Why CEOs should make fun social content

A study by Harvard Business Review found that nearly half of a company’s reputation and market value are attributable to the CEO’s reputation.

63% of people say CEOs who have social profiles are better representatives for their companies than those who don’t.

And 80% of employees prefer working for a CEO who uses social media.

Undeniably, it’s beneficial for CEOs to be active on social, but what are some benefits of them creating fun content?

People like people with a sense of humour

While “CEO” is a serious role, the person behind it doesn’t have to be serious all the time. Take Luxury Realtor, Mike Hege from Pridemore Properties, for example.

Earlier this year, he posted a video captioned “I asked my Gen Z employee to edit a video for me and she sent this back to me”

That short video—a compilation of Mike’s “millennial pauses” and mid-sentence breathing—got 50 million views and 5 million likes in less than a week. International press, including Today, The Independent and Buzzfeed followed shortly after—exposure any business would dream of!

And all of this came from a social media manager with a great idea and a CEO who wasn’t afraid to be the butt of the joke.

You can show the fun, human side of your business

If someone wants the inside scoop of a business, who better than the CEO to let them in?

The Founders of Good Girl Snacks are experts on this type of content. Best friends, Leah and Yasaman, left their jobs to start a snack company and launch their “Hot Girl Pickles”. Here’s some of their content we think is super fun:

They asked their Instagram followers if any of them were in a pickle, and offered advice.
Their reaction to a storm washing away their entire cucumber supply (quite the issue for a pickle brand)
This deep-dive on their beloved illustrated characters—GiGi and Pick.

We love that Leah and Yasaman are building in public and letting their best-friends-to-co-founders dynamic shine.

Dive deeper 🤿

꩜ How Mike followed on from his viral “gen z edit” success

꩜ Wait, CEOs pay this musician to make fun of them?

꩜ How to get your CEO on a podcast (so they can show their personality)

꩜ Post 👏 the 👏 outtakes

꩜ Do people care more about the Founder than the brand?

In the pool with…Olivia Morris from Caroline Hirons

Olivia is a Social Media Manager who specialises in the beauty industry living in London. She previously worked with one of the biggest beauty retailers in the UK and now does incredible work for Caroline Hirons and her brand, Skin Rocks.

👉 Find Olivia on LinkedIn & Instagram

From your experience, how important is it for a CEO to have a personal brand?

In my experience, people crave human connection and want an authentic voice. We’ve seen many examples of companies that use their staff as the face of the brand and how well their community engages with it. It comes down to the passion a CEO has for the brand they’ve built, it radiates through the camera whether they have a personality that belongs in front of the camera or not.

Caroline’s voice and authority in the skin care industry are among the many reasons we can vouch for Skin Rocks. Her straight-talking tone, combined with the warmth of her personality, makes every discussion conversational. A very common comment from Caroline’s community is that they say, “It’s like talking to a friend” when listening to her. Caroline already had a community to speak to which made our job a little easier!

How did you come up with the “Tea with C” content idea?

We wanted to have a new way to speak to, communicate, engage and educate Caroline’s community. As I mentioned, Caroline already had a very engaged audience, affectionately called “The Freaks” (self-titled). They already knew her personality, but this allowed them to see Caroline in a new avenue. Interacting with someone else, there is a bit of back-and-forth, Caroline is so quick on her feet, so it’s entertaining for both of us, and it’s a really fun way to give information.

Caroline loves a brew and her followers know that. Also, the pop culture reference to “tea” to spill the tea influenced the name. Everything Caroline tells us in Tea with C isn’t brand new information, her approach is refreshing and it can come across as she’s giving “insider info”.

Which piece of content did you have the most fun making?

I loved the Tea with C video when we asked Caroline’s community to comment on what they’d ask Caroline if they got to do Tea with C. When we came up with the idea, both C and I had a glistening in our eyes because we knew what would happen in the community. The comments were so entertaining to read.

What’s your process for collaborating on ideas with Caroline?

Caroline is easily accessible. I only sit a few desks away from C in the office so it’s as easy as walking over to her or in our case just shouting at one another. Otherwise, we’re always on WhatsApp sending one another ideas and trends and planning to film when we’re next together.

What advice would you give to social teams with CEOs who are reluctant to go in front of the camera?

Find their niche, if they’re not confident in front of the camera find a topic that they can just talk, talk, talk about and they’ll be instantly more comfortable
Don’t force them to film when they’re not up for it, this will come across in the content and ultimately no one will be happy with the outcome
Adding personality to a brand is paramount. People don’t like to be “sold” to. Having a “normal” personality as part of a brand makes it a bit more relatable. More and more, we’re seeing the “rise of the office” personalities rather than influencers making a brand sought after.
And let's face it, people love to be nosey. Whether they want to admit it or not, everyone is nosey.