Every social media marketer wants to see their company or executive get a million followers online. Yet, how realistic is this goal? And do follower numbers even matter? Balancing quality and quantity can be tricky so we share our expert advice on how to set realistic goals for your executive social media program, focusing on followers, engagement, and social media activity. For the purposes of this article, we focus our attention on executives brand new to social media or ones with a less developed online presence.   Setting Realistic Goals for Social Media Follower Growth While having hundreds of thousands of followers can look and feel great for anyone on social media, the reality is that the majority of executives online won’t have that many unless they’re well-known figures who have reached “celebrity” status. Examples include Bill Gates on LinkedIn with over 34 million followers...

A company’s online presence can be just as valuable as the company’s social media pages. However, whether you’re dealing with a busy CEO who doesn’t have time to create social media content or you’re just not as familiar with executive social media as you are with other digital marketing strategies, there may be many obstacles preventing you from successfully launching a social media presence for your executives. The good news is that there are ways to fast-track your CEO’s social media presence in order to quickly build their online profile and start driving towards business objectives. One of the quickest and most efficient ways to launch a strategic executive social media program is to partner with experts who have done it before! In our previous articles, we outline ways marketers can leverage executive social media agencies for content creation and social media...

One of the most common reasons why marketers haven’t been able to strategically position their company’s executive online is because the executive is often busy with other responsibilities. An executive social media presence has become an integral part of a company’s digital marketing strategy, so this roadblock can be a significant challenge to overcome. However, there are ways to launch an effective social media presence for executives that are short on time. Read our tips below based on our own experience working with busy exec clients!   1. Create Social Media Content in Batches One way to help relieve the burden on executives is to create social media content in larger batches. For example: Draft up multiple posts for them to review at one time, rather than sending out one post to review at a time. If developing videos is a part of your...

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...

Not all social platforms are equal, and while some platforms like LinkedIn are ideal for showcasing owned content in the form of articles, no platform is quite as well-positioned for leaders to observe, join, and ultimately impact a wider narrative than Twitter. Twitter is a timely, trend-driven platform that is ideal for sharing newsworthy content and authentic perspectives. It can be leveraged not only to have a voice in relevant industry conversations but to also quickly communicate expertise and unique perspectives with followers. It is also a platform that encourages commenting, sharing and discussion. In this blog post, we’ve put together guidelines to help executives effectively leverage the platform for impactful thought leadership on Twitter. "While Twitter increased the character count maximum per tweet from 140 characters to 280 characters in 2017, the ideal length of a tweet has remained between...

When it comes to creating an effective social media presence for business leaders and executives, LinkedIn is a great place to start. Because the platform is best-positioned for professional networking, most executives will already have, or can easily build, a base network of personal and professional connections, creating a strong, credible foundation for ultimately attracting prospective talent, customers and investors. Like anything, though, a poorly managed social presence may be more detrimental than having no presence at all. In this post, we’ve laid out some basic best-practice guidelines to help you get started and make the most out of your executive social media presence with an optimized LinkedIn profile. "Like anything, a poorly managed social presence may be more detrimental than having no presence at all." Optimized LinkedIn Profile Let’s start with the cornerstone of your LinkedIn program, your optimized LinkedIn profile. Leveraging...