman’s follower count and showing the posts’ reach beyond his immediate follower base.
For more information on how to deploy a thought leadership platform for your executive team, learn more about our solutions, including Leadership Now and Connect to Lead, where we help clients create leadership platforms that are essential to building audience trust and confidence to find and connect with their audiences and communicate to inspire trust and confidence.
