When members of the c-suite take the time to establish an active social media presence, the benefits of such can expand far beyond personal branding.
Overall, having visible, present senior executives online can generate greater engagement for your company presence, simply because people connect more with other people, as opposed to brand logos.
It can be a powerful way to boost your digital initiatives. In this post, I'll share six social media strategies for the c-suite and senior management that actually work, and will help to expand your brand's overall digital presence.
1. Use social media to establish thought leadership
One of the main reasons why c-suite executives should be active on social media is to establish thought leadership within their industry.
This means staying on top of current news in your sector, and sharing their spin or thoughts on such, and letting people know how their business is responding. Executives can also use social media to promote upcoming media events or talks, and generally build their profile as leaders in their niche.
This is the most common use of social media for active senior executives, and it can deliver big benefits in exposure, for the individual/s and the business.
2. Use social media to connect
One of the most common (and biggest) mistakes that brands and individuals make on social media is using their channels to broadcast promotional messaging.
This tactic does not work. In a time where there are so many people on social media, and where engagement-based algorithms dictate what we see, the only way to effectively use social media is to connect with others and build active communities.
Take time each day to interact with industry influencers, peers, and potential customers or partners. You can also create content around your target groups of people to grab their attention. Your c-suite social media strategy should include time to reach out to and engage with peers, industry leaders, or potential partners.
3. Articulate company vision
Another element of your c-suite social media strategy should be articulating your company's vision. You can do this through the content you share, as well as messaging which reflects your overall brand messaging.
On social media you can articulate you company vision by:
- Letting people know what your company does, and the reason why
- Let people know about why you enjoy working at your company or what projects you are excited about
- Use storytelling where possible
- Share what challenges your company has overcome, or has helped others defeat
Explaining not only what your company does, but also why, is key to establishing a brand presence, and building connection beyond a basic transactional relationship.
4. Support your brand/business
This may seem simple, but you also need to ensure that your C-Suite social media strategy includes sharing and re-sharing content from your company and your company's social media channels.
LinkedIn has a great new feature for company pages where employees who are active on the platform can be alerted when there's a new post published to the page.
Another easy way to support your brand is to add content to your social media profiles which drives traffic to your company's website or social media channels. This can also include highlighting employee achievements.
5. Sprinkle in some lifestyle content
The members of your c-suite are not robots. Make sure to humanize your c-suite social media accounts by including lifestyle content.
Lifestyle content reflects and brings your buyer persona "to life" in a sense - it highlights interests beyond your product or brand. Think about your buyer or brand persona, everything from your target consumer's age to what they like to do, where they hang out, etc. Like building any relationship, find out what overall interests, or personality traits your target consumer or partner has, and create content to appeal to that part of them.
And since the c-suite also deals with people, try sharing part of your executives' lives. For example, traveling for work, what books they might be reading, company events etc.
6. Repurpose evergreen/existing content
Last but not least, your social media strategy should include re-sharing or repurposing of evergreen or existing content.
Many B2B brands create evergreen content (content that is always relevant) like brand videos, and it's okay to share this kind of content more than once (with enough time in between re-posts), or to re-work it so you can share it over and over again.
These are some simple, yet effective ways to get your c-suite executives more active on social media, in order to benefit your overall strategy. Hopefully these notes get you thinking on how you can prompt your senior managers and leaders to get more active online.