09 Dec 4 Ways An Agency Can Support Your Executive Branding

Is establishing your CEO’s social media presence on your marketing wishlist? For many marketers who understand the benefits of having their company’s executives on social media, it is — but they face key challenges.

With only so many hours in a day, marketers are focused on company marketing objectives, while the executive social media strategy becomes less of a priority. Or, marketing teams may not be equipped to handle both the company and the executive’s social media strategy.

Even if your company’s marketing efforts and the reasons why you want to establish your executives on social media drive toward the same goal, the two require different approaches in order to be effective. 

This is where social media content creation agencies come in. Partnering with an agency not only alleviates the workload associated with starting and managing an executive’s social media presence, but it also allows marketers to leverage executive branding expertise. Here are four ways working with an agency can support your executive branding.  

#1. Executive Social Media Expertise

Look for social media content creation agencies that aren’t just digital marketing experts, but are focused on executive social media strategy specifically. This way, you’re tapping into a valuable resource that covers any tactical and strategic gaps in your own marketing team. These agencies also offer auditing services and can come in at any stage of your executive’s social media strategy.

For example, if an executive at your company is already on social media but has been operating without a social media or content strategy so far, these executive branding agencies can perform a personal brand audit to determine the next best steps to take and ways their presence can be improved. 

Here’s another tip: look for social media content creation agencies that do more than just create content. Partnering with an agency that can help your marketing team develop an executive social media strategy based on key company objectives is crucial. Some goals include driving website traffic, supporting HR initiatives, and increasing brand awareness. 

#2. Thought Leadership Consulting

One of the benefits of establishing a strategic social media presence for your CEO is the opportunity to position them as a thought leader or an expert in their field. The benefits of this include: 

• Giving your company a public face that audiences can connect with.
• Establishing the executive’s expertise, which may lead to additional media appearances, conferences, and more.
• Staying top of mind with key customers, prospects, and other industry stakeholders

How can marketers establish their company’s CEO as a thought leader? Social media content creation agencies often tackle this question in a number of ways, such as ongoing social media content that showcases the executive’s expertise. 

Marketers can also look for an agency that offers thought leadership writing in the form of long-form articles. These can be published on LinkedIn or on the company’s blog. A social media agency can provide keyword research, in-depth researching, and creative writing that fits the tone of the company’s executive.

Keep in mind: thought leadership writing is different from writing for a brand. It’s much more personal and requires looking at content creation through a different lens.

#3. Executive Branding

Marketers understand their company’s branding — what it stands for, what type of content works for the Instagram page, what messaging to share, and so on. Social media agencies specializing in executive branding have processes in place to build an executive brand presence. 

For example, at Influential Executive, we have what we call a “calibration test” that helps our digital marketing team and a company’s executive get aligned on both tone and content topics.

In some cases, executives may want to align their personal branding with their company’s tone. On the other hand, some executives may want to post about non-company-related content. It’s important to establish a balance, which is why partnering with a social media agency can get your executive branding done right the first time. 

Want to learn more? Check out our Executive Spotlight series to read about different executive branding strategies.

#4. Social Media and Network Management for Executives

A strategic executive social media presence includes posting consistently, but that’s just one part of the picture. Social media management also includes researching content, scheduling posts, creating eye-catching visuals, managing follower growth, and other activities that contribute to an effective digital presence. 

Executive social media agencies have existing processes in place, streamlining these activities to make them more convenient for marketers. Partnering with an executive branding agency isn’t just a way to leverage their content creation capabilities — you’re also leveraging their expertise and processes. 

Should You Partner With an Executive Social Media Agency?

When it comes to whether marketers should partner with a social media agency that handles strategy and content for executives, ask yourself these questions: 

• Do you want your executive’s presence on social media to drive toward company goals? 
• Do you need support with developing an executive social media strategy that complements your existing marketing efforts? 
• Are you lacking the time needed to develop content on an ongoing basis for your executive? 

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, now is the time to think about how you can leverage a social media marketing agency to support your marketing team. Click the button below to speak with one of our team members and learn how we approach executive social media. 

Speak with an executive branding expert!