Social Media -- A Good Thing For CEO's?

Social media may be habit-forming -- And for CEO's that's a good thing..

As a serial entrepreneur and agency president, my days are hectic -- and that’s how I like it. I always have something on the back-burner, whether it's my next idea for a company, a tweet that I’ve been noodling on or chores to do on the urban farm where I live.

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I start my day at 4 a.m. and work until I collapse into bed around 9 p.m.

Part of my work is to find creative ways to share what’s going on in my world -- what I’m reading, thinking, growing or doing. Maintaining an active presence on social media has become a valuable habit I’ve formed because it introduces me to interesting people, and it adds meaning and connection to my life.

Some people ask me why I bother. Shouldn't CEO's have better things to do with their time? I disagree. While my company takes center stage, I play a crucial supporting role in its success. By using social media, I aspire to be accessible, present and transparent -- qualities that speak to our workplace culture. Social media is essential to so many individuals’ and organizations’ lives. Because I value connection, I can't ignore it. Instead, I want to be part of those harnessing it for good and as a tool to highlight insights for my business and the wider community of social entrepreneurs, agency leaders, journalists and opinion-makers.

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Company leaders who personally engage in social media elevate and strengthen their organization's identity.

A recent article in Inc. detailed how John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, took to Twitter to reimburse a customer for her in-flight Wi-Fi charges. The customer had tweeted about a flirtatious couple next to her, and it went viral. Some observers said they would be changing carriers to T-Mobile, demonstrating the power CEO's can have when they engage on social media. CEO's can give a company a face and personality with which consumers can identify. Legere leveraged the moment while boosting T-Mobile’s image and behaving like a real human being.

CEO's can and should use social media to share what is important not only to them but to their business. Content might communicate with shareholders and consumers, but at the same time, it should showcase an organization’s personality and values. Far from being a waste of time, social media is a way for me to build relationships based on giving and receiving knowledge in a fast-moving world. I can help drive a conversation about the things that matter to me and learn from others with similar interests.

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I use social media nearly every day as a tool to read, converse and learn.

It’s highly relevant to leading an agency that develops social media strategies for clients. By participating, I hone my craft, and I experiment with what works and what doesn’t. Many decades of experience in social business practices and advertising doesn’t mean I don’t have room to grow, especially in this ever-changing industry. I enjoy keeping tabs on fellow agencies, brands I respect and their leaders through social media. It gives me ideas for clients and insight on how I can improve my own business. The constant flow of innovation and ideas keeps me on my toes.

One of my mantras is "action, not words." Sharing what my companies are doing through social media demonstrates what is possible with conscious capitalism. Whether it’s photographs of our monthly employee volunteer outings or video footage of PlasticWorks, our community’s plastic up-cycling factory, I’m proud to be walking the walk. The goal of my new consulting venture, Humanista, is to transform more companies through social purpose. Because I’m so active on social media and not farming it out to a third party, my companies’ actions carry more credibility and lead to more genuine relationships with clients.

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While it’s not the norm for CEO's to manage their own social media, a few leaders do it well consistently.

Elaine Welteroth, the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, has a massive social presence that spotlights the events that she attends and the causes close to her heart. She helps use her platform to bring awareness to racial injustice and wage inequality. I’m also a huge fan of Andrei Cherny, who is a Twitter master and leads a socially conscious financial firm.

Leaders who want to play a more active role in their own social media must identify and observe leaders they admire. It doesn’t matter if they share your industry if they can create a sense of connection and authenticity and deliver value from the posts they share. I like seeing how leaders engage their own networks through social media, especially on LinkedIn, and how they take constructive criticism and use their platforms to inspire movements for good. For example, Dan Price of Gravity Payments is a social media master (best known for paying everyone at his company at least $70,000 a year) who evangelizes about paying workers a living wage and calls out companies that fall short. He’s caught some flack but takes it humbly.

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Social media shrinks our world in terms of distance while expanding it exponentially in terms of access to new ideas and brilliant people.

Connections forged online have led to in-person connections -- both valuable assets. Plus, it's fun. In the early days of Twitter, I met a friend who recently launched a wonderful soap company that donates a percentage of its profits to endangered species conservation.

That friendship led to meeting my new business partner. Despite criticism because of trolls and fake accounts (not to mention our president), Twitter is one of my platforms of choice because it’s so quick and easy.

Guest Authored By Russ Stoddard. Russ is the Founder and President of Oliver Russell, a public benefit corporation that builds brands for purpose-driven companies. Follow Russ on Twitter.

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"A CEO is the face of his or her company, like it or not. By participating in social media, we show the world who we are: transparent, authentic and committed to leaving the world better than we found it. Through my social media, I hope to inspire more people to act in a way that creates a positive difference in the world and learn from them along the way.." -RussStoddard

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Top CEO Social Media Strategy?

How Top CEOs Use Social Media Well

Many CEOs turn their noses up at the thought of using their personal social media accounts to help their companies’ brands.

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With everything else on their plates they view social media as a distraction.

In fact, 61% of Fortune 500 CEOs have no presence on social media at all. They prefer to lead from behind the close doors of their office.

However, there is a much smaller group of CEOs using their social media pages to become industry thought leaders in their industries. Doing so creates massive amounts of free PR for their brands. In an age where online Influencers often have a greater impact on branding efforts than the company’s own social media pages, a CEO who is an influencer in his or her space can be a big advantage. With the help of John White, founder and CMO of Social Marketing Solutions, I’d like to take a closer look at several of these socially savvy examples today.

One such CEO who has mastered the use of Twitter is T-Mobile’s John Legere (@JohnLegere). He uses social media to show off his rock star personality along with posting about T-Mobile’s products.

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His dedication to Twitter not only has other CEOs in the wireless space beat, but his personal account is ahead of the corporate accounts many of T-Mobile’s largest competitors as well.

Legere has 5.42 million followers on Twitter. Compare that to T-Mobile’s biggest rival Verizon which has 1.47 million followers on its verified company page.

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As a note, several weeks ago I wrote about the rash of phony follower purchases by celebrities and other whose accounts boast massive followings, many of whom were recently called out in a New York Times exposé.

To that end, I followed the advice I presented and looked up Legere’s Twitter following on TwitterAudit.com. His score: 77% authentic, meaning 4.15 million authenticated followers, which is high enough to support a reputation of real.

“The reason I know they won’t be able to take advantage of what I do is that there’s no f––ing way they’re going to be able to spend their day doing what I do,” he said.

“I wake up in bed, and I do Twitter for an hour and a half just to catch up,” Legere said in an interview with GeekWire. He tweets about Batman, sharing viral videos, and, of course, why T-Mobile is the cell phone carrier to choose. It is a fun and well-laid out tactic that gets him progressively more followers.

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Ibrahim Al-Haidos Founder of FURSAN luxury handbags has a large social media presence.

His platform of choice is Instagram, where he has more than 161,000 followers. He posts every three to four days, but posts are rarely about his company. Odd? Not at all, as consumers like and comment on photos that show him behind the scenes, enjoying life and living the lifestyle that his company’s brand image projects. Many of his photos show him enjoying the architecture and desert landscape of his home country, Qatar. Some of the most-commented posts are of his family on their travels together. Al-Haidos uses Instagram to create a personal connection with customers that creates brand loyalty.

Responding to followers is another way the top CEOs continue to gain a following on social media. After an upset customer sent a tweet about T-Mobile, Legere addressed it publically and resolved the conflict on the social media platform. Al-Haidos does the same. When someone comments on his photos, he does his best to follow up with them. His photos have at least 70 or more comments on each. Despite not posting on Instagram every day, he monitors his account and interacts with his followers daily.

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Warren Buffet joined Twitter in April 2013. Since then, he has tweeted a total of nine times and has 1.37 million followers.

The 87-year-old’s sense of humor shined through from his first post, “Warren is in the house.” In another, he showcased his like for the show Breaking Bad with a selfie of himself as Walt White. These days Buffet doesn’t tweet at all, yet his following continues to grow. He is a CEO to follow simply in support of his success and the sound advice he gives elsewhere.

The stress of being the boss calls for mindset advice as much as business advice. That is where the best-selling author of the Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin comes in. As an active LinkedIn user, she has more than 2.5 million followers. Every day she shares two trending articles on the topic of mindset. In an interview with the Huffington Post she said, “Getting responses to what I’ve written has enormously deepened my understanding of my subject. When I have a new idea, I throw it out there, and people tell me whether it rings true or not.” Every article she posts starts a conversation on LinkedIn, showing not only her upbeat and positive attitude, but her willingness to learn and be inspired by others as well.

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CEOs don’t have to spend untold hours on social media pushing people to buy their brand.

But the ones who are doing social media best are creating buzz within their communities and connecting with customers—always a plus.

There are more than 5 million people who know that T-Mobile’s CEO, John Legere, is on Twitter. Does anyone know if AT&T and Verizon’s CEOs are on Twitter? It appears not..

Guest Authored By Cheryl Conner. Cheryl is Forbes Contributor, Entrepreneur, Communications expert and founder of SnappConner PR. She's the author of Beyond PR communicate Like A Champ In The Digital Age. She is co-creator of Content University, which helps entrepreneurs and executives learn to write and to tell their stories better, and how to use their strong thought leadership content to advance their companies. Follow Cheryl on Twitter.

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"CEOs don’t have to spend untold hours on social media pushing people to buy their brand.

But the ones who are doing social media best are creating buzz within their communities and connecting with customers. Always a plus..!" -CheyrlConner

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Social Media Engagement For CEO's?

It's important for businesses to stay engaged on their social media accounts so they can respond quickly to negative feedback and keep customers happy..

At my company, ConsumerAffairs, we have a team that monitors, engages with and posts content on our social media accounts manually. In addition, I personally manage my own social media accounts and stay actively engaged with my social media platforms.

Here are my rules for engaging on social media as a CEO.

1. Monitor Social Media Using Listening Rooms

Social media has become such an important part of marketing that how to manage, interact with customers and build loyalty with social media sites is now part of the curriculum at schools like the University of Georgia.

CEOs must proactively invest, monitor and participate in the conversations that bubble up online in a meaningful way. One common way to do that is by setting up social media listening rooms and forums. For instance, larger companies like Coca-Cola maintain social media "war rooms" where they acknowledge complaints, fix them and recognize the customer who brought it to their attention. Management teams monitor all sites for negative reviews and comments that they can nip in the bud and respond to before reputational damage can set in and impact brand perception.

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2. Decide On A Social Media Identity

There's a natural inclination to separate your business and personal accounts, but really, that just creates more work and takes away your credibility. I don't have a ConsumerAffairs CEO account. When I tweet or post, it's from my personal account.

If you're serious about being a CEO, then you need to be real about who you are on social media and what you tweet or post at all times. It doesn't help business or progress if you're switching between two social media accounts. Your public persona as a CEO should be authentic, which eliminates the need for separate business and personal accounts.

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3. Consolidate All Social Media Accounts Onto One Platform

Buy a platform that enables you to consolidate what's happening in all social media accounts. Although we use LinkedIn for recruiting and Facebook is a great platform for us to share our internally produced news content, we aggregate all social media accounts under one hood, which is managed by our marketing department. This helps us learn from the various platforms and monitor all the accounts.

We use a social listening platform to help track our mentions across social platforms as well as syndicated news placement. No matter what platform you choose, Google Alerts is also key in monitoring your mentions.

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4. Monitor Your Followers

Although I am a major consumer of content, I'm not a great sharer when it comes to my own unique content. I keep track of who is following and liking my accounts. After reviewing my followers and determining their purpose, I customize my posts and tweets with relevant news items.

Original site content comes from my staff, and that's all professionally written, but I retweet that comment and share my investors' tweets and posts.

Utilizing a tool such as Buffer allows you to curate news and content and schedule it in advance so your feed is always fresh -- even while you're sleeping. This keeps your audience engaged and helps fill in the blanks on days when you can't post as often as you would like.

5. Proactively Protect Your Reputation

Customers want to do business with socially responsible companies and viral bad press can be very damaging. Companies and even individuals who are slandered on the internet have little or no recourse unless it's through identity theft insurance or reputational risk insurance.

Launched in 2010, reputation risk insurance reduces the risk of scandals and the spread of negative information about a brand in the news and on the web. While risk policies are costly, they cover major expenses associated with a scandal, including advertising, consultations with specialists and public relations advisers.

But, because it's more affordable to maintain a positive brand image on social media than it is to gain it back, we at ConsumerAffairs actively monitor social media sites to intercept problems before they go viral. This protects our reputation while keeping unexpected costs down.

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6. Create a Thoughtful Social Media Plan and Follow it

There are so many social media channels, and they all serve a different purpose. That's why we use a social media plan to strategically determine which channels to use to either project an image, sell, participate, communicate, advertise, self-promote, recruit or simply provide value. Some of our posts are related to social justice and making the world a better place, but we also use social media as a mechanism for recruitment and selling. These are the implicit purposes of a business, and social media is a channel to achieve your company's purpose.

Your business's social media plan shouldn't be an afterthought. Really take the time to decide on your social media voice, platform and the type of ideas and information you want to share to engage with your audience.

From there, an editorial calendar keeps your content relevant, consistent and true to your brand's voice.

7. Use Instagram to Memorialize Company Events

Instagram is a good medium for memorializing company events. We use it to promote our company as a great place to work. I share proactively about why niche leaders would want to work with ConsumerAffairs. For example, I might upload a picture of my company and write, "This is what it looks like when you crush quarterly earnings," or I'll post a staff photo on Instagram where we are all engaged in a team-building exercise or attending a company-wide event. All of this showcases the unique culture and environment we have created.

Guest Authored By Zac Carman. Zac has served as CEO of ConsumerAffairs since 2010, when he purchased the website from founder Jim Hood. Previous roles included Entrepreneur in Residence, Senior Associate and Associate at Mainsail Partners, a private equity firm in San Francisco, and roles in engineering and sales at IBM and Hitachi. Follow Zac on Twitter.

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“Companies used to pay for advertising or publicity in the local newspaper, television and radio stations.

Social media has changed that model by providing an outlet for CEO's to handle media and advertise internally.

If used wisely and strategically, social media can raise your brand's visibility and profitability without risking your reputation..”

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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