How to make your CEO social?

Editor's Notes

1. At some point in your life, you had a terrible experience in an awful restaurant somewhere. Twenty years ago, you only had the ability to stand up, make a snappy comment to the waiter, and leave. Telling your friends and relatives about that terrible experience did also help to make you feel better. Fast forward to 2015 – social media and review sites like Trip Advisor have changed the business landscape forever. Now, as an angry customer, with a few well-placed reviews or tweets, you have the power to create a wave of distrust and fear. In a similar way, restaurants and hotels have adapted and can respond to your review. They understood that silence is the worst answer to bad critics. Their brand is out there, being discussed. They need to engage. In large global organizations like the ones represented in this room, designated experts build and implement communications strategies to preserve their brands. And of course, every employee of the company should be encouraged to act as brand ambassador. Every employee, even the top execs, even the Chef himself. Because their voice will resonate differently. Because they have something unique to bring to the conversation. Today, even CEOs are ranked like restaurants.
2. They are part of the online conversation. They want it, or not, they’re out there. They need to participate, engage, respond. They need to « be social » because they have the power to enhance their reputations and the reputation of their companies. They do not have to go all-out socially, but having some social presence is beneficial. Social “lite” might just be enough. But what does « being social » mean?
3. Satya Nadella is the current Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft. He was appointed in 2014 and here’s his 1st tweet. What I am going to say? How often? On which social network? Those are important concerns. Unfortunately, having a Linkedin or a Twitter profile doesn’t mean « being social ». A “social” CEO does at least one of the following: He/She Engages on the company website The corporate website remains “digital ground zero” for anyone seeking information about a company and its leadership. A social CEO will be featured on the site with rich media: messages, pictures or video. Authors an external blog e.g. Linkedin Influencer program or publishing platform Appears in videos on the company YouTube channel Even on an annual basis, as Maurice Lévy in the famous greetings video from Publicis! But again, why should CEOs care? What are the benefits for them and for their companies?
4. Having said that, “Being Social” cannot be limited to just social networks. Many CEOs who don’t participate in social media are actually communicating with employees through company intranets (50%) or other internal channels. On Noodle, one trendy intranet solution that you may already know, CEOs can even hold an internal blog.
5. NEWS When asked about the most important benefits of CEO’s sociability, 80% of executives answer “greater ability to share company news”. CEOs appear as the most valuable channel when it comes to sharing information. Engaging employees is critical to align day to day decision-making with company strategy. Social CEOs have the ability to arm employees with news they can use to help spread positive word of mouth. REPUTATION By being social, CEO can raise both their reputations and the reputations of their company. Company Weber Shandwick found that a two-thirds (66%) of consumers say that their perceptions of CEOs affect their opinions of companies and the products they sell. Executives, too, recognize the importance of leadership reputation – they attribute nearly one-half (49%) of a company’s reputation to the CEO’s reputation. Without any doubt, CEO’s sociability is critical to bolster the overall reputation of organizations. Themselves In the same survey from Weber Shandwick, Social CEOs are rated significantly higher on the following qualities: open, honest and respectful. They are also more likely to be seen as friendly, spontaneous and personal than unsocial CEOs. TRUST If CEOs want to reassure their key stakeholders and their employees, build media relations, bring transparency, they need to have a voice on Social media. Trust is a funny thing.
6. Here’s a recent survey on how the general public perceives CEO, employees and media spokesperson, when they share company news. We’ve just asked them: how much do you trust those guys, when it comes to the following topics « Working conditions, Integrity and, Business practices ». What we see is that the media spokesperson is always far behind, on any of the subjects. With regards to working conditions, employees are far more trustworthy. 3X more the CEO. But look at « integrity » and even more significant « business practices », CEOs are as trusted as employees. They have greater credibility, therefore they should be the ones communicating on those subjects! At this stage you may wondering: “OK, it’s great but his my CEO up for it?”
7. First of all, your CEO doesn’t have to be Richard Branson. Branson is of course, the best example for a leader- ambassador on social media. Branson is more than a CEO. He’s almost a brand by himself. He’s a star. But your CEO doesn’t have to be a star to be social.
8. Look at Mark Hurd, CEO at Oracle. The general public doesn’t know much about him, but he’s there : writing about business related themes to make sure his brand resonates, both his personal brand, and his company’s. CLICK You may know James Caan for being one of the most influential CEOs and investors in the UK. James Caan comes from the staffing industry; he is an influencer on Linkedin and is posting almost every week. He gives tips around job interviews and shares some other of his « business secrets » as he calls them. James Caan likes to say that his engagement with social media generates new business opportunities for him. He wouldn’t waste his Sunday afternoons writing blogs otherwise. So how do you engage your CEO to the point he’s as active as James Caan on social media? how do you convince him or her to become social?
9. Here are 3 tips to socialize your CEOs and the top execs in your organization.
10. The 1st advice is to produce a great pitch. In order to convince your CEO and the leadership team in your organisation, you need to base your recommendation on the business objectives. Understand what keeps your leaders up at night and show them how going social can help them rest easy. Is talent attraction the 1st priority? Talent brand is already a hot topic for CEOs. In fact, 93% of them say they’re changing their talent brand strategy or recognize that they need to. They have a key role to play in that strategy by going one step further and have a voice on social networks. Is it about building morale. Your CEO has just appointed a Head of Happiness, making clear that employee engagement is key for the business. Great news: social media can help. Actually, employees from socially engaged companies feel more optimistic about the future of their organization. (52% of them, Relationship Economics) Are we looking at the bottom figure? How can you prove that social media engagement will have a direct impact on profitability? If you listen to employees working at the most socially-engaged companies, they do feel that sales are made easier by leveraging social media. 57% of them expressed that opinion in our latest survey. And remember James Caan’s story about the investments he secured thanks to his blogging activity. Once the business objectives are clarified, it’s time to build a plan.
11. To support your strategy, you need to pick the right KPIs. Establish a baseline up-front and explain where you want to go. This will help you track impact and progress over time. Going social does not happen instantly One metric companies have used effectively with top execs is the Talent Brand Index: an index measuring the attractiveness of a company’s talent brand. It can be viewed over time to measure progress and also viewed against peer companies to help organizations see where they stand. My 3rd tip today is around cultural differences.
12. It’s also important to localise your strategy and take into account the cultural aspect, especially for global organisations. The level of social engagement from CEOs varies from one region to the other. The reluctance of your CEO to use social media might be partially explained by culture and upbringing. In the cosmetics industry, Avon ex-CEO Mrs Jung explained in a rare interview in 2000 that she was not shy, but grew up in a traditional Asian household and was, therefore, "reserved.“ Taking that into account will effectively help to socialize your leaders.
13. Top Execs working at socially engaged companies are more likely to encourage employees to leverage social media. Engagement at the top will cascade throughout the company and your employees will become your best ambassadors. That’s the Chef, from his kitchen, who wins Michelin stars but that’s the restaurant as a whole that will diplay them on the front door. The CEOs is perhaps the most influential drivers of change within the organization. His/her engagement on social media will make the digital transformation of the business possible. Thank you.