Whether and How TTD CEO Jeff Green Should Post on LinkedIn
The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green has gotten loud on LinkedIn recently, transforming from a conspicuous absence to a frequent contributor. This has sparked enough discussion that Jeff even acknowledged the speculation, saying he’s speaking out because 2025 is a pivotal year for adtech.
I want to address this on a few levels, not for the sake of commenting on TTD specifically but to illustrate whether and how CEOs, including CEOs of already-prominent companies, should approach social as a marketing channel.
First, should a CEO post on social? Second, how do you most effectively post on social to benefit the company? Third, if all this is too complicated and you need a golden rule for posting, what is it, especially when you’re looking at things from the vantage point of a market leader?
Should Jeff Green Or CEOs of His Caliber Post on Social?
Absolutely. Some prognosticators have been suggesting it is cringe for the leader of TTD to post on social at all. “If he were a startup CEO, fine,” the thinking goes, “but it’s beneath the CEO of a market leader to post on LinkedIn. It looks desperate.”
This is wrongheaded. CEOs of much larger (or more prominent) companies than TTD use social strategically to grow their company’s reputation, control the narrative, win customers, and increase confidence among investors. Why? Because social is just a means of communication — it’s a way to reach your customers, talent, investors, and those who influence them.
Moreover, the CEO is the chief evangelist — he or she is the person people look to in order to understand what a company stands for. So, the CEO can make a bigger impact than any other member of the company by taking advantage of first-party communications channels. Accordingly, if your CEO is missing while your competitor CEOs define the narrative on LinkedIn or X, then it’s your competitors who get to define you. That’s not a situation you want to be in, especially when you’ve just had your first down quarter.
So, 100%, CEOs, even of prominent companies, should be leveraging all the communication channels available to them to define the company and grow confidence among customers, investors, talent, and influencers. That means every adtech CEO should post on LinkedIn. The question, then, is how to approach the channel.
How to Approach Social: Shifting Your Reputation
Startup CEOs need to get their company on the map. CEOs of established companies don’t need to do that. Instead, they need to think about where their company’s reputation is — and what key shifts to drive.
For example, TTD might consider three key challenges:
AI is kicking off a new era of technology, and, coming off a down quarter, investors may be wondering whether TTD’s leadership position is at stake — and whether they can innovate their way to continued leadership in the AI era.
Critics say TTD is the new Google: bullying the open web instead of championing it while rolling out less transparent products. TTD risks being seen as anti-competitive and willfully opaque.
Despite the antitrust ruling, Google, Meta, and, increasingly, Amazon are eating the open web’s lunch. Now AI advertising walled gardens are likely to develop. Is the open web doomed, and is TTD doomed with it?
I’d focus the communications strategy — and its most powerful modern lever, the CEO’s presence on social — on turning all these headwinds into tailwinds. Talk about innovation, transparency, and the long-term bull case for the open web vis-à-vis the walled gardens.
Most importantly, get specific. Don’t just say “Transparency is good.” Share what you’re doing on all these fronts, what most of the industry is missing, and how you’re collaborating with partners and customers to push the industry forward. Otherwise, the skepticism will pick up steam.
The Golden Rule for CEOs: Offer Unique Value
As with all writing, the golden rule is to offer unique value to the market. In Jeff’s case in particular, you’re just about the most successful adtech entrepreneur. Get specific! Tell the market what only you know. Share a POV or experience that is unique to you. Do not settle for generalities or allusions.
For example, Jeff recently argued that “Agencies have to develop better business models, and brands have to pay for quality. The tendency for brands and marketers to pay agencies as little as possible is costing them way more than they save.”
OK… but anyone could say that. Industry leaders and commentators pay lip service to the importance of quality all the time. You’re the CEO of The Trade Desk with a nearly unparalleled view into the ecosystem. The question is — how do agencies build better business models? What specifically has gone wrong? How do you make a believable and practical case that paying for quality media drives better outcomes?
As with all marketing content, the power of Jeff’s posts will ultimately lie in a combination of strategy and specificity. Jeff Green and his peers should absolutely be leveraging social to more effectively market their businesses. But the approach should be part of a concerted strategy to grow or shift the company’s reputation, and the posts themselves should reflect the unique expertise of the individual publishing them.
Otherwise, yes, the content may be cringe. And it should be doing the opposite: instilling confidence.
