24 Jul

During the COVID-19 crisis, Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International, made headlines with his thoughtful video message in which he showcased strong leadership skills. Given the major global impact of the pandemic, his approach was touted by many as being an example of how executives should address the situation—by being honest, genuine, and outlining a clear path forward. In today's Executive Spotlight, we analyze his LinkedIn and Facebook social media profiles to see how Sorenson has translated his leadership style to his online content. As an executive on social media, his strengths lie in establishing his thought leadership through long-form LinkedIn articles and video content, in order to address topics important to him.   LinkedIn: Establishing a Thought Leadership Strategy With over 770,000 followers on LinkedIn, Sorenson's content draws a lot of user engagement in terms of reactions and comments. Many of...

14:16 / Executive Spotlight
17 Jul

Social media is essential for today’s business founders and executives to build their reputation. Online reputation management requires a long-term and thoughtful strategy, similar to how brand building is accomplished at a company. In this article, we will discuss how business leaders can use social media to help establish their personal branding and set them up for the future.   How Social Media Impacts Online Reputation Management   Unlike a brand's social media account, executives' accounts are directly tied to the individual, which of course, makes it more personal. Some business leaders focus on brand-related content, such as Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. Other executives may utilize a completely different social media strategy emphasizing more of their personal interests, like Anand Mahindra. Whichever strategy an executive uses, social media platforms are public and offer executives an effective way to connect with their audience. Because it is...

14:15 / Guide
26 Jun

From text-only posts, to videos, to third-party articles, executives have a variety of content types to choose from when posting on social media. In this article, we put the spotlight on Jo Ann Jenkins, the CEO of AARP. Based in the U.S., AARP is the largest nonprofit organization in the country and provides benefits for citizens over 50 years old. Using social media profiles on both LinkedIn and Twitter, Jenkins has developed a strong brand voice across her social media content.   LinkedIn: Potential to Grow Personal Branding    Starting with LinkedIn, Jenkin's About section on her profile is effective, covering key points in her career. We always recommend that executives start off with their most recent position, which Jenkins has done. The About section is also a good way to optimize for relevant keywords related to the executive and their industry, which can...

14:16 / Executive Spotlight
19 Jun

When it comes to building an executive's online presence, there are many advantages and disadvantages of social media. The risks of being on social media include not developing a strong personal branding strategy or not appearing communicative enough. These obstacles are easily overcome, either by carefully understanding the challenges beforehand, or working with a knowledgeable digital marketing team that handles content marketing on the executive's behalf. What is clear is that successful executives are the ones that understand the unique benefits social media has to offer, particularly as a digital marketing tool. Previously, we looked at KPIs (key performance indicators) in our article, How to Set Social Media KPIs for your Executive’s Personal Brand. In today's article, we will focus more on the actual goals and how personal branding on social media can help achieve business and personal objectives.   1. Increase Brand Awareness   A...

17:25 / Articles / Guide
29 May

In this Executive Spotlight, we will be looking at Gene Kelly’s LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. As the chairman and CEO of Southwest Airlines, his company has been greatly impacted by the coronavirus and governments setting restrictions on travel. As we will discuss in this article, Kelly has used his online presence to promote a sense of optimism by focusing on positive company initiatives....

14:12 / Executive Spotlight
22 May

The benefits of social media for businesses does not end at the brand’s presence, but can also extend to include its leadership team. Whether handled by an in-house marketing team or an outside digital marketing agency, more executives are establishing a stronger online presence through popular platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. When executives use social media to establish their personal branding, this has been proven to be a highly effective way to complement a brand's existing social media strategy. When establishing your executive social media program, one important step is to set key performance indicators, or KPIs. As the name suggests, KPIs help measure the performance of your campaign. It is helpful to think of it as a measurable goal that can be set before the social media campaign begins. Throughout an executive's social media program, these numbers can be...

20:23 / Guide
27 Apr

Many brands today have a social media presence and more executives are seeing the value of being online as well. As a part of a brand’s marketing strategy, executives on social media can be an impactful driving force when it comes to accomplishing business goals. The most effective executive social media accounts are the ones that can stand on its own, while also complementing the brand’s overall marketing strategy. In other words, these are executives who post their own content rather than retweeting or copying every post from the main brand account. In this article, we analyze content tone and topics that resonate best when delivered on an executive’s social media account rather than the general brand account. Digital marketers can use these differences to develop their own social media strategy that is more holistic in its approach.   Brands versus Executives on...

09:00 / Articles / Guide
27 Mar

Creating and maintaining an online social media presence is crucial for today’s executives. After all, research shows that over two thirds of consumers believe companies with a social CEO are more trustworthy. This is because many users feel that individuals, like C-suite executives, are much more approachable and relatable than general brand accounts where they do not know who the individual is that they are interacting with. When executives create content for their social media account(s), publishing business-related content can be an effective way to deliver brand-related content and updates. However, one of the biggest mistakes executives make on social media is creating brand-related content that is overtly self-serving or promotional. In this article, we will discuss how executives can seamlessly balance an authentic tone with brand-related content to achieve their business goals, as well as some tips at the end...

14:58 / Articles / Guide
28 Feb

Content mix is an important factor when developing a social media strategy for executives. Original video content draws a great deal of engagement among users and sets the executive apart from those who are not utilizing video as part of their strategy. While the majority of social media content is comprised of text or images, videos have grown to become an important part of online content diversity. In fact, one study showed that social media posts with a video gets shared by users 1200% more than other types of posts, such as text and images. In this article, we will be discussing how original video content can benefit executives on social media by giving them another way to connect with their followers.   Why Executives Should Implement Video Content   When it comes to video content, many studies have shown how important this type...

15:10 / Articles / Guide