How CEOs Can Win on LinkedIn: Authenticity, Cadence and Engagement (with Brooke Budke)

Why LinkedIn still has outsized opportunity

“LinkedIn doesn’t have creators. Nobody’s willing to put their opinion out there in a professional setting.” – Brooke Budke

• The platform skews professional and under-saturated with original voices.
  
  
• Content has long tail reach. Posts resurface for weeks or months because there’s less supply than demand.
  
  
• If you’re a founder or franchisor, your voice reduces perceived risk for prospects. The relationship starts online and makes offline conversations warmer.

Key stats:

• About 1% of users post, 99% consume.
  
  
• About 800 million users log in 8-12 times per day.
  
  
• 80% of people prefer following a founder over the brand.
  
  

The psychology blocking most leaders from posting

• Core human fears: “I’m not enough” and “If I’m not enough, I won’t be loved.”
  
  
• Professional “boxes” (what we think we’re allowed to share) create paralysis.
  
  
• Authenticity > perfection. Share beliefs, lessons and behind-the-scenes habits. You won’t be for everyone – and that’s the point.

“If everybody likes you, you’re probably boring.”

Brooke’s 10-day content system (steal this)

Tool stack: iPhone Notes + LinkedIn’s native scheduler + a photos/video folder.

1. Batch writing: Draft 10 posts at a time (no further than 10 days to stay timely).
2. Pair a visual: Selfie, quick video or relevant photo (authenticity beats polish).
3. Schedule: Pick day/time on LinkedIn and remove emotion from the outcome.
4. Engage: Morning poster? Great – but test nights/weekends (Brooke’s surprise winners).
5. Repeat: Daily posting (or start with three per week). Compounding kicks in after months, not days.

Pro tip: Enter a peak state before writing. Walk, breathe, music, affirmations – then draft. Brooke can now batch ten posts in about 90 minutes because she protects the energy before she writes.

The executive edge: Leading so your team follows

“So goes the leader, so goes the team.” 

If the CEO is timid online, the team will be, too.

• Model the behavior: Leaders post first, then invite teams and franchisees.
• Make it fun: Sidekick ran a six-month contest with big prizes – behavior stuck even after it ended.
• Franchise play: Momentum brands grouped franchisees, appointed peer captains, ran a Reels challenge and had the system vote on winners.

Build your 5 pillars (a.k.a. your repeatable sound bites)

Pick five themes you want to be known for. Examples for founders in franchising:

1. Leadership and culture: Standards, hiring, mentoring
2. Franchise education: Owner stories, KPIs, funding, ramp-up
3. Personal growth: Habits, affirmations, fitness, routines
4. Family/values: What shapes decisions and priorities
5. Industry insights: Consumer trends, unit economics, tech
   
   

Rotate these pillars and tell fresh stories within each. Repetition builds brand memory.

Engagement strategy that actually moves the needle

• Comment > Like. Every time you like, leave a thoughtful comment or question. It’s how you make friends, not followers.
  
  
• Ask questions in your captions to invite dialogue (which boosts reach).
  
  
• Block “Power Minutes.”
  
  
  • Habit stack engagement to existing routines (first five minutes of breakfast and five mins after lunch).
  • Or block three five-minute slots (morning, lunch, late night) to reply with intention vs. rushing.
    
    
• Deal with negativity: Many “this belongs on Facebook” comments are bots or low-signal. Stay curious, ask “why?” or simply move on.

What should CEOs share on LinkedIn?

Short answer: More personal than you think.

• Post-COVID norms blurred office/home. Family and lifestyle moments can outperform pure business posts.
  
  
• Dog cameos, garage-gym thoughts, morning routines – habits humanize leaders and build trust.
  
  
• Avoid grandstanding on race, religion and politics. Instead, share beliefs and values that shape how you lead.

A Week-in-the-Life Posting Template (Copy/Paste)

• Mon: Pillar #1 – Leadership lesson + selfie at the whiteboard
• Tue: Pillar #2 – Franchise insight + quick chart or list
• Wed: Pillar #3 – Personal habit (fitness/affirmation) + short video
• Thu: Pillar #4 – Family/value story + reflection question
• Fri: Pillar #5 – Industry take + 3 actionable bullets
• Sat: Light lifestyle post (book, playlist, routine)
• Sun: Weekly recap or “What I’m testing next week” post
  
  

Start with three days per week if daily feels heavy and scale up once you’re consistent.

10 post prompts to get you started

1. “Three mistakes I made in year one – and the fixes I’d use today.”
2. “My hiring litmus test in five questions.”
3. “What I wish every new franchisee knew about ramping to breakeven.”
4. “How I prep for a keynote (mindset + run-of-show).”
5. “Our meeting that actually works (agenda template inside).”
6. “Why we stopped renting attention and started earning it.”
7. “Our five non-negotiables for brand partnerships.”
8. “A customer story that changed how I lead.”
9. “What my [kid/spouse/mentor] taught me about leadership.”
10. “One dashboard metric I won’t delegate – and why.”

Brooke’s favorite habit swap (for focus)

When you feel the urge to doom-scroll before a big moment, open your Notes app and read affirmations instead. Train your mind to listen to you, not the feed.

Measurable next steps (30-day challenge)

1. Define your five pillars. One sentence each.
   
   
2. Batch 10 posts in Notes this Sunday and pair each with a photo/video.
   
   
3. Schedule them using LinkedIn’s native scheduler.
   
   
4. Set three five-minute engagement windows per weekday (habit-stack to meals/coffee).
   
   
5. Run a four-week team challenge (points for posts, comments and value adds).
   
   
6. Review weekly. Which pillars/angles drove saves, comments and DMs?