09 Jun

Influential Executive and Spark Growth CEO Elissa Liu joins us for another insightful interview on emerging technology like ChatGPT, new social media trends, and more.   Jackie: Elissa, thanks for joining me for another executive social media quarterly update. I want to start off with the hottest topic of the year so far — ChatGPT. Before we dive into how you think it’ll impact the digital marketing and social media space, can you share your general thoughts on ChatGPT?  Elissa: Happy to be back! ChatGPT, and generative AI platforms in general, have been one of the most disruptive technologies over the past few years. It’s still in its infancy, but it’s rare to see an emerging platform make so much buzz across every single industry, not just the digital marketing space. It’s not just businesses talking about ChatGPT — what makes this technology remarkable is...

17:42 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
06 Jan

In 2023, more marketers will be leveraging their company’s executive as a part of their digital marketing strategy. In addition to promoting the company’s brand on social media, C-suite executives have increasingly become an important way to reach key audience segments. Elissa Liu, Influential Executive and Spark Growth CEO, shares her executive social media insights below. Keep reading to learn her perspective on the shifting executive social media landscape, whether we’ll see more CEOs use TikTok, and when is the “best time” for executives to start their own social media presence.   Jackie: Elissa, what are some social media trends you’ve seen over the past few years, particularly when it comes to executives and company leaders?  Elissa: We’ve seen a push toward more CEOs and executives establishing their social media presence, but doing so with a specific strategy in mind — not just posting...

14:53 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
05 Feb

For executives on social media, do vanity metrics, such as post "likes," matter? The answer is yes and no. Whether it's a heart on a Twitter post, a reaction on a LinkedIn article, or a thumbs up on a YouTube video, the importance of "likes" on an executive's post depends on a number of variables. For any social media program, whether it's for a brand or an executive, I always place more emphasis on creating meaningful and relevant content, and tracking mid- to bottom-of-funnel metrics (e.g. traffic to site and leads generated) over time, ideally linking them back to various social media platforms and content pieces. Engagement metrics, such as post likes, don’t always translate directly to other key metrics. Reactions on a Facebook post can't tell us exactly how many people who engaged with the post ended up making a purchase. However, that’s...

18:45 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
27 Nov

Every year, we see an increasing number of Fortune 500 CEOs using social media. In our blog series, Executive Spotlight, we have looked at how different executives use social media to achieve their goals. If the ultimate objective of an executive's online presence is to achieve specific company goals, where does their own personal content fit into the mix? The answer lies in understanding key metrics and knowing how to balance promotional social media content (i.e. content related to the company) and personal content (i.e. content related to or created by the executive).   Digital Marketing Metrics For executives who use their online presence to help their brand achieve specific goals—such as generating leads or improving brand awareness—understanding digital marketing metrics is important. After all, we want to determine which content is making the most impact in terms of driving toward these goals. One...

21:27 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
23 Oct

With more executives learning about the benefits of being online, we have seen an increased number of CEOs and other business leaders on social media. However, what happens when an executive's online presence fails to make an impact? In many cases, they are making these three common social media mistakes.   1. Not having a clear goal for their social media presence Establishing a strong online presence is crucial for any executive, but simply creating an account and posting without a clear purpose is not enough. A strong executive social media program must have a clear goal.  For many CEOs, their online presence helps achieve specific business or growth goals, such as strengthening brand recognition, driving increased revenue, or generating leads. Without having a clear goal, posting content for the sake of it is not a strategic use of an executive's online presence.  Here are...

16:33 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
25 Sep

This year, we saw a 15% increase in the number of Fortune 500 CEOs on social media compared to 2019. As more executives make the transition to platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter, how many of them are posting with a purpose in mind and using a strategy that drives toward their business objectives? One way to incorporate a CEO's online presence in the brand's overall digital marketing strategy is to first understand where they fit in at each stage of the marketing funnel.   Top-of-funnel marketing The marketing funnel traditionally begins with the awareness stage where consumers are first introduced to a brand’s product. One important aspect to keep in mind is that the CEO’s content may be the first touchpoint potential consumers have with the brand. Here is an example from Basecamp founder and CEO, Jason Fried. https://twitter.com/jasonfried/status/1294718565975592960   By sharing positive user feedback and...

14:10 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
03 Jul

The 2020 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report is an in-depth study analyzing engagement rates, posting frequency, and hashtag usage on social media across various industries. Our research shows that on LinkedIn in particular executives achieve significantly more engagement than brands. That being said, by using the updated 2020 engagement rates as a benchmark, executives across different industries can set appropriate KPIs for their social media program. The study looked at 14 different industries but this article will examine four select industries: fashion, financial services, food and beverage, and retail. Based on the findings across all industries, these are the key takeaways for executives looking to establish a strong online presence: Post up to once per day and at least three times per weekday (at least in the beginning). This is an effective baseline for executives to start with since posting more times per...

14:11 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu
13 Mar

For years, executives and even some brands used the fact they operate in a regulated industry to avoid developing a social media strategy and presence. From various sectors of the financial services industry and the healthcare industry to the alcohol and cannabis industries to name a few, there are a variety of regulations that affect marketing and advertising, including social media. This presents marketers with tricky social media barrier to navigate. However, this does not mean that companies and their executives can do nothing. Having worked with both brands and their key executives to establish a social media presence in several of these industries, we found there are two key steps in developing a successful marketing program in highly-regulated industries. First, it is about clearly understanding the regulatory constraint on any marketing or social media program. The second step is that...

21:29 / CEO Insights by Elissa Liu