Building an aligned leadership presence on social media
No matter how charismatic a CEO is, their voice alone can’t carry all of a company’s messages to all of its stakeholders.
While hearing from a CEO is necessary, it is insufficient. Multiple and diverse executive voices are needed to help a company get its messages out and visible on different platforms, to engage distinct audiences and amplify key announcements.
📲 So, how can you do this?
Well one way to approach this challenge is to think of it as a choir. Its success depends on each voice offering its own character and tone—and, just as importantly - for those voices to listen to one another, to harmonize and blend.
The same principles hold true for executive teams. Especially on social media.
💡 Here are seven steps to help get your leaders singing from the same hymn sheet!
1. Identify the early adopters. Activating 10 company leaders at once is a daunting task. Consider a smaller cohort to begin, based on their interest in being online and existing digital footprint.
2. Leverage an executive’s success. A connected leader’s success can inspire others to join in the action and also sets the tone, in the same way that a choral conductor leads an ensemble. Be it high engagement on a post, or a shoutout from a peer, share these wins internally to help set the tone and to build support and momentum.
3. Different platforms serve different needs. While LinkedIn is the most common choice for executives, other digital platforms offer opportunities to reach different audiences. Don’t rule out Instagram for your CMO or Twitter for your Sustainability lead.
4. Establish a social media playbook. Individual leadership posts must be effective in their own right and dovetail up to a broader corporate strategy to be successful. Successful individual campaigns and posts are built on clear content themes, messaging, an editorial calendar, a content generation plan, and a support structure. It’s on these foundations that a broader corporate narrative can be communicated most effectively.
5. Use paid amplification. Each platform offers ways to build and target priority audiences. Creating a budget is an important step; balancing it is another. You want to be mindful of any sensitivities as well as your executives’ and the messages’ relative exposure.
6. Measure and optimize. The most efficient way to do this is to centralize your measurement. It also reveals insights and connections that might otherwise be missed if each leader’s results are analyzed in isolation.
7. Think globally. To scale this approach across global teams, understand what platforms are appropriate for each market, which executives might be the most relevant regionally, and be sure to post in native languages.
For more on this topic and some great examples checkout the link in the comments box below. 👇
#socialmediastrategy #socialmediacontent #corporatecommunication
📷Monika from Pixabay