Brand ambassadors and people – people like that radiate to their audience. Managers have to use that.
Dax bosses like Tim Höttges from Deutsche Telekom or VW boss Herbert Diess are very active on LinkedIn. They use the social media platform to regularly address and influence a large public – from employees to investors to politicians.
A sophisticated internet presence has become an important part of a contemporary CEO communication strategy when it comes to power and opinion leadership.
Whether LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram – top managers can be experienced not only as brand ambassadors, but also as people.
This apparently satisfies an increasing need for information: More and more people want to know more precisely which person holds an office or has responsibility.
Opportunity for mid-level managers
It is precisely this need for information that is the chance for mid-level managers to position themselves as experts. Be it as an accomplished corporate strategist, as a sales ace, as a skilful restructuring engineer or as a far-sighted personnel developer – no medium is currently better suited for this than the business network LinkedIn.
More than 15 million German users are currently registered on the online platform, which is part of the Microsoft group. Because it offers the greatest variety: While Twitter only allows you to send short messages or Instagram to exchange pictures, you can also share videos, podcasts, and, above all, detailed texts on complex topics with others on LinkedIn.
But how exactly can the powerful social media tool be used to position yourself as an expert? For a strong performance, these seven points are important:
1. Choose a topic strategically
Answer these questions: What topic do I want to stand for? What position am I aiming for in the long term and what expertise do I need to get acquainted within the relevant circles? Also, consider which personal values are important to you and whether you want to convey them.
The stronger the visibility on different channels and the clearer your own profile is in the external image, the higher the probability of being found later for positions by new employers or headhunters that really fit.
Those who manage to make themselves visible with a clear profile of specialist and experience-based knowledge and individual strengths and thereby reveal something about their personality and social skills will position themselves today for the exciting vacancies of tomorrow.
2. Analyze competition
Get an overview of who else is already active in your favorite subject area. In addition to an analysis of the competition, it is helpful to orientate yourself towards successful role models. Especially since these can later be included in your own content in order to increase your own reach and awareness in the relevant target group.
3. Identify the target group
A clearly defined target group rewards interesting content with a high level of commitment, i.e. approval, comments and recommendations of your content. If, on the other hand, you choose a vaguely defined or too large target group, your own posts can quickly generate only moderate interest and little interaction.
To answer this question: Who exactly am I distributing my content for? Professionals differentiate between mere reach and relevant contacts that act as multipliers or bring know-how and collaborations. Ali Azimi, an expert at Hering Schuppener, says, for example:
“You have to look closely at how the group of followers is structured.”
The more important and well-known names that follow you, the better.
4. Determine content and formats
Getting people excited about their own topic and continuously generating added value for them in the form of expert knowledge is the magic formula for establishing a successful personal brand. First of all, decide with which format you can best reach your target group and make you feel comfortable yourself. If you are telegenic, videos could be an option. See your strengths in the precise formulation of texts, play out text posts.
Experiment, but keep in mind: For a high recognition value of your own content, changing the format too often is prohibited.
It is also important what type of content is distributed. Is the channel purely professional and relevant, or is there space for personal insights and interests? Remember: if you want to influence your audience, you need their trust.
Personal insights suggest closeness. It is therefore worthwhile, as an expert, to bring a personal twist to your topics. Moritz Neuhaus, Managing Director of Insight Consulting, a consultancy specializing in positioning in social media, says:
“Our evaluations show that especially content with a personal touch is often rewarded with a high level of engagement from the followers.”
For example, if you do everything you can to position yourself as number one in cybersecurity, your contributions could revolve around current incidents, their vulnerabilities, and their consequences. Or you can comment on planned legislative initiatives, introduce exciting people from other countries with whom you work. Or you give an insight into your everyday life or your thoughts.
5. Stay tuned
Elon Musk, for example, one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the world, shares his sometimes controversial thoughts on social issues, news from his corporate empire, or private impressions for over ten years with his now more than 37 million followers on Twitter. Whether you agree with his statements or not – the founder of the electric car manufacturer Tesla and the space company SpaceX is known to many people. Make it clear to yourself: continuity is the key to success.
With your engagement in social media, you create an expectation in your followers. Don’t let them down. Instead, think about the ideal time and frequency of your publications early on. Here, too, managers can experiment at the beginning but should decide on a cycle and time of day as quickly as possible.
In this way, those followers who are already expecting your post will be reached safely and not disappointed. Two or three actions a week make sense. Important: The larger the number of followers, the more comments and questions that come back. Sometimes they require quick reactions. If you fail here, you risk a shit storm.
6. Organize professionally
Getting involved on social media can be extremely time-consuming. In view of the hectic everyday work of managers, efficient content production is therefore necessary. A tried and tested strategy by Moritz Neuhaus, for example, provides for all content to be created once a month for the next four weeks. This leaves flexibility for spontaneous contributions, while at the same time your own formats can be played out regularly but also on stressful days.
If you notice that you can no longer cope with this workload yourself, get helpers: ghostwriters, graphic artists, video professionals. However, the use of professionals is not cheap. At the next round of wages or when negotiating a contract when changing jobs, ask your employer whether he’ll give you a budget for it.
7. Networking in a targeted manner
Those who only publish content on platforms such as LinkedIn only achieve a comparatively slow growth in reach. In order to make a name for yourself as an expert, it is just as important to consciously connect with relatives from the target group, but also with competitors and role models. The appropriate approach to new contacts is just as important as the constant expansion of your own network.
The tactic of using your own content as a lever for establishing contact is particularly efficient here. For example, as an author, personally informing an important LinkedIn member of a useful new technical article from your own pen or suggesting a get-to-know meeting at an industry event where you give a lecture.
Finally, your own involvement in external content plays an important role in your reputation as an expert. To do this, managers should identify ten to twenty relevant members whose content they regularly interact with. In this way, their followers will become aware of your profile, which in turn can significantly increase the engagement on your profile.
