Can CEOs get social?

Self-promoting isn‘t always a bad thing.

Can, and should, CEOs get social? In an age where online influencers often have more impact than the brands they are promoting, it got us thinking, what can leaders learn from this? Take John Legere. CEO of T-Mobile, he’s famous for wearing fuchsia tracksuits over pinstriped ones and his rock star personality means his personal account is ahead of the corporate accounts of many of his largest competitors.

John has 6.5 million followers on Twitter. Compare that to Vodafone’s corporate account at 247K followers and you can see why people choose personality over product.

The best CEOs are real characters. You’ve got to have a personality to rise that high and, in person, that eccentricity usually plays out really well. But on social media, when so much can be judged and misinterpreted, is it any wonder that some leaders either hesitate, feel uncomfortable, or simply don’t engage in social media with their teams – internal or otherwise?

Think differently

If you’re that leader or report into them, we can help you think differently. Time is always short but once your digital tools of choice are set up, checking in on social can boost business performance in so many ways. It inspires your team, because they feel you’re not too big to reply to a question or like someone’s post. It offers you real insight into life at your business – whether that’s in your immediate office or on a global level. And it creates a culture that helps everyone understand the part they need to play on social.

Three ways you can become more visible in your organisation

1. Use a profile pic. We’ve all seen THAT leader with the system-generated profile shot. Using a great snap makes you instantly more human – using one taken outside work is even better. You don’t have to use your suited-up professional headshot to gain your people’s respect.
2. Be engaged. When someone asks a question, or engages in one of your posts, like what they say! It’s a shortcut to making them feel like you’ve taken the time to read what they have to say. If they’re commenting, why not comment back?
3. Be active. Use social media to your advantage to get a message out quickly to your people. When you’re inspired share that. With almost 3m followers on LinkedIn, Gary Vaynerchuk, is successful because he creates content that people want to read – they feel inspired by him.

If you need help to navigate the social space with confidence, get in touch and we’ll help you start from scratch or rethink how you use what you’ve already got.