Showing posts with label Social CEO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social CEO. Show all posts

Friday, December 14, 2018

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.



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.



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.



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.



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.



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.





"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



  • 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 ;)
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Location: Loveland, CO 80538, USA

Monday, March 12, 2018

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.



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.




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.



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.



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.



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.



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.





"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

    • 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 ;)
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