Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google does it. Microsoft’s Bill Gates does it, as does his friend, Warren Buffett. Bill Marriott of Marriott hotels does it. Forrester CEO George Colony does it, too. No, they’re not backdating stock options …they’re “social CEOs”—leaders who either blog, tweet or use other digital means of communication.
And that’s a rarity today. But with digital/social communications in the forefront, and with corporate and CEO reputations at an all-time low, why aren’t more leaders dipping their toes into cyberspace, at least in the shallow part?
“The social horizon is very close to us today,” says Leslie Gaines-Ross chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick. “Because employees and customers are more social, there are many options that CEOs have to become more social, too.”
Weber Shandwick takes a close look at CEOs and their “social status” in a study that broke last week, “Socializing the CEO.”
The agency studied the communications of CEOs in the world’s largest 50 companies and audited traditional outreach as well as the following digital/social activities:
• Communications on a company Web site: letters, messages, videos and podcasts
• Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Microblogging (e.g., Twitter)
• Wikipedia
• Company YouTube channel
Not too surprisingly, just 36% of the CEOs studied are considered “social”—engaged in social media or through company Web sites. And the social bar was set low: CEOs only had to have a video up on the corporate Web site or a Wikipedia listing to qualify.
Yet according to Dorian Cundick, executive adviser at the Corporate Executive Board, times have changed, and the C-suite needs to change with them, or be left behind. “Socializing the CEO should be a priority simply because they don’t have much of a choice in the matter,” says Cundick. “Of course, CEOs need to be social in an appropriate way, where they can choose to converse with stakeholders on their own terms, and not get buffeted around in public.”
Forrester CEO George Colony’s blog, “The Counterintuitive CEO,” positions him as a thought leader on how CEOs can be successful.
Because a CEO blog is a rarity, Colony ends up speaking about being a “social CEO” at live events, and he blogs about it, too. Here are some of Colony’s tips for successful CEO blogging:
• The social CEO should be blogging six to eight times per year and posting on Twitter 12-24 times per year.
• Have a strong support team that monitors and reviews Twitter and blog traffic at least every 24 hours.
• Don’t get too personal—he or she risks coming off as self-absorbed. On the flip side, a naturally private CEO should never force folksiness.
SAFETY FIRST
If you’re considering a blog or another social media platform for your CEO, Cundick recommends starting with a “safer” audience: employees. “Starting off inside, particularly in highly regulated industries, is a good way to go,” says Cundick. With an internal blog, she continues, it’s easier to control conversation—by switching off the “comments” section, for example.
BE VISIBLE…
Of course, blogs are not the end-all for CEOs starting their socialization. Just getting videos up on the corporate Web site and possibly on a YouTube channel is a positive start, says Gaines-Ross. “We are seeing an increase in the use of corporate YouTube channels,” she says. “So think about recording speeches and putting them somewhere online.”
Here’s some other tips from Gaines-Ross for going social:
• Identify best practices of your competition and best-in-class communicators. Then establish and stretch your own comfort zone.
• Start with the fundamentals (e.g., videos or photos online). Inventory and aggregate existing CEO communications for repurposing online.
• Learn story sharing. Craft a narrative that captures the attention of target audiences.
• Develop a C-suite social media strategy. Strategically select social media outlets that fit the company’s overall communications strategy.
• S imulate or test drive social media participation.
• Understand what you’re getting into— before you go live.
• Your corporate reputation program needs to include a social component.
…OR NOT
Of course, some contend that being social is of minor importance for a CEO, who should be spending time with customers, employees and other stakeholders.
Eric Dezenhall, CEO of crisis communications consultancy Dezenhall Resources, takes that point of view. “The PR business loves to come up with a holy scripture that serves their business interests—thou shalt always tweet—even if it doesn’t make sense strategically,” says Dezenhall.
But it depends, he says. “If you run a consumer product company or a chic retailer then, sure, social media may have some value, but there are plenty of businesses where it’s better for the CEO to tend to business,” he says.
Being in the crisis business, Dezenhall is well aware of the dangers of an “out there” CEO. “Providing running commentary in cyberspace comes with an implied promise that you’ll always be willing to pontificate whenever the media wants you to, which can be very problematic,” he contends. “A lot of good business is conducted with discretion, which lots of serious business people still believe in.”
But, there’s nothing wrong with baby steps, says Gaines-Ross. Going social is the way of the world, “if only for the simple reason that the next generation of employees will look at a company and be curious about what kind of CEO it has.” PRN
CONTACT:
Leslie Gaines-Ross, [email protected]; Dorian Cundick, [email protected]; Eric Dezenhall, [email protected].
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