I saw an article on LinkedIn this morning talking about how less than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are on any social media channels. I mentioned this to my husband who said, “That’s what I’d expect,” but as I come from the social media side of the coin, it leaves me with a concern. As the article below states, 2 billion people around the world are on social media (one article I read quoted we are close to 3 billion, which is half the world’s population!) and as a small business owner, I can’t imagine not being on social media. I’ve had other businesses in the past and have a couple of others I run now, and I see the impact of not interacting with fans and followers on my other social media pages. This isn’t about ads or getting the right content, it’s just about connection.
It seems the old school way of thinking about businesses is that CEOs are in the white tower running things and they’ve delegated the “right people” to roles that interact with the public. But these days (and it will continue to move this way), consumers EXPECT all levels of companies to interact with them. I’m not saying that CEOs have to be public or 100% transparent, but from my experience, if I’m able to get to the head of a company easily, either by social or even email, I’m more likely to give them my money, my business and referrals.
Social media is not just a passing fad anymore or a place to waste time watching cat videos. It’s necessary, maybe a necessary evil for some, but if you’re interested in growing your business (small or large), CEOs must be active on social, not just have a presence, to go to the next level and gain new consumers for their brand.
Here’s the article I was referring to. What are your thoughts about CEOs being engaged (or not) on social media? Comment below or post this to your Facebook page.
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