Executive presence on LinkedIn is more than just another profile in a sea of professionals. LinkedIn has become an important platform for building thought leadership. When used properly, LinkedIn can help executives establish credibility, amplify company messaging, and foster meaningful engagement. To accomplish these goals, we have found the best strategies are rooted in authenticity, thoughtfulness, and an alignment with the executive’s expertise and goals for thought leadership
When we set out to build social strategies for our clients’ executives, we focus on a balance of personal insights, career experience and expertise, industry credibility, and a consistent, relatable voice. It’s part art, part science – and all about making sure the content accurately reflects the person behind the social profile – both in tone and in content.
Tone That Builds Trust, Not Buzz
One of the most important things we teach in to our social / digital staff is how to master the tone for individuals. Too often, executives fall into the trap of sounding overly polished, stuffed with jargon, and lacking human voice.
We flip that on its head.
We aim for a conversational tone. One that feels like it’s coming from a real person and not a brand megaphone. That means writing in first person, using clear language that suits the person, and avoiding overused phrases (how many times have you read “I’m thrilled to announce…” when a CEO is sharing a press release?). Based on demographics from SpencerStuart and Crunchbase, the average CEO in the U.S. is a male (88%), is between 47 and 55 years old (founders skew slightly younger), and has at least a bachelor’s degree (although 60% have an advanced degree), and have a technical or finance background. “Thrilled” is not a word this population is likely to use frequently in conversations. Instead, we focus on what matters: the impact, the insight, or the lesson and we reduce the flowery language
Personal Experiences First, Industry Trends Second
The most impactful executive content stems from personal stories. Whether it’s a lesson learned from a business challenge, a career pivot, or a leadership insight shaped over time, these moments bring humanity to LinkedIn’s amazing amount of copy+paste content and connect with audiences on a deeper level. The experience adds credibility to the opinion – and that “been there, done that” story will have more impact.
We coach our social team to review the executive bios, watch or listen to their broadcast / podcastinterviews, and read press coverage to surface moments that can be reframed into compelling content. Sometimes, we find gold buried in an internal deck or a call transcript.
Commentary on trends also matters – and these posts can yield the strongest results, if approached correctly. Executives with the proper brackground and a bold perspective can offer unique perspectives on emerging industry developments. Based on their experience and industry Knowledge, they are well-positioned to lead conversations. Our job is to research, identify relevant trends, and prompt the executive to weigh in with something specific and actionable. A surface-level opinion won’t cut it – in fact this may diminish the credibility of the executive. The goal is to stand out (preferably with a narrative that has a bit of an edge to it), not echo the crowd. Account for your executive to purposefully stay out of the conversation based on the negative bias their opinion might create towards their company.
Company Vision Through the Executive Lens
Executives are the face of their company’s vision, whether they like it or not. People like engaging with people, making their activity critical to establishing the company’s mission and take on issues that their prospects and customers deal with and that the company solutions can help with. But repeating boilerplate messaging from the corporate website won’t move the needle. We help them personalize that commentary, providing examples of what this vision means in terms of delivering on specific use cases or big industry challenges that they understand well.
Whether they’re sharing thoughts on innovation, company culture, or a milestone, we guide them to explain why it matters to them. Why was this product launch meaningful? What will this allow your customers to do that they could never do before? Or, does it make it faster, easier and cheaper (e.g. more productive) to use the product? What does that award say about the team’s dedication? Why was this remarkable? Did the team spend 2,000 hours generating this solution? Did they have a breakthrough that unleashed a whole new level of productivity? This type of storytelling adds depth and invites others to engage.
Strategic Sourcing: From Research to Real-World Relevance
One of the biggest differences in our process at 10Fold is how we source ideas. We don’t wait for clients to hand us direction – we come prepared using tools like Brandwatch and Muckrack to track trending keywords, monitor industry conversations the industry are talking about on social sites like Reddit, identify the most important stories the media are writing about and identify rising topics that align with our clients’ goals. We also consult the 10Fold editorial team and scan influencer and analyst conversations and find openings for executive commentary.
And when it comes to planning, we don’t just write a few one-offs and call it done. We build comprehensive content plans with weekly cadences, content themes, and visual strategies designed to perform based on what LinkedIn’s algorithm prefers to show its users.
Visuals That Drive Engagement
In some cases, visuals might matter more than the actual copy of a social media post. Whether it’s a selfie at an event or a bite-sized carousel breaking down key takeaways from your new report, visual content is the key to standing out in a cluttered feed. We lean heavily into on-platform formats like PDF carousels, which are 1.9x more impactful on the algorithm than a standard post.
Prioritizing variety is also critical. A mix of event photos, team moments, infographics, and mobile-friendly text formats keeps the feed engaging and human. And one more pro-tip: don’t use the same-old tired photos from shutterstock – make sure to customize the graphics in Canva or another graphics tool to ensure your company stands out.
Metrics (That Actually) Matter
Follower count is only part of the story – we work closely with clients to determine which metrics matter most to them. For some, it’s engagement rates and shares. For others, it’s how many new Director-level followers they gained or how often non-employees interact with executive posts. We track and report accordingly, always keeping the strategy flexible and tailored to client goals.
And when best practices aren’t followed? We document client preferences and move forward ensuring clarity and alignment every step of the way.
The Post Structure To Swear By
We train our team on a formula that works:
- Hook (≤ 80 characters): Start strong. Pose a question or highlight a compelling stat.
- Body (200–400 characters): Lead with the insight. Keep it tight. Front-load the key point.
- CTA (≤ 80 characters): Encourage action. Comment, share, or learn more. And when including links, drop them in the comments to maximize reach.
Writing for executives isn’t about being flashy—it’s about being real. It’s about finding the right mix of personal insight, industry credibility, and brand alignment. Create your posts with custom, visuals to complement and attract more clicks. At 10Fold, we treat every executive’s presence like a platform—one that can inspire, inform, and influence on topics that support the company’s mission.
If we do our job right, their audience doesn’t just scroll. They stop. They read. They remember.
And that’s what great executive content should do.