As much as we want our CEOs to be social savvy, are they? Well, going by Domo and CEO.com’s report release in September of 2014, 68 per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs lack a social presence. The hesitance of majority of CEOs to be active in social media is apparent but going by the trends of companies preferring social savvy CEOs, getting active online looks like the smart thing to do.
There are a myriad of reasons why companies want social savvy CEOs. CEOs embracing social media have proven that they connect better – both with their consumers, stakeholders, executives and employees. They build relationships on trust and create emotional connections while using one of the most effective and efficient ways of communication, reputation and business results. It also brings them closer to the community and respond to issues that can matter the most to companies and employees.
Its doesn’t come as a surprise then that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the only Fortune 500 CEO with accounts on all five of the major networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Instagram. Yes, Mark Zuckerberg does have a Twitter account too; though he tweeted last almost four years ago.
On Twitter; Ralph Lauren has most Twitter followers at 1.06 million followers; Warren Buffett has 938K and Apple CEO Tim Cook has 923 K.
As for Facebook, only six CEOs have Facebook fan pages. This includes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mullaly, CISCO Systems CEO John Chambers and Auto Nation CEO Michael Jackson.
As much as there have been reports on why CEOs must become increasingly socially active, it also calls for a debate on whether employees in companies should be permitted to use social media during work hours. Many companies have a strict code of conduct that bans employees from accessing their personal social media accounts during office hours. Substantial thought has been put behind some of these decisions. It is perhaps time to revisit this stance one more time.
There have been various conversations on the impact that a company’s workforce can create on social platforms, whether as extended brand ambassadors or by just portraying a company culture that attracts the right talent. However, the flip side is that social media is a beast that cannot be controlled and sometimes, anything goes. The beauty about the timing right now is individuals are evolving their social media presence, people are beginning to realize that social media is not complaint platforms and there is an attempt to be more engaging and ‘social’.
CEOs who truly understand and utilize the power of social media will have a competitive edge over their counterparts. This is the time for the world’s most elite corporate leaders to think the Zuck-way.
