What do you do if your executives need to establish thought leadership on social media?

Make sure to know what you want to achieve. Your approach my vary if you are trying to push your brand awareness, vs unlocking a broader network for sales purposes (and there are many others). Your strategy will follow your goals and define how you will leverage social media.

To establish thought leadership on social media, executives should share valuable insights, not just promotions. Engage with the audience authentically, responding to comments and joining discussions. Use storytelling to make complex ideas relatable. Consistency is key; post regularly and use analytics to refine strategies. If pressed for time, focus on quality over quantity.

Goal setting is important because it helps the leader understand what exactly would they derive from the platform, and how much of an effort do they need to invest over there. Furthermore, a leader can take it easy and initially be an individual who amplifies good thoughts that have been created by other individuals. As time passes, they can slowly transition into becoming an opinion leader, who are comfortable in not just commentating on subject that they specialise in, but I also confident in talking about instances or events that matter to them as an individual within our society.

The single most important thing to remember is that thought leadership should almost always be at service of the business the executive represents. All too often, the focus is on the individual as opposed to how they can positively influence reputation. Start with identifying how you intend to measure the impact of the programme of activity to ensure it aligns with the business’ goals, and you can’t go far wrong.

This is my cup of tea. You start off by establishing stories for each leader. Who is specialised in what? Who has an interesting story to tell or a new perspective that hasn't been told? Everyone involved should have the topic they "own". Then start producing content on those topics.

Don't feel like you have to do all the platforms. Meet your customers / audience / clients where they are. They may only be on Facebook, or TikTok. Devise a strategy that maximizes your contributions to get the most engagement. This might take some experimentation at first to find out where your audience is most engaged, and what kind of content they engage with the most. Don't be afraid to move on if a platform isn't working for you. Direct your efforts in the spaces where you're getting the best results.

I think it’s important to focus on 2, maybe 3 platforms that fit your executives target audience. This will allow you/them to grow their presence without spreading themselves to thin. My recommendation for them is to: - Post consistently on Instagram for broad awareness - Connect, engage, and post on LinkedIn to build presence among other C-level executives. - Post videos made from meetings and podcasts on YouTube for longevity. The content lifespan is very long there.

Apart from LinkedIn and Twitter, self-curated content on platforms like Medium and other industry-leading publications can also become a great starting point..

Understand your executive's target audience. If their target audience is other C suite individuals, then yeah, LinkedIn is the way to go. However, don't discredit TikTok, Instagram, or even YouTube. It's important to remind your executive, they're not making content for themselves, they're making it for others. Don't only post on a platform because they like it (although being comfortable on a platform is extremely important as well)

Every leader doesn't necessarily require the most popular platform that is spoken about by everyone. An individual can be popular while talking about specific Industries, a product, or a service sector on a platform that is largely ruled by pictures and videos, just as they would have been, or they could have been popular on a platform that is perceived to be a professional place for working professionals. It is because activity levels on social media need to be consistent, for a leader to derive any long term value from it, is why the chosen social media platform should set comfortably for the leader themselves. If they prefer posting more pictures, let them the thoughtful about the captions and the description!

Every platform is "saturated," but there's no saturation when it comes to good, high-quality content. If an executive at your organization wants to increase their thought leadership across social media, keeping them focused on creating unique and relevant content at a consistent cadence will be key to the overall strategy. Audiences everywhere are keen to learn from personal experiences and insights, which encourages high engagement and meaningful conversation. Please, please, please...make sure everyone is on board with the strategy prior to launch!

Start by interviewing each leader to identify the specific topics they're passionate about and want to be recognized for, beyond the immediate business objectives. Then develop a content strategy that balances industry trends, original insights, and personal viewpoints. Pay special attention to each leader's unique speaking and writing style - this will help you ghostwrite initial drafts for their review, making it easy for them to edit and approve posts. This approach maintains authenticity and ensures consistency in their thought leadership presence.

Without content, it will be very difficult to prove thought leadership. You might be able to comment and contribute on industry trends, but you should also have new content that you can bring to the table which you will distribute in your personal and authentic way. This is also why executives, and a social media team should be working closely together, to adapt the content to the right social media format, which might not always be obvious. It's so important to make it stand out and easy to digest, otherwise you might lose your audience down the road.

I read a post by @PrettyLittleMarketer and I recommend everyone check them out. To tailor what they said to executives post the following: Statement Post: "being a leader is different than being a boss." Learning Post: "how firing our best employee eliminated toxic hustle culture" Quote Post: "No job is beneath you" Sharable Post: For executives, I would recommend making a post about company culture here Trending Post: Read MarketingDive or SocialMediaToday and comment on some news in the industry they're in Being repetitive is the best way to get your message across.

At FLOW, we recommend that our corporate executive clients establish 5 content pillars as a consistent strategy and roadmap to accomplish several goals. By focusing on a set of core themes or topics, they can ensure that their content remains on point with their personal (and business) brand, builds their authority as an expert, and aligns with their audience's interests. Authentic thought leadership helps you #win, not only with your audience, but also in the Linkedin algorithms!

No one cares about you... ...unless you care about them. The start of a good thought leader is the community that supports them. If a random person outside of your state, who knows nothing about your city, tried to run for your mayor, would you vote for them? I wouldn't. I want to follow someone who actually cares about the community they're a part of and isn't just in it for the title or the money.

To promote thought leadership on LinkedIn, you will have to be consistent. It's not one post every month that will have a big impact, but posting strong content regularly, engaging with your audience and comments, as well as engaging with other thought leaders and contributing to discussions on topics in your area of expertise.

At FLOW, we coach our corporate executive clients to enage BEFORE they post. We recommend commenting on 5 current or potential client's posts, and 5 industry related posts and articles with authentic and meaningful contributions. This helps to prime the algorithms and jump start their social media for the day... and the earlier in the day, the better!

People not only want to hear you, but they also want to be heard themselves. That is the reason why any content creator should engage with individuals who react to their content in any format, i.e. it does not matter if they have liked, shared, or commented upon the content that you published online. Engaging with the audience in such a manner helps you understand the other view points, helps you discover newer people, and could also positively benefit the organic traction gained for your content on that platform.

Social Media isn't a one person journey, and same goes for brands. It cannot be just about posting content, it has to involve community engagement with an aim to meet the end-objectives, whether it is conversion, sales or building a brand.

Data should help inform your content, but it's not the entire strategy. Only using metrics can derail you from your brand voice and cause a loss of credibility so make sure you balance data with content quality over quantity.

A leader can initially look at vanity metrics, i.e. likes, comments, or share counts, in order to understand whether their thought process is resonating with anyone out there. Over a period of time, however, they should be focusing on the quality of audience or the quality of comments that are being received on their post. This is not to say that an audience member outside a leader's targeted group is irrelevant; it is simply to put that they are not in the goal or part of the objective of a leader's content strategy. They are good to have, but just not indicative of success that a peculiar leader is after.

I do not agree with this. Similarly to my last post, your executive should first care about what they're saying before worrying about vanity metrics. Do not post just to post or just to inflate your ego. The followers and the engagement will come eventually. With that being said, what isn't measured can't be improved. Once they're established, then start measuring. Don't quit just because it didn't work within the first week.

Measuring impact is crucial to knowing and ensuring that you are spending your time (and money) wisely. At FLOW, not only do we measure impact, we also measure ROI. Understanding the value of social media investments contributes to your business helps to shape your future marketing strategy. We go beyond the conventional metrics to provide a comprehensive assessment of our clients ROI and use several distinct measurements. Ultimately a holistic perspective is best.

Always be learning, always be growing. Guess what? Long-Form Video is coming back. Images are performing better than videos on TikTok. Trends change and you've got to change with them. Either that or stay stubborn long enough for the trends to be nostalgic.

An important step that is often overlooked when considering executing an executive thought leadership strategy is profile optimization. Even if your content is relevant, without a profile picture and banner image, will anyone believe the profile is authentic? Take the time to ensure the profiles are up to date before launching your content.

?? Starting with a clear definition and outline of their brand is the first key step. ?? Executives should begin by identifying their areas of expertise and how these align with their professional goals. ?? By focusing on their knowledge and experience, they can craft content that underscores their thought leadership, rather than sharing random opinions. ?? This strategic approach ensures their social media presence is impactful, relevant, and reflects their professional brand, driving meaningful engagement and establishing them as authoritative voices in their fields.

The first step is to look at their personal brand. Which thought leadership topics can you connect to them, what do they stand for beside their job description (responsible business, work-life balance, work hard play hard). When this is clear you can start showcasing their personal brand on their profile. Most important part is the 'About-you' section. The elevator pitch of their thought leadership. The topics you choose to highlight in the 'About-you' section, are also the topics you can start making posts about. Bonus: by showcasing the organisation in their profile, you also promote the organisation they work for. And by having a good example in the top, the rest will also feel urged to look at their personal brand.