Leaders: this is how you boss LinkedIn - lessons from ten of the best
The pandemic has seen a big shift in the importance of digital communications in the business sector - and I believe it’s not a short term change either.
Use of LinkedIn has increased by 27%, as people look to make the kinds of connections they would normally make in real life, online.
What I find staggering is that business leaders, on the whole, haven’t picked up the mantle. Research from ECCO shows that social media use amongst CEOs is actually declining.
Most CEOs I’ve come across are "on" social media - LinkedIn, at least - but I don’t feel it gets the attention and investment that’s needed.
Just look at the situation for the past six months - many brands have been doing some amazing stuff, but communications is rarely led by the CEO.
Case in point, the brilliant Nike advert “You Can’t Stop Us” only managed to get a “like” from the CEO John Donahoe, nothing else. He’s posted once on LinkedIn in the past month. What a missed opportunity.
Thankfully, there are many examples of good practice to draw from - the best in class “connected leaders”, if you like.
I’m often asked for examples of people to follow or be inspired by, so here’s 10 people to learn from. They aren’t necessarily the people with the biggest following or even work in the trendiest areas, but they’ve all got a lesson in the way they use social media.
10 examples of connected leaders who rock
[click to scroll through screen grabs and see below for the breakdown]
Ben Francis, Gymshark
Ben Francis, the founder and owner of Gymshark, has become one of the UK’s most inspirational entrepreneurs, having built a £1bn clothing business from scratch before he was even 30.
Much of Gymshark’s success has been put down to social media, but he’s got a truly amazing origin story too. On LinkedIn Ben hits all the right notes, but it’s actually Instagram where he’s got his biggest audience.
I love his refreshing honesty, like his remarks about Gymshark’s stratospheric success, in this video below.
““I wish I could say it was some kind of genius move, but it wasn’t anything like that…it was literally a case of following our gut instinct and doing what we thought was cool and right at the time.””
Lesson: Be humble and don’t forget to tell your origin story
Arianna Huffington, Thrive
Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive, is a LinkedIn A-lister, with 9.3 million followers. Her feed is a strong mix of thought leadership and PR, promoting the brand - always being consistent to her values. Plus there’s examples of engagement too and championing others.
Lesson: Champion other people and businesses who support your cause
Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite
Ryan Holmes is chairman and founder of social media management platform, Hootsuite. So you’d expect him to be a dab hand at social media, right? Thankfully he is.
I’m including Ryan because he’s a brilliant example of a leader who makes full use of the platform’s feature set. So whether it’s using newsletters (the example below), polls, articles, or LinkedIn Live, Ryan uses the right ones at the right times.
Lesson: Harness the full arsenal of every social media platform’s features
Sarah Wood, Unruly co-founder
Sarah Wood is the author of best-selling book Stepping Up and a non-exec director, but she is perhaps best known in the industry as a co-founder and former chair of Unruly.
I’ve included Sarah here as an example of a leader who really thinks about the visual identity of her personal brand and just making sure everything is set up properly. Everything from her banner image and bio photo through to all her work history is complete and presented in an approachable way.
And, of course, she’s hugely engaging and presses all the right buttons from a leadership communications point of view too.
Lesson: One of the first things to get right is to set your stall out with a decent profile - don’t cut corners
Tiger Tyagarajan, Genpact
Tiger Tyagarajan is CEO of global professional services firm Genpact. He’s great with the media and this translates into his personal brand where he is equally warm and generous with his time.
Having worked with Genpact myself I know that this leadership approach scales and he has that rare ability to make complex topics sound simple.
Here’s a simple example where he replies to one of his peer group, talking about the return to work, during the pandemic.
Lesson: Join the conversation and don’t think everything is always about you
Bernard Looney, BP
I’ve mentioned Bernard Looney a few times this year, as he’s a brilliant example of a connected leader.
Bernard became CEO of BP earlier this year, at a really difficult time - which has only got more challenging during Coronavirus. But right from the get go he’s adopted a “listen first” approach. Some people would advise against the boss of a company like BP being so open, but I think it pays off and as a result he’s much more likely to take people with him.
Lesson: Listen first and don’t be afraid to ask people’s opinions - even if you think you might not like the answers
Chintan Patel, Cisco
Chintan Patel is a CTO, rather than CEO, but I’ve included him here because I know him personally (Cisco is an old client of mine) and he does all his own stuff. What I like about Chintan’s persona is that he always finds refreshing ways of supporting what Cisco is doing; but he tells the story in his own way, rather than re-hashing anything he’s sent or given.
Lesson: Support the brand and do it in your own way. Oh, and don’t be afraid of using emojis 😉
Helen Lamprell, Vodafone
Helen Lamprell is general counsel and external affairs director at Vodafone UK and, like Chintan, is someone I know personally.
C-Suite business leaders have a responsibility to act as an extension of the communications function, as well as doing their day job. What Helen always does brilliantly is bring her own warmth to corporate communications announcements. Not only that, she’s not afraid to talk about things she cares about, which only adds to her authenticity as a leader.
Lesson: Support the communications team with your own way of telling the brand’s story
James Watt, Brewdog
James Watt is the ‘captain’ of Brewdog, a company that has been severely impacted by Coronavirus. That hasn’t stopped James on social media - in fact he’s doubled down on LinkedIn (and other social networks), demonstrating leadership that’s consistent with the brand’s “love us / hate us” style.
Just think how this approach helps his employees, who are no doubt feeling very nervous right now.
I loved his recent 60 second tour of the Brewdog brewery in Berlin; just a simple video shot on his smartphone.
Lesson: Be true to yourself and your real life persona when online
Gina Miller, SCM Direct
Gina Miller, co-founder of SCM Direct, is perhaps best-known as an anti-Brexit campaigner. But she’s been campaigning on issues for years, first coming on to my radar when she started True and Fair, which was set up to improve consumer protection within the UK pension and investment industry.
Take one look at Gina’s LinkedIn profile and you’ll see she means business:
““People say I am a passionate person with a feisty tone of voice. This is because I love what I do, and do what I believe is right. I am not afraid to speak out when I confront intellectually or morally bankrupt arguments, and have an independent mind-set.””
I love it.
Gina is unafraid to speak her mind, which she combines with her business role, and continues to campaign for the underdog or righting wrongs in society.
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to crusade for something you believe in
In summary...
I hope these examples show, if nothing else, that social media doesn’t have to be done a certain way. What’s more important is to be yourself - after all, your employees, customers, investors and peer group will spot the fakery a mile off.
Most of my C-Suite examples here also show up regularly and engage with others, rather than just do drive-by updates when there’s an important announcement. So, if you’re thinking of using social media communications, do make sure you put the time in and get the support you need.
Speaking of which, if it’s support or advice you’re after, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, either here on LinkedIn or via email at phil@brightside.digital
Finally, do check out my previous articles if you need convincing why being a connected leader matters in the first place and how you can use LinkedIn to achieve your personal goals.