Is posting on LinkedIn worth it for CEOs and senior executives?
Absolutely! That’s a no-brainer.
But a more interesting question is: What should you be posting about?
There’s plenty of advice online about what makes meaningful content on social media and on LinkedIn, in particular. But most of that advice is geared toward small businesses, consultants, coaches, and people involved in business development ― people who are promoting specific products and services, so they can generate leads.
Executives need a different approach.
Senior executives, especially those at larger companies, are focused on building influence.
So, how do you do that? What should you post about?
What Do CEOs & Leaders Post on LinkedIn?
Here’s a formula almost any executive can use:
Each area helps build a picture of a leader ― their vision and insights, their company and successes, and what’s important to them. And the variety of posts demonstrates that the leader is not a one-note wonder or solely focused on their own ambitions.
Here’s a longer version, for anyone who’d like insight into each area.
Company News
Make about a quarter of your posts about what’s happening in your company. Focus on people, teams, new clients, and partners. Keep posts relevant and recent, so people see you are aware and engaged. These posts inspire employees and bolster customer confidence.
- Announcements: Share positive news about company happenings — partnerships, significant hires, and more.
- Awards: Share awards and celebrate the people who made it happen.
- Milestones: Demonstrate the traction your company experiences by celebrating milestones — anniversaries (of the company and employees), revenue breakthroughs or financial wins, new offices or employees, and other significant milestones for your business.
Product/Solutions
Use another quarter of your posts to share news about your products. Tell stories as much as possible — how your product solves a specific problem, the results a customer achieved, etc.
- Launches: Appropriately share details and timelines of product launches. Of course, keep your secrets secret, but share what you can to build suspense and excitement.
- Problems You Solve: Describe a problem, and tell prospects (and current customers) how your product solves it.
- Cool Features: What makes your product unique and interesting? Share it!
- Webinars & Online Events: Invite prospects and customers to hear about industry trends, learn more about your product, or learn how to optimize the product.
- Conferences: Invite people to meet you in person at events and conferences. Post from the conference, sharing your experience and insights.
- Company Thought Leadership: Share new resources — blogs, podcasts, articles, ebooks.
- Customer Stories: With the customer as hero, tell stories about how your product helped them conquer obstacles and achieve their goals.
What You’re Doing
Devote another quarter of your posts to what you are up to. Don’t think of it as self-promotion or bragging. Instead, consider the value of these posts to give your stakeholders a look at how you spend your time on their behalf and what matters to you professionally — building their rapport with and confidence in you.
- Business Events: Post before you go, while you’re at the conference or expo, and lessons learned when you get home.
- Podcasts: Share links and your favorite insights when you are on a podcast.
- Meetings: Build enthusiasm and support by posting your meetings with partners, customers, and your team. (Take photos!)
- Local Office Visits with the Team: Post when you visit local teams or sites—it builds morale — just like the visit does.
Culture
Use about 10% of your posts to show the culture of your company. These posts go a long way in helping you hire top recruits and reduce employee turnover. And as a bonus, they build confidence among customers and stakeholders.
- Welcome New People: Announce and introduce new team members, interns, and key hires.
- Celebrate: Post congratulations on company accomplishments, team wins, and individual achievements.
- Team activities: Post what your hard-working teams are doing (without divulging any secrets, of course).
- Day in the Life: Give outsiders a peek into what it’s like to work for your company. These posts boost morale and entice top recruits.
- Volunteer Work: Post from your company volunteer activities as you give back to the community or a cause.
Industry Insights
Taking in a bigger picture, spend about 5% of your posts engaging at an industry level. And before you begin posting, take an inventory of your network. Are you connected with your peers — other CEOs and leaders — across your industry? If not, put a little time into building relationships in that space.
- Interpret Trends & Current Events: What’s happening in your industry? Use these posts to speak about current happenings, what you think is next (or should be next), or even how to solve a problem.
- Your Own Thought Leadership: Different from company thought leadership, these posts reflect your personal expertise, methodology, and professional opinions.
Mission/Vision
Use another 5% of your posts to educate and gather support for the work you’re doing. Storytelling in these posts will increase readership and engagement.
- Promote Your Initiatives: Use LinkedIn to evangelize and get buy-in for the initiatives that you are working on.
- Advocacy: What change are you advocating for in your industry? Talk about those issues, why they matter, and how people can join you.
Personal
People like to like the people they work with. So, regularly post a bit about who you are away from work. Consider these topics:
- Hobbies: Post about sports you play or other hobbies that you enjoy.
- Favorite Teams: People love to join you in cheering for sports teams.
- Books & Podcasts: Share insights from what you’re reading or listening to.
- Causes and Non-Business Events: Share about causes you believe in or events that support them such as galas and fundraisers.
- Family: If you are comfortable talking about your family, occasionally post about things that have meaning for you (like your mom on Mother’s Day).
Values
Lastly, invest a little of your posting time in sharing your values.
- Your Leadership Philosophy: Let people see what you believe in, such as being a servant leader.
- Foundational Beliefs: What core values inform who you are and who you want to be?
- Lessons Learned: Share what you learn from your mentors ― or from the people you mentor. This offers you an opportunity to thank them, and it shows you are open to new ideas and continual learning.
Career Advice: Do a post with wisdom “to your younger self” or to people early in their careers.
Adjust the Formula as Needed
Happy in your current role?
If your current job is solid, you are challenged, learning, and happy where you are, the breakdown described above is perfect. In fact, when your company’s LinkedIn presence is active:
- Up to 50% of your posts (corporate and product/solutions) can be reposts from the company page. Just add your own comments and insights as you share the post.
- Focus on sharing your own news, talking about your team and your culture, and adding the occasional personal post (maybe once a month).
- Feel free to skip industry insights and values.
Working towards a promotion, new job, or board seat?
Adjust the percentages of your posts, leaning more heavily into:
- Industry insights where you share your expertise to show that you are qualified for your next step (bring that up to 25%).
- Values so people can better understand who you are and see if you are a fit with their corporate or board culture (make that 10%).
Running an early-stage startup?
- Take product/solution posts up to 40%.
- Combine mission/vision and industry insights posts for 25%.
- Company posts can be 15%.
- What you’re doing and personal posts can be 10%.
- Culture and values combined can be 10%.
Make LinkedIn Work for You
Our team has helped thousands of CEOs and senior leaders craft and execute effective LinkedIn strategies that resonate with their audiences. We know what works, and we’re here to make it work for you. If you’re ready to elevate your LinkedIn presence and build stronger connections, let’s chat. You can reach out to me directly through LinkedIn or book an appointment to get started. Let’s make LinkedIn work for you!