Have you read the most recent survey making the rounds? The
one from KRC Research and Weber Shandwick that proves what everyone but your
CEO already knows? If you haven't seen it, it's worth a read, outlining why
your CEO be supposed to be on social media and what you're missing if he or she
isn't using it.
Read it. And then maybe forward it to your boss.
The study of 630 executives in 10 markets discovered the greater
part of executives want their CEO to be utilizing social channels. According to
the results, 76 percent of executives believe it is a good thought for CEOs to
be social and 69 percent of executives who have social CEOs would like to see
them participate even more commonly!
With the number of CEOs participating in social projected to
boost 50 percent over the next five years, it seems the days of the elusive CEO
hiding in the boardroom are over. In today's social economy, visible
storytelling sells, and who better to tell your story than the person dependable
for leading the charge?
Social CEOs have been shown to:
Improve the company reputation.
Reveal the brand's innovation.
Humanize the company.
Enlarge business results.
Set a social example for employees.
But you, the savvy marketing manager, probably already knew
all of that. How do you induce your CEO to drop the hate and get on the social
media soapbox?
1. Educate Them
For your CEO to care concerning social media he or she needs
to understand why they should care. That it isn't enough the business has made
a social investment they, personally, need to make an investment as well. It
may take some educating before your CEO is open to the thought of blogging,
shooting video or even creating that Twitter account you keep mentioning during
internal staff meetings, but they'll get there.
Help get them on the same page by providing in sequence
about the benefits of being a social CEO. Pull research data like the survey
mentioned above from Weber Shandwick or BrandFrog to illustrate the power of
having a sociable CEO and the long list of benefits it brings to the company.
Pull together case studies that look at how social CEOs have
increased the company's bottom line and brand awareness by being concerned.
Putting a face to this social media CEO “thing” and tying it back to clear ROI
is how you're going to influence an otherwise antisocial CEO to start getting
involved.
2. Initiate the Tools
You can help your CEO feel more empowered and in control of
his or her social media presence by narrowing down the obtainable platform
choices. There's no need to overwhelm them by making them feel they need to be
everywhere Known is.
Start small, start where your CEO will be most comfortable
and focus on the sites that will give the company the most bang for its buck,
whether it's a branded account on Twitter or a new channel on YouTube.
Find the medium your CEO will feel most comfortable using
for expression and updates.
3. Address Fears
Ask 10 CEOs why they haven't gotten occupied in social media
and you may get exactly that many answers:
They're afraid of negative feedback.
They have nothing to say.
They may say the wrong thing.
They don't have time.
They don't know how to start or what sites to use.
They don't understand it.
They simply don't want to!
Instead of discounting these fears, address them! Recognize
the reasons and the fears associated for not getting involved and break them
down.
For the CEO with nothing to say, work with them to make a
strategy (yes, you do need a social media strategy for your brand) so they have
talking points broken out and a calendar to clearly follow. Adding structure
and a schedule to social media will make it more manageable. You wouldn't throw
your child into the pool without teaching him to swim. Same concept.
For the CEO who doesn't have time, initiate him or her to
social media management tools like Buffer or Raven Tools that they can use to
help schedule and monitor updates. Let your CEO know he or she doesn't have to
be on Twitter all day in order to set up a true presence. Take off some of the
always-on pressure.
For the CEO afraid of saying the wrong thing, lean again on
that social media strategy to help recognize topics worth discussing, as well
as how to handle touchy situations that may arise. By giving them guidelines to
follow for how they should be engaging, your help take the guesswork out of it.
4. Offer a Game Plan & Check In
Once you've gotten buy in and your CEO is onboard, create a
plan for the next three months, outlining their presence and their movement.
If they're going to be blogging, what are the topics they'll
be covering? When do they need post drafts due? When will they be published?
If your CEO is about to get active on Twitter, help them get
the account created – give them a fresh background and profile image – and show
them who they be supposed to be following, how to find other people to follow,
how to use Twitter search and other tools, and help them get their feet wet so
they feel confident using the platform.
If your CEO is going to make video blogs, create your
recording schedule and introduce him or her to the tools that will be used.
Once the plan has been set into motion, monitor it. Don't
leave your CEO out to dry, all awkward and floppy. Check in on a usual basis.
Offer comment and make sure he or she is sticking to the plan you laid out. If
they seem to be struggling, hop in and offer support and management. Lead the
way.
5. Map Successes
Celebrate wins, no matter how small. Offer high-fives for
great updates or blog posts that gain legs and earn traction. By highlighting
and congratulating his or her successes, you'll build your CEO more invested in
their social media use.
Summary
Give confidence to your CEO to become your chief storyteller
by educating them about the significant of social on your business, addressing
fears and plotting a course of social media action. By doing so you'll not only
advance the company vision, but you'll strengthen the company as a whole.
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