For executives who have established an online social media presence, frequent posting can be an effective way to connect with their audience. But what happens when you want to elevate that presence into something more strategic, goal-oriented, and impactful for your business? In this article, we explore how an executive social media program can enhance an active social media presence while addressing key challenges like maintaining a consistent tone, avoiding overlap, and ensuring content adds strategic value.   Understanding the Executive’s Tone of Voice Challenge: One concern an executive may have is that if two parties are creating content for one social media account — the individual and the in-house marketer or executive social media agency they’re partnering with — the posts may lack cohesiveness and come across as being written by two distinct voices. Solution: While this is certainly a valid concern, different executive marketing agencies...

We often discuss the importance of thought leadership and why strategically positioning your CEO and other executives on social media can benefit your business in a number of ways, such as by building increased brand awareness and credibility. After choosing the right executive to build a social media presence for, and determining how many and which platforms to use, the next question is how often should your executive post on social media. As is often the case, it all comes down to what your primary objective is for your executive social media program. In this article, we explore three different social media posting frequencies — low, medium, and high — and share our insights into the benefits and potential challenges of each one.   Low-Frequency Posting (1-2 times per month) Starting with the lowest posting cadence are executives who post around 1 or 2 times a month....

Over the years, executive social media has grown to become a key piece in a company’s digital marketing program. Positioning a CEO or other executive on social media can help drive business objectives, such as brand awareness and website traffic, while building credibility and strengthening ties to key stakeholders. That being said, it’s not always clear whether executive social media is the right move for your business. This guide will help you determine whether you should strategically leverage your executive’s online presence to help you achieve your marketing goals.   Does your company have an established social media presence? If you said yes… Then executive social media makes sense. If your company already has an active presence on platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), or Instagram, building out a social media program to position your CEO or other executive can be an excellent complementary piece...

In a previous article, How Executives Can Use Video on Social Media, we shared why videos can be an important tool for executives. Based on our own executive clients, we find that those who share videos featuring themselves speaking about industry topics consistently outperform executives who do not create videos. Creating videos for executive social media is more straightforward and easier than you think. So, why are many executives still hesitant to appear in front of the camera? Keep reading to learn about the top five myths about videos that are holding executives back from achieving more engagement with their social media content, strengthening their thought leadership, and driving toward their business goals.   Myth #1: Videos Have To Be Highly Polished and “Professional” There's a misconception that videos shared on an executive’s social media page need to be professionally produced with high production value (and...

Today, establishing a digital marketing program for a company is a given. Similarly, more CEOs and other business executives are finding value in establishing an online presence for themselves as a way to promote their company while strategically positioning themselves as an expert in their field. With marketers juggling both company branding and their executive’s personal branding, what are some of the challenges — and untapped opportunities — to be aware of?   Why Business Executives Need Personal Branding and Social Media Digital marketing strategies continue to evolve over the years. Even before the pandemic forced marketers to pivot, we saw changes in the way business leaders approached their personal positioning. Understanding that their company’s audience is increasingly using social media as a research tool, it became clear that executives with a strategic social media presence had a significant advantage over competitors that did...

Many different types of services exist to support executives and their companies — but which one is right for you? Some agencies are more social media-focused, while others are geared toward the individual and their leadership skills. In this article, we dive into the major differences between executive social media agencies, leadership coaches, and PR firms. Keep reading to learn which one may be the most suitable for your needs.   Executive Social Media Agencies Primary purpose: Strategically build an executive online presence through social media Leverage an executive’s social media content to drive towards business objectives Suitable for:  Companies that want to complement their existing digital marketing program with a more authentic presence Executives who want to be positioned as a thought leader within their industry Executive social media agencies function similarly to digital marketing agencies. These agencies work with their clients to support their...

The growing momentum of executive social media means LinkedIn’s thought leader ads are a useful addition to the platform. This feature allows marketers to sponsor or “boost” organic posts from their employees, such as their CEO or other executives. A complementary piece to your overall digital marketing program, LinkedIn’s thought leader ads can help drive brand awareness, build credibility, and strategically position your executives on LinkedIn. In this article, we share our tips on how to craft the perfect LinkedIn post to sponsor as a thought leader ad!   Before You Start, Identify Your Goal! The first thing marketers should keep in mind is that you don’t want to sponsor just any post from your executive. If you’re investing in thought leader ads, start with a goal in mind. Thought leader ads take an organic post and push it out to your target audience...

Long-form content can be an effective complementary piece to an executive’s strategic social media presence. With many CEOs and other business leaders using LinkedIn as their primary social media platform, one feature to consider making use of is LinkedIn’s increasingly popular “newsletters.” In this article, we provide a brief overview of what LinkedIn newsletters are, share our top tips to keep in mind, the benefits of your executive having a newsletter, and ideas on what to write about.   What is LinkedIn’s “Newsletter” Feature? Compared to many of the other top social media sites, LinkedIn is truly the home for long-form content. Not only do social media posts feature relatively lengthy character limits compared to a platform like X, but the company’s newsletter feature is also an excellent way to share long-form content on a regular basis. Both individual users and company pages can create...

The phrase “new year, new me” doesn’t just apply to you — it can also reflect how executives approach their social media presence. Since we’re just a few weeks into the new year, now’s the time to freshen up any executive social media profiles. With many CEOs and executives choosing LinkedIn as their primary social media platform of choice, here are three easy ways digital marketers can give their profile a makeover.   Update Your LinkedIn Profile Images LinkedIn profiles have two main areas where users can update images: a circular profile picture and a rectangular profile banner. Here is an effective example from General Motors CEO, Mary Barra (a few years ago, we featured her in our Executive Spotlight article). What makes her profile images effective? Her profile headshot is well-cropped and clear. Because the circular profile image size is much smaller than the banner,...