What Is A Social Media Ghostwriter? An Executive’s Guide
While the role of ghostwriter is most often associated with political speeches and book-length memoirs, a growing need has emerged for support with other forms of writing. And one of the fastest-growing areas of need for ghostwriters is in social media.
Simply put, a social media ghostwriter—sometimes called a digital ghostwriter—is a professional writer who communicates in and as the voice of another person or entity, be that a brand, company or CEO. Typically, a social media ghostwriter will create content for LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Facebook, and other public-facing channels.
Increasingly, ghostwriting is an essential component of any effective executive communications strategy. We’ll explore why, along with best practices for hiring a social media ghostwriter, the challenges and pitfalls of working with one, and examples of executive ghostwriting.
What social media ghostwriters do
Social media ghostwriters are professional writers who create and manage social media content on behalf of individuals or organizations.
Although it may sound as simple as coming up with posts for channels like LinkedIn or TikTok, a social media ghostwriter’s job is often much more involved. Their duties may include some or all of the following:
Content creation: At its most basic, a ghostwriter’s role includes creating original content for social media platforms. This includes posts, tweets, status updates, articles, blogs. Ghostwriters may also support with multimedia content like images, videos, and infographics.
Content strategy: Content without strategy is worse than no content at all. For that reason, the best social media ghostwriters have experience developing a content strategy that aligns with the client’s goals, target audience, and voice. It’s also important to organize an effective balance of video, text and infographics, and research industry trends to leverage off of.
Brand voice and tone. All content should reflect the client’s voice, tone and values. Working closely with their clients, ghostwriters reproduce their brand consistently across whatever platforms they’re working with. In the words of LinkedIn ghostwriter Anthony Carlton, they “tease out their [clients’] personal stories, career journey, and philosophy that underpins their business.”
Scheduling and publishing. Many ghostwriters help decide on frequency and timing of posts to optimize engagement. A full-service ghostwriter will also publish these updates on your behalf.
Engagement and interaction. Along with creating, scheduling, and posting content, many ghostwriters also respond to comments, messages, and mentions, as well as encourage interactions with the client’s followers. They engage not only on the client’s channels but on peers’ and followers’ as well. Engagement and interaction helps build brand presence and encourages loyalty.
Monitoring and analytics. Before hiring a social media ghostwriter, the client should have specific goals in mind. These might mean growing a leader or brand’s following and/or driving traffic to services and products. Using analytics, the ghostwriter tracks the performance of content across multiple platforms to see whether or not these goals are being reached.
Personal brand building. A good ghostwriter is also a good storyteller. They alchemize their client’s personality and distill it into authentic content by getting to know their values, their customers, their company, and their team.
Benefits of hiring a social media ghostwriter
At first glance, hiring a social media ghostwriter might seem counterintuitive: Does it make sense to have a third party to handle a channel as intimate and personal as LinkedIn or X? But in today’s hypercompetitive digital landscape, outsourcing the content creation and management of a CEO or company’s social channels often makes sense.
Consider, first, the time involved in all of the tasks mentioned above—content creation, content strategy, engagement and interaction, scheduling and publishing, monitoring, and analytics.
Then, there’s the domain expertise that the ghostwriter brings to the table. The ghostwriter knows what works and what doesn’t in the attention marketplace, and how that differs across platforms.
As well, a social media ghostwriter will deliver content that is consistent and coherent. The voice and tone will remain the same, so the customer or follower isn’t confused by the mixed messages of a too-many-cooks approach. This helps reinforce the client’s brand identity.
And many digital ghosts are former journalists with skills in researching, interviewing, storytelling, proofreading, editing, grammar, and deadline-meeting.
Ghostwriters also bring an objective viewpoint to the CEO, company, or brand. A Semrush report found that 19% of businesses employ outsourcing writing services to get unique market insights that can add value to their content.
Many social media ghostwriters are also well-versed in SEO techniques. A good ghost will be on top of the latest SEO best practices, cognizant of keywords and hashtags that are pertinent. SEO-based strategies ensure that the content is findable by search engines and prioritized by social platform algorithms.
Best practices for hiring a social media ghostwriter
As with any employee or consultant, there are some basic considerations to take into account, and then some more specific qualifications to look for.
- Past experience: Candidates should have experience, a strong portfolio, and positive client testimonials. An expert ghostwriter should be willing to share feedback from previous executive clients who have agreed to provide reviews.
- Subject-matter expertise: A social media ghostwriter should know how to use data and statistics, images, outlines, and research studies, and employ SEO best practices. Beyond this general basket of skills, you might want to consider whether or not the ghostwriter has experience in your industry or in reaching your target audiences. Anthony Carlton, for example, sells his services exclusively to finance and real estate founders who want to increase their reach on LinkedIn.
- Rates: While estimates vary widely, professional ghostwriters generally charge between $0.10 to $2.00 per word. Alternatively, for managing a social media channel, a ghostwriter might be paid a certain amount for each post or for a quota of posts each month. Some in-demand social media ghostwriters on LinkedIn charge $500–$700/hr writing posts for high-powered execs, according to Business Insider.
- Deliverables and timeframes: Setting expectations in advance (and committing them to a signed contract) is the best way to avoid surprises. It’s important to spell out exactly what services are required, when the final product will be delivered, and how long the term of engagement will be.
Best practices for working with a social media ghostwriter
When working a ghostwriter, it is important to do the following:
Define your goals and objectives. At the start of an engagement, it’s essential to dedicate time with your ghostwriter to establishing the goals, objectives, and expectations of your social media presence. A good ghostwriter will take into account the platforms you currently use and which, if any, you would like to expand your presence on; who your target audience is; and the key messages you want to communicate.
Establish clear communication channels. You will be working closely with the social media ghostwriter to ensure proper messaging and to assess results. Your feedback is valuable, so establish clear communication channels, including outlining preferred communication methods (text, email, Slack, Zoom … even old fashioned phone!), frequency of updates, and expectations for response times.
Develop branding guidelines. The ghostwriter is not a mind reader! Provide them with guidelines that describe brand voice, tone, and style preferences. Share branding assets such as logos, colors, and imagery.
Provide feedback and guidance. Help the ghostwriter refine their work by providing clear instruction and constructive feedback. Specify what you liked or didn’t like about their content. Are they relying on videos and memes too much? Do they use too many pop culture references that might not resonate with your target audience? Offer suggestions for improvement.
Examples of social media ghostwriting
While it is difficult, for obvious reasons, to find specific examples of social media ghostwriting, here are three hypothetical examples.
LinkedIn ghostwriting. The CEO of a company that delivers life-changing learning for large organizations has lots of ideas but trouble tying them altogether. She likes to mentor people and values positive change but doesn’t feel like she’s getting her message across the way that will resonate with her target audience. She hires a ghostwriter to create content for her LinkedIn account that expresses who she is, what her values are, and what she hopes to accomplish. The results:
- people reach out to tell the CEO how relatable her content is
- more people recognize her at industry events
- people tell her that they feel like they know her even though they’ve never met
- more people reach out for support
- potential clients reach out to say that they want the type of leadership culture that she talks about in her posts and ask, “How can we make this happen?’”
X (formerly Twitter) ghostwriting. The CEO of a rapidly growing energy drink company wants to increase his engagement on X and position himself as a thought leader in energy drink industry. He hires a ghostwriter to create and manage his content. The ghost works closely with the CEO to mimic his voice and learn his values and key messages. The tweets share industry insights, company updates and thought-provoking questions to spark conversation. The results:
- the CEO’s Twitter presence grows
- he gains a reputation for sharing valuable and relevant content
- more industry peers, potential clients, and potential employees engage with his Twitter account
- media reach out to him for comments on industry trends
Instagram ghostwriting. A fitness influencer and entrepreneur wants to enhance her Instagram presence to attract more followers and clients. She hires a social media ghostwriter with expertise in her industry to help her develop an Instagram content strategy. He creates visually appealing posts featuring workout tips, healthy recipes, client success stories, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of his client’s fitness journey. He also engages with followers by responding to comments, hosting Q&A sessions and sharing user-generated content. Results:
- the fitness entrepreneur’s Instagram following grows
- she expands her reach and impact in the fitness community
- her client-base increases ten-fold
- she receives an offer to be a judge on a reality-TV show looking for America’s fittest mom
Ethics of hiring a social media ghostwriter
When hiring a social media ghostwriter, it’s important to consider the work as collaborative. Authenticity is paramount because today’s digital audience prizes hearing directly from the source. A social media ghostwriter works directly with the company, brand, or CEO to deliver their message in as authentic a way as possible, and this requires almost constant communication between the ghost and the client.
Clients should also keep in mind that it is they, the CEO or company, and not the ghostwriter who is ultimately responsible for content going out in their name. To this end, they are advised to review and approve all content before its posted.
Working with a social media ghostwriter can be a powerful tool for CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs to get their message out, building their brand, and becoming thought leaders. Agencies like CSuitecontent.com provide a full range of services, including social media ghostwriting, to help you achieve your thought leadership goals.
