Be part of a “New Group of Executives” that are using social media to attract customers, generate exposure for their companies and acquire new business.
According to research by Weber Shandwick, CEO social media engagement has doubled in one year. Conducted in partnership with KRC Research, over 600 senior executives from 10 markets worldwide were surveyed. The research found that 76% of global executives say they want their CEO to engage in social media. A few of the top benefits cited were:
- An improved ability to share company news and information
- A positive impact on company reputation and business results
- Ability to communicate more directly with employees, customers, and other key stakeholders
Executives at companies with social CEOs say that their leader’s participation makes them feel inspired (52%) and technologically advanced (46%).
Companies that are truly social and engage their employees and customers in genuine conversation will be recognized as the new corporate leaders. CEOs who are social will be the next new thing. Leslie Gaines-Ross Chief Reputation Strategist, Weber Shandwick
As consumers become more social savvy, so must company leaders. CEOs who are social are perceived as better leaders and better communicators.
The Weber Shandwick report reveals 7 Habits of Highly Social CEOs that I hope will be an inspiration to agency CEOs to become socially engaged:
- Highly social CEOs use a more expansive set of social tools. Hyper-social CEOs realize sociability goes beyond dropping messages into a Twitter or microblog feed. World class sociability requires a strategically-crafted plan for driving the company’s content across several channels.
- Highly social CEOs own a blog. These CEOs see the value in long-form, content creation as a way of giving their perspectives context, meaning and depth.
- Highly social CEOs leverage the company website. These leaders realize the website remains “digital ground zero” for company information-seekers and offers a platform for content to be delivered in multiple formats. The company website can now be a destination for corporate and leadership content.
- Highly social CEOs self-author. These CEOs are DIYers (Do It Yourself). Their frequent posting influences their determination to author everything themselves although most probably take input from their marketing and communications executives.
- Highly social CEOs are forward-looking. These CEOs intuitively understand that technology and social media are the future of content distribution and they want to be part of this communication revolution.
- Highly social CEOs are spontaneous, yet not too informal. These socially adept CEOs maintain the formality of their office but let stakeholders know they can react quickly and seize opportunity.
- Highly social CEOs engage a wider variety of external stakeholders. These CEOs see the value in sociability and use it to reach out to a wide portfolio of stakeholders.
Watch Weber Shandwick’s video discussing key themes in the study:
Read the full study here: The Social CEO: Executives Tell All
Check out their infographic:
Additional leadership articles that may be of interest:
- The Barkley Agency Finds A Niche in Marketing to Millennials
- Lee Clow’s Beard: Word’s of Advertising Wisdom
- How to Build A Platform for Ad Agency New Business
- 25 Ways to Be Found for Ad Agency New Business
