21 Nov How to Enhance an Active Executive’s Social Media Strategy

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 will have different processes to address this. What has been highly successful for us at Influential Executive is our “calibration test” which we customize for each executive client. This helps us align not only on tone of voice but also on the types of topics an individual wants to post about. As a bonus, the test only takes 5-10 minutes at most to complete, which is important for busy executives.

Alongside our initial interview, audits of past social media posts, and alignment discussions, we’ve built a foundation that helps our digital marketing team closely mirror our executive clients’ tone and content style.

Ultimately, the goal is to layer on strategic social media content without it seeming out of place. It’s natural for CEOs and other C-suite executives to share posts about their company, so understanding their tone of voice will help business-oriented content feel more authentic.

Building a Shared Executive Social Media Content Calendar

Challenge: A common concern for executives who are highly active in their own social media accounts is the risk of duplicating posts (i.e. sharing the same article from the company website) or posting at the same or similar times (i.e. the executive posting on their LinkedIn at noon but a strategic post is scheduled for 12:30 PM).

Solution: A straightforward solution is to improve transparency and ensure everyone is aware of when a post is going to be published. A shared content calendar can include the executive’s own planned posts, the marketer- or agency-created strategic content, and key dates and times for when these posts will be published. For executives who tend to post sporadically, they can refer to the shared content calendar to see upcoming content to avoid posting on the same day or make suggestions to move the planned strategic post to another day.

Having a shared calendar ensures alignment, prevents overlap, and offers opportunities for stronger collaboration. For instance, if an executive posts a personal update about a recent trade show they visited, our marketers and copywriters can create a follow-up complementary post diving deeper into a key takeaway from the event. This combination not only shows that a leader is active in their industry but also establishes credibility.

Adding Strategic Value to an Executive’s Social Media Presence

Challenge: An executive who posts frequently may be focusing more on personal or conversational updates, which is excellent for building relatability and trust. However, this type of content may not always align with broader business objectives.

Solution: An executive social media program can complement the content an executive is posting by providing posts with more strategic value. This includes showcasing industry expertise and building thought leadership, addressing industry insights and trends, or aligning with company goals like lead generation and brand awareness. By balancing personal updates with value-driven content, executives can expand their influence while achieving stronger business results.

Keep in mind that authentic content tends to perform better on social media. While some may call these types of posts “fluff,” there’s certainly strategic value in keeping them as part of the overall content mix. These posts draw visibility and engagement at a much higher level than a branded post about a case study, for example.

A Cohesive and Comprehensive Executive Social Media Presence

Balancing an executive’s personal social media presence with a professionally managed program doesn’t have to be a challenge. By understanding their voice, aligning content through shared calendars, and complementing personal updates with strategic insights, an executive social media program can create a cohesive digital presence for executives who are already making use of social media.

If you have questions about implementing a social media marketing program for your executive — whether it’s layering a strategic component on top of existing content or starting completely fresh — click the button below!

Speak with an executive social media expert!