It’s time for an additional version of the Submit Efficiency Report (PPR), a sequence the place we showcase social media posts and campaigns inspiring us, and discover what makes them so genius. We unpack how your model can use these examples to spark your personal scroll-stopping concepts—whereas maximizing your finances and doing extra with much less.
If a C-suite government says the mistaken factor on social, it may snowball right into a model disaster and value them their job. That’s why many leaders avoid constructing a private model, whether or not by selection or company mandate. Regardless of the danger, many develop their followings by frequently sharing model content material, thought management and even a peek into their private lives.
As a result of when executives method social in an intentional approach, it makes their model appear extra approachable, sincere and reliable. With a centered government social technique, leaders amplify visibility and deepen connections with prospects, staff, buyers, media and companions.
Let’s dive into our lineup of executives (and the groups who assist them) who’re the simplest on social, and ideas for creating your personal profitable government communications program.
Salesforce: There’s a primary time for every thing
As the corporate behind a number one CRM software program, Salesforce is a B2B advertising and marketing icon. With large occasions like Dreamforce and hundreds of thousands of followers throughout platforms, the SaaS firm units the usual. But, up till just lately, they weren’t capable of do one thing pivotal: Leverage their CEO on social media.
When CEO, Marc Benioff, revealed his first LinkedIn put up on October 30, 2024, it rocked the community’s algorithm. At time of publishing the put up has over 18,000 likes, 800 feedback and 1,900 reposts. Benioff’s put up centered on an AI system replace to their platform—a transfer that comes amid fierce competitors within the AI panorama.
The put up dramatically boosted the attain of the announcement by natural engagement and paid funding.
The PR raise from Benioff’s put up and associated commentary contributed to media pickups associated to the launch, and reassured prospects and buyers of the corporate’s course.
The play: For social and communications professionals who’ve struggled to get their executives (particularly their CEO) on board with social model advocacy, you’re not alone. Even among the world’s greatest manufacturers are determining methods to overcome this problem. Let Salesforce offer you hope.
Make a case for creating an government communications technique by utilizing Benioff’s put up as a proof level. Inform a compelling story of what can occur on your model once you tie a pivotal model launch to a pacesetter’s debut on social.
Symphonic Capital: Creating a way of belonging
Symphonic Capital is a enterprise capital agency that invests within the subsequent era of establishments by serving ignored and underserved communities. On LinkedIn, their founding basic accomplice Sydney Paige Thomas has amassed a following by reflecting on what she’s discovered investing in infrastructure know-how and highlighting the agency’s occasions.
Thomas is constant on social, which issues. However extra importantly, she’s herself. She talks about her experiences because the daughter of the primary Black Chief of Employees of San Diego Mercy Hospital. She shares private anecdotes from her faculty years. She even mentions astrology in her posts.
Thomas demonstrates why executives can (and ought to) carry their full selves to their on-line private model. Humanizing your leaders creates confidence in your mission by permitting your group to see your leaders’ values first-hand. What motivates them, what their function is, why they assume their work issues.
Thomas’ efforts helped her land on the AFROTECH™ Future 50 listing. This accolade is certainly one of a rising listing of accomplishments she’s achieved as a trusted voice within the funding house. As she continues ascending within the subject, so too does her agency’s profile.
The play: Take a cue from Thomas and Symphonic Capital by giving your leaders house to embody their full identities on social. Give them permission to speak about their upbringings, hobbies and households in addition to their ardour for his or her work. Individuals belief folks, and wish to hear from them.
Elevating Cane’s: From CEO to celeb
In each B2C and B2B, it’s uncommon to see a CEO as concerned in firm advertising and marketing as Todd Graves. Graves is the founding father of Elevating Cane’s—the quickly rising American chain identified for his or her hen fingers. He has shared the stage with Snoop Dogg, appeared as a visitor shark on Shark Tank and gave Travis Kelce free hen for a 12 months.
The Elevating Cane’s staff makes use of Graves’ outgoing character, likeability and recognition to their benefit, often that includes him within the model’s social media content material. Graves additionally has his personal public Instagram channel (one other CEO anomaly) the place he’s tagged as a collaborator on most of Elevating Cane’s posts—amplifying their attain to his greater than 500,000 followers. He seems in influencer posts, like this one the place he shared a meal at Elevating Cane’s with an influencer who had by no means eaten at certainly one of his eating places.
It’s troublesome to articulate simply how efficient this technique has been for elevating Graves’ profile. His unlikely origin story grew to become the bedrock of the model’s picture, perpetually intertwining Graves and Canes. Consciousness of 1 inevitability creates success for the opposite. The corporate is on observe to amass $5 billion this 12 months and Graves was subsequently named to the Fortune 400 listing.
The play: The “throw your CEO within the highlight” technique will not work at each firm. In all probability not even most corporations. This playbook is just meant for founders who stick round for his or her whole profession, till the subsequent era inherits their enterprise. Even when manufacturers match into that bucket, they need to solely pursue this method if they’ve a pacesetter who has clearly outlined values, thrives within the limelight and is discerning about what to share publicly.
For manufacturers with all items of that puzzle, your CEO may be the golden ticket to large development and outpacing the competitors. For others, adapt what is smart on your firm. Possibly it’s encouraging your CEO to create an Instagram account managed by the social staff. Or doing extra media outreach on your C-suite.
Google: Sharing the highlight throughout the C-suite
For a multinational, publicly traded company like Google, having government thought leaders on social is usually a important threat (much more so than for startups or small corporations). Because of this, some members of the C-suite won’t be current on social in any respect, whereas others take a restrained method.
Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, chooses the latter, and shares well-curated content material like highlights from earnings calls, clips from conversations with leaders at different corporations and reflections about the way forward for international rising know-how on LinkedIn.
Equally, Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt shares how Google know-how allows sustainable practices, like discovering the right location for a photo voltaic farm, from her account. She additionally shares new pathways the corporate is creating for clear power and AI-powered sustainability.
Melonie Parker, Chief Range Officer at Google, makes use of her voice on LinkedIn to attract consideration to company initiatives tied to worker useful resource teams, partnerships with HBCUs and collaborations with nonprofit organizations.
It’s clear Google executives are in lock-step with their inside communications and content material groups, and play an important position in shaping their public narrative and steering consideration towards their firm roadmap.
The play: Although constructing an government communications program on social is usually a threat, the larger threat is zero government presence on social in any respect. Even when leaders solely repost present model content material with a considerate message, that also helps corporations keep forward of and form information tales, whereas multiplying attain and growing worker engagement.
Take a cue from Google and create a posting calendar on your executives the place they reshare present content material tied to their operate. Recommend articles they need to share and tie their posts to inside milestones.
Hilton: Pulling again the curtain on tradition
For a well-established model within the hospitality trade like Hilton, the necessity for a robust government presence on LinkedIn won’t be apparent at first. The model is already well known globally (they actually have a celeb spokesperson within the household). However as recruiting staff within the hospitality sector turns into a bigger precedence, so too does the necessity to strengthen their employer model.
Hilton’s Chief Advertising Officer Mark Weinstein often posts content material utilizing the model hashtag #EveryJobMakesTheStay, an ode to the Hilton ethos that each worker performs an essential position in offering best-in-class visitor experiences.
Weinstein additionally showcases Hilton’s awards, philanthropic efforts, and accessibility applications on LinkedIn, in addition to management applications provided on the firm.
Having leaders like Weinstein rally round recruitment and retention efforts—even not directly—reinforces Hilton’s optimistic tradition. His posts construct upon tales within the media about Hilton’s partnerships with organizations just like the U.S. Committee of Refugees and Immigrants, and underscores the model’s dedication to investing in folks.
The play: Constructing an indelible employer legacy is among the most urgent causes to kickstart or develop your government communications program. Regardless of your sector, displaying potential staff what day by day life at your organization is like is vital to hiring and holding world-class expertise.
International highlight: Telstra’s CEO is on the frontlines
Telstra is Australia’s largest cellular community, constructing, working and fortifying telecommunications connections across the nation. The model’s CEO, Vicki Brady, shares scenes onsite whereas crews construct community infrastructure. Like on this put up, the place she talks concerning the sacrifices these on the frontlines make and the way their laborious work interprets to strengthening intercity fiber networks.
By posts like this, Brady demonstrates her empathy for each the model’s prospects and staff. She proves Telstra’s dedication to offering dependable service as climate patterns develop into extra excessive, and the appreciation she feels for the crew members who spend weeks away from their family members on the job.
She additionally shares reflections from sitting down with prospects to study extra about their wants—particularly these in distant locations.
Telstra’s dedication to offering top-tier service and connectivity displays of their earnings projections, whilst they navigate difficult financial headwinds.
The play: Executives don’t simply play a task humanizing your model, additionally they humanize your prospects and staff. As Brady illustrates, making folks really feel seen can go a great distance. Customers and staff members are greater than a quantity, and executives who mirror that on social earn their belief.
From the board room to the feed
That concludes this month’s installment of the PPR. Keep tuned for subsequent month’s version, the place we’re rounding up manufacturers we haven’t been capable of scroll away from in 2024. Within the meantime, bear in mind these key takeaways:
On the lookout for step-by-step steerage on constructing an government model? Obtain our government social media technique cheat sheet.
And for those who see a social put up or marketing campaign that deserves to be highlighted, tag us @sproutsocial and use #PostPerformanceReport to have your thought included in a future article.
