How I help leaders create impact on LinkedIn

What do leaders on social media and Disney have in common? More than you might think. When I was an Assistant Editor and Writer, I interviewed Disney about how they were using dental scanning technology to make computer-generated characters more lifelike.

The way someone’s face moves is shaped by their jaw and teeth, and if that foundation isn’t right, the whole thing looks unnatural. The same applies to leadership presence on LinkedIn. A polished company page isn’t enough; without authentic leaders behind it, the brand can feel just as artificial as a poorly animated character.  

That interview with Disney was one of my favourite moments as a writer, and you can still find the article here: Walt Disney’s Hollywood Smiles. It taught me an important lesson that people are willing to share their stories if you ask the right way.  

I’m Natalie Woods-McCann, Executive Content Manager at Tribal Impact. I have always been drawn to uncovering stories and bringing them to life. Now, I manage the Executive Content Team at Tribal and work with executives to help them build their LinkedIn presence in a way that feels natural and meaningful. 

I’ve seen first-hand how powerful LinkedIn can be for leaders. It’s not just about visibility; it’s about making real connections and strengthening professional relationships. Here I share a few insights to help executives looking to maximise their impact on social media. 

How leaders on social media become trusted voices

A lot of people think executive social media is just about posting content. It’s not. It’s about building credibility and trust. Research from FTI Communications found that 92% of professionals are more likely to trust a company if its senior executives are active on social media. When leaders show up consistently, it makes a real impact. 

At Tribal Impact, we don’t just hand executives a few LinkedIn posts and call it a day. We take them through a structured process to help them find their voice. It starts with an onboarding call where we create their ‘Expert Passport,’ a document that captures their background, experience, and what they care about.  

That becomes the foundation for everything we write. It’s not just about what they do, but who they are and what drives them. 

This is key because leadership presence on LinkedIn isn’t just about individual reputation, it also shapes how people perceive the company. A CEO’s LinkedIn presence can have the same level of engagement as the company page, even though they only have 1.67% of the followers, according to DSMN8. That just shows how much people value hearing directly from leaders rather than just the brand. 

We also see how this plays out in employer branding. Employees and potential candidates look to leadership for authenticity. Leaders who actively engage and share their thoughts help shape a company’s reputation, and we wrote about this further in our blog on how leaders shape an authentic employer brand. 

When we onboard executives we take them through a structured onboarding process.

Real results: what success looks like 

For many executives, success on LinkedIn isn’t just about numbers, it’s about the doors it opens. According to the Financial times, chief executives’ content gets four times more engagement than other content from LinkedIn members.  

It’s also worth noting that 90% of B2B decision-makers see thought leadership as important, and nearly half of C-suite executives dedicate at least an hour each week to consuming this kind of content (Sprout Social). 

One of our clients, Ruthann Wry, Chief People Officer at Qlik, shared with us how leadership and storytelling have helped her connect with her network in an authentic way. She shared a milestone post about her 10th anniversary, which sparked an overwhelming response from colleagues past and present.

Her words to our team at Tribal Impact reflect how powerful this kind of engagement can be: 

“Thanks so much! I continue to be amazed at how you all have been able to turn an idea into an amazing story and more importantly when I’m out of steam or not at my best, you turned that into a story!​” – Ruthann Wry, Qlik

Her success is also a testament to our teamwork behind the scenes. While I love my role in project and team management, and happily still have the opportunity to work on our programmes directly, our team of Exec Content Specialists and copywriters play a crucial role in bringing these stories to life, ensuring they reflect the leader’s true voice and values. 

It’s not just about visibility either. Leaders who build a strong presence on LinkedIn also strengthen their professional relationships. FTI Consulting found that 85% of business leaders say their stakeholder relationships improve when they actively engage on social media.

That’s why the work we do isn’t just about writing posts, it’s about helping leaders build trust and credibility over time, and the impact is fantastic.