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...

If your company’s chief executive is in the news, you always hope it’s for a positive reason. In the case of General Electric (GE), the company’s CEOs have unfortunately had a tumultuous relationship with the media in the recent past. Only last week, GE’s CEO John Flannery made headlines when he was ousted from the company after only 14 months. Part of the reason for such a quick change may have been the large shoes that both Flannery and his predecessor Jeff Immelt failed to fill: those of influential executive Jack Welch. Jack Welch was the illustrious CEO for GE from 1981 to 2001, during which time he garnered the reputation of one of America’s greatest business leaders. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his social media channels also serve as an excellent model for thought leadership. Now retired, Jack...