An article in The Financial Times shared key LinkedIn findings, showcasing how the platform has become a powerful and strategic tool for CEOs and C-suite executives. Over the past few years, the number of executives using LinkedIn has risen — but why is this the case? What makes LinkedIn one of the most attractive social media channels for executives? And how can marketers leverage social media for their company executives?   New Research Highlights the Importance of Executive Social Media Before we dive into executive social media, let’s review the top findings from LinkedIn’s research: Over the past five years, the number of U.S. C-suite executives on LinkedIn has increased by 35%. Globally, the platform has seen a 23% increase in content shared by chief executives. Posts by C-suite executives get around 4x more engagement than content shared by other LinkedIn users. After publishing...

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....

For those who have been following along, congratulations — we've reached the final part of our series! If you're catching up, check out part 1 where we cover the passionate/enthusiastic, authoritative/informative, and edgy/provocative executive personas, and part 2 where we discuss executives with the curious/inspiring, friendly/casual, and serious/trustworthy personas. Below, learn about the conservative/formal, humorous/cheerful, approachable/caring, and daring/grandiose executive personas you’ll come across on social media. Keep reading to the end where we share our expert tips on how to establish your executive social media presence.   Conservative and Formal This tone is often used by executives who want to use their social media presence primarily to support business objectives—and have absolutely no interest in sharing anything personal online. This persona often overlaps with the serious/trustworthy and authoritative/informative personas. These executives rarely (if ever) share content that may be considered controversial, preferring to share...

Executive personas play a large role in how their social media content is perceived. Several different factors contribute to the overall "persona," ranging from the executive's own personality, the content they want to share, and the business objectives they want to achieve with their social media presence. In our mini-series, we cover some of the most common executive personas you may come across on social media. If you're just joining us, check out part 1 in our series where we share our insights on executives with the passionate/enthusiastic, authoritative/informative, and edgy/provocative personas. Keep reading below to learn about the curious/inspiring, friendly/casual, and serious/trustworthy personas!   Curious and Inspiring The first persona we'll discuss is the executive who is curious and inspiring. Executives in industries that experience a lot of innovation and change often portray this tone, which overlaps with the daring/grandiose tone that will be...

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...

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...

As 2024 quickly approaches, it’s clear that executive social media is not only here to stay, but has become an even more integral part of many digital marketers’ strategies. Not only is positioning the company on social media vital for creating a strong online presence, but more CEOs and executives are also strategically establishing themselves on social media — and reaping the benefits, such as increased brand awareness and credibility. Whether you launched an executive social media program this year or you’re still looking into it, here are some goals to focus on in 2024!   For those just getting started with their executive social media program… In 2024, one of your goals could be to start positioning one (or a number) of company executives on social media. Their online presence will complement your existing digital marketing activities, including your company’s organic and paid...

There are many topics that CEOs and other executives can share on social media, yet the one that typically draws the most engagement revolves around company culture. Some business leaders may consider these types of posts to be “fluffy” and unimportant. Yes, they can be “fluffy,” but they also contribute to an executive’s overall social media content mix and have a significant strategic purpose. These types of posts may not directly tie into a CEO’s thought leadership strategy, but they have a major impact both on how your company’s executive is viewed by others and can even influence how the general public views your company. In this article, we share our tips on the types of work culture-related content that your company’s executive may want to share online and why it matters.   1. Reiterating Company Values and Culture As the public face of the...