Executives bring credibility no employee advocate can match, but they need a lighter, more personal onboarding. Learn when to bring them in, how to onboard them one-to-one, how to capture and route their content ideas, and how to report on their impact.
Prerequisites
- Admin access to the Advocacy module
- One or more executives identified for onboarding
Decide When to Onboard Executives
There is no single right answer. Choose the approach that fits your culture:
| Approach | Best when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Include in the pilot | Leadership is already bought in and visible | Higher stakes if the program is still rough and not clear of content strategy or cadence |
| Add in the 2nd or 3rd iteration | You want to refine the experience first | Momentum can stall without a leader visible early |
| Launch everyone at once | You have strong executive sponsorship | Harder to give executives the individual attention they need |
Onboard Executives One-to-One
Executives rarely self-serve. Run a short 1:1 to set them up and agree how they will take part. In that session:
- Walk through their options and how little time it takes.
- Set up a dedicated Executive Leaderboard so they are not competing on volume with full-time advocates.
- Create Executive Topics where needed, either per individual or for a group of executives.
Create Executive Content Themes
Identify what themes executive content could be about. Think about what their audience could benefit from learning, or content they would save for later.
Start by researching what already exists. Executives are full of experience; they just do not recognize it as content. Pull ideas from sales calls they join, internal all-hands or strategy talks, board decks, podcast or webinar appearances, and strong opinions they share in Slack or Teams. A 15-minute conversation where you ask "what's been on your mind this week?" usually surfaces two or three posts.
Anchor executives to a few repeatable content pillars so posting never feels random:
- A point of view on the industry: where the market is heading, what most people get wrong, a contrarian take they would defend.
- Lessons and mistakes: a decision that did not work and what they learned. These outperform polished wins because they are human and relatable.
- Behind-the-decision: why the company made a particular call. Buyers and talent love seeing how leaders think.
- Market and customer observations: a pattern they are noticing across conversations, without naming names.
- A reaction to news: a quick, opinionated take on something happening in their space that week.
- People and culture: recognizing the team, a hiring philosophy, what they look for. Low-risk and very engaging.
Use prompts to extract ideas fast. Questions get more out of an executive than "what do you want to post?" Try these:
- What do people keep asking you about?
- What's an opinion you hold that not everyone agrees with?
- What did you change your mind about recently?
- If you could tell your earlier self one thing, what would it be?
- What's a decision you made this quarter and why?
Then make the process effortless for them. Capture the raw idea, draft it in their voice, and let them edit rather than create. Encourage executives to drop half-formed ideas via the New Suggestions button, turn the good ones into Stories, and keep their commitment realistic (one or two posts a month). Consistency in their own authentic voice produces higher-quality content than focusing on volume every week.
Capture Their Content Ideas
Executives often have strong, original points of view. Make it effortless for them to hand those ideas to you.
- Ask executives to share ideas using the New Suggestions button.
- Turn on the suggestion notification so you never miss one. Go to My Profile > Notifications and enable Notify me when a new suggestion is available by email or in-app notification.
- Review incoming suggestions daily or weekly and turn the good ones into content.
[Screenshot: My Profile Notifications settings showing the new suggestion notification option]
Route Suggested Content to the Right Audience
Where you associate the new Story decides who sees it:
| If the content is… | Associate the Story with… | Example Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Only for one executive's feed | That executive's curated Topic | Curated Feed – CEO; Curated Feed – CIO |
| Relevant to all executives | An all-executive Topic | Content for Senior Leadership |
| Relevant to any advocate | A global Topic | Events; Podcasts; Company Culture; Employer Branding |
Support Executives Who Are Already Active
Some executives already post event reflections, behind-the-scenes notes, or quick takes on industry news. Lean into that rather than redirecting it:
- Let them create their own posts in Oktopost and publish directly to their personal LinkedIn. Ensure their user is allocated to the Champion role.
- Their post analytics are tracked automatically, so their impact is measurable.
- As Admin, create a Repost from an executive's Story so other advocates can amplify it within the board by reposting it or leaving a like or comment.
When advocates see activity coming from the top, it signals that leadership is genuinely behind the program, which lifts everyone's motivation to take part.
Meet Executives Where They Already Work
Reduce friction by bringing advocacy into the tools they live in:
| If your executive… | Enable | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Lives in Microsoft Teams | The Social Advocacy within Teams integration | They access the app without leaving Teams |
| Is always on the go | The Social Advocacy mobile app | They share from their phone in seconds |
| Works in Salesforce | The Social Advocacy tab within Salesforce integration | Advocacy sits alongside their pipeline |
Run an Executive Workshop
A short live session (or recorded walkthrough plus slides) builds confidence and buy-in. Cover:
- Why executive advocacy matters, backed with industry statistics.
- What's in it for them: personal credibility, market influence, and a say in business conversations.
- A platform demo: 1:1, a group call, or async via slides and a short video.
- Best practices: LinkedIn profile optimization, a consistent posting rhythm, responding to comments and engaging with other thought leaders, and staying authentic by personalizing the copy inside each Story.
- Proof: other brands' success stories and ROI, including influenced opportunities, conversions, and growth in engagement and reach.
Report on Executive Impact
Make executive results easy to see and share. Track their content using:
- Topics to isolate executive content
- Campaigns to tie posts to a specific initiative
- Tags for finer filtering
- Advocate Fields to segment by individual or group
Use the existing Advocates Dashboard, or build a custom dashboard for executives only. Share their achievements on a regular basis to keep them engaged and visible.