Executive LinkedIn Program Sparks Engagement by Amplifying Brooks Bell CEO’s People-First Leadership Approach
Walker Sands leans into social thought leadership to broaden reach, secure speaking opportunities and drive leads on LinkedIn.
Overview
In a crowded marketplace of aspiring LinkedIn thought leaders, executives face an uphill battle when it comes to cutting through the noise with a distinctive voice and perspective. Greg Ng, CEO of consulting firm Brooks Bell, has a bold, people-first leadership style, but needed support amplifying it on social media in a manner and cadence that would rally audiences and nurture relationships.
To capture the attention of prospective Brooks Bell customers and employees, Walker Sands created an executive thought leadership program for LinkedIn that showcases Greg’s leadership philosophy in an engaging, ownable way, leading to significant increases in impressions and engagement.
impressions in 21 months
engagement in 21 months
average engagement rate over 21 months
The Challenge
Brooks Bell CEO Greg Ng has a sharp voice and bold vision for people-first leadership. For Greg, every business is a “people business” — he believes trust, connection and great work should take priority over toxic productivity standards and workforce optimization. But he needed support articulating this perspective on LinkedIn in a way that ignites conversations and rallies a community of people-first leaders to take action.
The Solution
From the outset, the Walker Sands team understood that amplifying Greg’s unique voice would be key to boosting awareness and engagement — and helping him stand out in the crowded field of would-be LinkedIn influencers. During discovery, Walker Sands quickly recognized that Greg’s people-first leadership style presented a refreshing counter perspective to the constant glorification of hustle culture on social media. While other leaders were promoting the idea that if you work hard enough, you will become successful, Greg’s leadership philosophy focused on valuing and caring for employees.
Walker Sands kicked the program off by documenting Greg’s LinkedIn persona, working to understand his perspective, learn his voice and set the direction for ongoing content. Building on this persona (which was empathetic, direct, amusing and visionary in tone), the Walker Sands teams designed a content strategy that would demonstrate how people-first policies lead to a greater level of engagement — ultimately driving business success. The program featured regular thought leadership through weekly posts. But it also included more visionary LinkedIn articles each month that passionately celebrated the human element of business and challenged Greg’s audience to rethink their relationships with work.
In addition to this recurring content, Walker Sands’ social media strategists conducted regular industry monitoring to track trending leadership and workstyle conversations, e.g., navigating the return to office, implementing summer Fridays, and challenging antiquated leadership decisions made by high-profile executives. From there, we determined how these trending, algorithm-friendly topics could merge with Greg’s persona and expertise to produce engaging commentary. At every stage of the process, Walker Sands acted as a collaborative advisor, bringing Greg’s thoughts to life through posts and articles that expanded on his unique opinions.
Additionally, the program’s content mix included Brooks Bell news and media placements secured by the Walker Sands PR team. Leveraging various types of content, we celebrated Brooks Bell’s company values, humanized the brand and emphasized the impact of Greg’s compassionate leadership. We also sourced industry news for Greg’s to comment on as a way to bolster his credibility in the business consulting space. And we used tagging and industry hashtags to join audience conversations and position Greg as a reputable source of curated information and expert commentary. Later in the program, the team introduced audiograms to gain traction amid evolving algorithm preferences and extend the reach of Greg’s content.
Throughout the program, Walker Sands conducted ongoing reporting to identify trends and continuously optimize the strategy. For example, when Walker Sands identified that content with personal anecdotes performed particularly well, the team recommended Greg connect larger themes about culture and leadership to his personal stories — referencing his early career experiences and including personal photos when possible. And when the program gained traction with individuals in non-leadership roles, Walker Sands shifted content to speak to mid- and junior-level employees. As trends evolved and news shifted, the team worked closely with Greg to adapt his content — solidifying his reputation as a plugged-in, forward-thinking executive with an uncompromising people-first approach.
The Results
Doubling down on Greg’s leadership philosophy, celebrating life beyond work and recognizing his audience as individuals elevated his thought leadership presence on LinkedIn. The executive management program drove high engagement and awareness among company leaders and prospective employees, resulting in a significant increase in impressions and engagement. In just one quarter, the social program garnered the following metrics compared to pre-program averages:
- 40,000+ vs. 415 total impressions (+9,538%)
- 898 vs. 9 engagements (+9,878%)
- 2.23% vs. 1.2% average engagement rate (+86%)
Over the course of the program, Greg received comments and direct messages from followers expressing how much his content resonated with them, with one user commenting, “This article is refreshing — music to the ears of someone whose career has taken some unusual (but totally right for those times!) turns while I’ve been raising kids.” Numerous Brooks Bell job candidates also cited Greg’s LinkedIn posts as a reason for applying, specifically his posts on people-first Brooks Bell policies.
Along with the improved engagement, the program generated numerous speaking opportunities for Greg, most notably when one of his posts sparked a LinkedIn conversation with the host of the Punk Rock HR Podcast — ultimately landing Greg an appearance on the show.
Greg’s executive management program achieved success due to the incredibly collaborative partnership we developed and a shared appetite for iteration, experimentation and adaption. In advocating for workplaces that center people and community, Greg’s LinkedIn program created one of its own — a network of professionals eager to reject hustle culture and create happy, human and fulfilling work lives.
