04 Dec

For executives who have written articles for third-party publications, sharing a link to their work on social media is an effective way to draw attention to their content. In many cases, these articles are often important company announcements that are delivered by an individual because the messaging is meant to be more relatable to the reader. Chris Kempczinski, the President and Chief Executive Officer at McDonald's Corporation, recently wrote an article for CNN where he discusses the challenging year and how, as a company, McDonald's will overcome these obstacles. He also announced a new social media challenge, #HereForRMHC, stating that the company will be committing $100 million over five years to the Ronald McDonald House Charities. In this article, we take a closer look at his LinkedIn profile and analyze the post he made for his article and how he has promoted...

19:09 / Front Page Execs
13 Nov

Social media hashtags are a ubiquitous feature found on many apps. From Instagram to LinkedIn, it's hard to scroll through any feed without seeing other users and brands adding hashtags to their content. For executives with a social media account, it's important to use hashtags both correctly and strategically. Posting consistently on social media is one aspect of a strong online presence, but making sure a CEO's content reaches as many users as possible is another challenge. In this article, we look at three different hashtag groups—popular hashtags, niche hashtags, and branded hashtags—and why an executive would want to use one over the other. Keep reading to the end where our marketing experts provide tips on how to optimize your social media content.   Learn about the pros and cons of three social media hashtag types   Popular hashtags Niche hashtags Branded hashtags Our Expert...

16:15 / Guide
30 Oct

In light of the upcoming U.S. election on November 3rd, over 50 business leaders in the U.S. across several industries have signed a statement shared on Leadership Now Project’s website. The statement is a public call to action about the importance of democracy and voting, even during a period of crisis. In today's article, we take a look at three different executives who participated in this project and examine how they have used their LinkedIn presence to discuss the upcoming election. In analyzing their posts, we have observed that executives have talked about the election by sharing different content types with their followers in three primary ways: sharing a post from a business page, sharing a post from another LinkedIn user, and posting original content.   Georgie Benardete, Co-Founder and CEO of Align17 On LinkedIn, executives have a variety of options for the type...

15:09 / Front Page Execs
09 Oct

While many B2C brands incorporate social media as part of their digital marketing strategy, B2B companies have typically lagged behind in establishing a strong online presence. In certain heavily regulated industries, it is not uncommon to see top-performing companies have little to no content on their social media pages. However, just as B2C executives benefit greatly from having a strong social media presence, the same concept applies to B2B executives. In this article, we discuss three reasons why CEOs in a B2B industry should be on social media and provide you with three expert tips on how to get started.   #1: Social media puts executives in front of their audience. Many B2B brands have typically relied on referrals and other traditional marketing methods (e.g. sales agents) as their primary method for driving new business leads. However, as we have seen during the COVID-19...

14:28 / Guide
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