CEO Influencers: Why CEOs Should Be Social Media Experts

There are plenty of noteworthy traits a chief executive officer should possess. Forbes Coaches Council members listed things like passion, vision, grit, and courage as factors that make a person CEO-worthy. They’re right. These and countless other qualities make successful, effective CEOs. However, there’s one crucial quality of an effective CEO that Forbes and many others forget about: social media expertise.

The idea of CEOs becoming social influencers is a relatively unexplored one. However, being an active social media user is an important strategy for executives trying to stay relevant, build credibility, and drive business growth. 

Think about it. Almost everyone has some kind of social media presence. Executives who don’t miss out on a chance to use social media to leverage their brand, connect with their audience, and drive sales. 

The Importance of Social Media in Leadership

Used wisely and intentionally, social media expertise is a powerful skill for CEOs trying to have some influence over an audience. 

Equipped with smart strategies, you can build an audience quickly, increase brand awareness, and establish your audience’s trust in you and your business. This can help drive sales, create a positive brand image, and introduce you and your business to people who may not have heard of you otherwise. 

This is one of the great things about social media: You can harness its power to grow your business. Anyone can embrace it and, with the right approach, become a top LinkedIn influencer or social media expert in their own right.

Benefits of Being Socially-Savvy as a CEO

Social media users are more invested in connecting with people over brands. A report from FTI Consulting confirms it, revealing that 92 percent of professionals say they’re more likely to trust a business whose senior execs are on social media. 

This is because plenty of people choose which brands they support based on the actions of the company’s leadership. So, building a personal brand helps people connect with you and form a more positive view of the brand you represent. 

How To Build Thought Leadership and Industry Influence

Anyone can build a social media following and establish themselves as a thought leader and business influencer. But you have to be intentional about what you post. 

As a CEO trying to use social media to raise brand awareness, you probably already know who your target audience is. If you don’t, identify them with strategies like analyzing your customer base via surveys, studying competitors and who they’re selling to, and looking for holes in your industry that you and your business can fill. 

Once you’ve determined your target audience, lean into their interests and embrace your niche. Then, post original content that relates to it.

You can also use your social profile to chime in on relevant conversations about your industry. Your audience will appreciate seeing this, as it shows you stay in the loop and are willing to communicate and collaborate with other business influencers. Plus, it expands your reach and further establishes your credibility. 

Posting relatable content and actively engaging with your peers is important, but you can’t forget the most critical piece of using social media channels to build your business: being authentic! An audience can tell if you’re being disingenuous, so lead with authenticity. According to Forbes, some of the best ways to be genuine online include:

• Sharing your personal life while steering clear of hot-button or divisive topics like religion or politics
• Infusing your personality into your posts
• Engaging with others on the platform to build connections

Strategies for CEOs To Enhance Their Social Media Presence

So you’re a business owner who wants to build influencer-level leadership on social media. Maybe you already have content planned out. Now, it’s time to optimize. Use these strategies to build your following and boost your online presence. 

Engage Authentically With Your Audience

If your audience only wanted carefully curated corporate content, they would follow your brand’s page. But they want to connect with the human behind the business. So, they followed you.

Your audience certainly benefits from the value your content provides, but your authenticity gives them a reason to care. Develop a voice that resonates with your followers and makes them feel like they’re talking to a friend, colleague, or, at the very least, someone they can trust. You can even include content about your life to give your profile a more personal touch. 

Share Valuable Content Consistently

Posting valuable content regularly is the key to establishing your audience.

Pushing your content out to the right eyes takes time and, often, trial and error. If you post consistently, you'll have a better chance of your content getting picked up by your chosen platform’s algorithm and pushed onto your target audience’s feeds. Map out a content schedule — it helps you hold yourself accountable to post.

Make sure the content you’re posting is useful or relevant to your audience. You don’t necessarily have to overload every post on LinkedIn with information, but your content should be somewhat informative; that’s how you build your reputation as a thought leader. 

Most social media platforms favor easily digestible content. So, present your posts in bite-sized amounts. Honor your audience’s valuable time — and, in some instances, short attention spans — and trim the fat. Start your content with a strong hook, include entertaining and easily understandable information, and seal the deal with a CTA, if applicable. 

Leverage Multimedia and Storytelling

Since photo- and video-based social platforms are more popular than ever, it’s important to leverage multimedia to grow your audience.

This means enhancing text-heavy posts — the ones you share on LinkedIn, for instance — with photos and videos. Doing so not only makes posts more visually appealing. What’s more, adding images to text-heavy posts is a proven engagement booster. When you consider these pros, it’s hard to find a reason not to bring photos and videos into the mix. 

Bringing storytelling into your social media approach is a key part of building a loyal fanbase, whether you’re using YouTube, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, or Instagram. Creating stories based on your target audience’s needs, your business goals, and the platform’s algorithm helps you find your people online and engage with them there. 

Grow the Brand Influence of Your Executives Today

There’s no time like the present to up your social media game and build a personal brand. Your audience is on social media, and joining them there presents another opportunity for you to connect with them, generate leads, and drive sales.

Simply put, developing a level of social media expertise is good for business development.

It’s fun, too, especially when you have a tool like Exec Comms to streamline the process. The world’s first executive social media management platform, Exec Comms lets you tailor exclusive content for every member of your executive team and gear it toward a specific social platform while maintaining the individual’s authentic voice. 

Check out the user-friendly, highly effective platform from SocialHP to see if it might be a good fit for you. Then, start developing your social media goals and strategy and get online.