Something told me when I set up Delightful Communications that I was onto something with helping CEOs with social media and personal branding.
During my 12 years in digital marketing and my 9 year career in the entertainment business, one thing I’ve observed is just how badly some CEOs and senior business leaders conduct themselves online and onstage.
Okay, so “badly” is probably too strong a word, so let’s say they leave a lot of opportunity begging as they and their PR teams miss many chances to really cement a positive image in the minds of their own staff, their customers AND their potential customers.
Only last week, eMarketer talked about some Weber Shandwick research into the subject.
Is your CEO ready for the digital stage? (Photo: CODYody)
This is what they concluded:
“Having some kind of CEO presence on social channels is becoming an almost necessary part of doing business—whether for brand image or company transparency. Eight out of 10 employees deemed it important to communicating with customers and investors. On the flip side, almost half of respondents said CEOs who did not engage on social channels risked becoming out of touch with their customers—an indication that, over time, not engaging on social media will be considered a liability more than a choice.”
We’re living in an age where digital feedback via social channels is rife and marketing and PR teams get that.
What their not doing well is promoting one of their best and most public assets in an intelligent way.
Next week I’m talking about Digital Evangelism at SearchFest in Portland, and I’ll be touching on the need for companies to have a face, a human face that customers can identify with and look for positive signals from and engage with.
Digital and social media content across a myriad of devices has educated a much more savvy public as to what is PR spin and inauthenticity on the part of a CEO.
They can smell it a mile off, and they will react badly if they get a whiff.
What companies need to do is formulate a strategy around their leaders’ personal brand and open them out a little to the world.
Some CEOs are not that gregarious, really busy running the business, and just not that into broadcasting their every thought and that’s OK.
But they all have a story to tell, and they all have a duty to respond in some way in an authentic and honest manner to feedback whether good or bad.
In 2013, that’s the sort of behaviour that gets your brand liked. That’s the sort of behaviour that get’s your brand talked about in a positive and endearing fashion.
In a world where one Tweet can go more viral than anything ever before and say so much in a photo about that leader and his feelings & values, doesn’t it make sense that your business at least try and create a positive digital platform for your CEOs personal brand and that of the company?
If you or your company leader is in need of a personal branding strategy please Contact Me…….before your competitor does!
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Curiously enough, I have actually heard that many corporations are starting to shed their “social media” departments, considering it an experiment that didn’t work out. The trend struck me as odd since social media certainly hasn’t become less popular. It’s obvious that they were simply using it incorrectly from the beginning.
I think those businesses would have had better luck if they went the route you are describing here. Don’t hire kids to do it for you, have the people with their souls in the business handle the social media, communicate the spirit of the company. I agree that authenticity is the one vital variable in social media success, and you always get that when the people handling the outreach are the ones who sunk their sweat and blood into it. company they’re representing.