SOCIAL MEDIA IS NO LONGER OPTIONAL.
If your clients are on social media you need to be there, too
Social media is still an afterthought for many in the c- suite — if it’s given any thought at all.
A survey of executives at Canada’s top 1,000 corporations found more than half feel the benefits of social media are exaggerated, while only a quarter of them have ever tweeted under their own name.
Consumer trends, meanwhile are mapping in the opposite direction. Globally, more than two billion people are on social media, with the average user on for nearly two hours a day. Studies show millennials watch more YouTube than TV and three out of four consumers say their buying decisions are influenced by social media.
You have to ask yourself, if social media is where your customers are, shouldn’t you be there, too?
Time — or lack thereof — is the primary obstacle to social media use for many executives. Then there’s the question of return on investment: perceptions linger of Twitter and Facebook as a place to share photos, not one where serious business happens.
Finally, there’s fear of screwing up. Executives’ gaffes can and have become the stuff of Internet infamy, f rom Tim Cook’s recent grainy Super Bowl pic to Kenneth Cole’s infamous riff on the Arab Spring.
What’s rarely talked about are the benefits that can accrue to chief executives who use social media, even if they’re not posting actively.
Yes, I run a social media management company. But, with hundreds of employees and more than 10 million users, I’m as busy as the next CEO, yet I couldn’t get through the day without leveraging social media.
I start each day perusing a Twitter feed set up to monitor any mentions of Hootsuite. On a typical morning, I see plenty of raw, unfiltered commentary from users including requests for new features, complaints about the odd bug, product support questions, even the occasional high- five for a job well done.
Getting this kind of insight used to require elaborate focus groups and professional analysis. Social media give leaders a direct pipeline to what their customers are thinking and doing in real time, with no spin from publicists or middle managers. Better still, it requires minimal time and effort.
Moving beyond listening to actively interacting on social media brings additional benefits. Today, building trust with customers and rapport with employees requires giving your brand a human face. Social media represent one of the most powerful ways for CEOs to do this, efficiently and at scale.
John Legere, chief executive of U. S.- based telecom carrier T- Mobile, has mastered this — leveraging a little social effort to leave a big impression.
When a random Twitter user shared praise about T- Mobile’s data plan ( and regret at being locked into competitor AT&T’s service), Legere deftly chimed in: “… bet @ ATT’s CEO isn’t going to join the convo. Come join the #WirelessRevolution! #Uncarrier.”
In fewer than 140 characters, he showed customers that someone real was at the helm of his company and looking out for their interests. This Twitter exchange was picked up by dozens of news outlets, evidence of T-Mobile’s progressive leadership.
These perks reverberate internally, too. When a leader posts on social media, it makes the company a more attractive place to work, nearly 70 per cent of senior professionals report. Social media help keep the lines of communication open with staff. Again, the reward-to- effort ratio here is huge. Without ever calling a meeting or hosting a presentation, it’s possible to make an immediate connection with your team.
Ultimately, though, the greatest motivator to get on social media may be simple necessity. The medium represents a cultural shift, not just a technological one, and it’s making the leap to the workplace.
McKinsey reports that US$ 1. 3 trillion in value stands to be unlocked by companies that figure out how to apply social technologies in the coming years, not just as marketing tools, but in sales, customer service and internal communications.
It’s very difficult for a leader to guide this transformation without “getting” social media on some level.
As for lingering concerns about time commitment and security, technology has caught up. Dedicated tools are available expressly for business users.
Filters eliminate the babble and find the conversations that matter. Team functions allow messages to be assigned to staff for followup or put into queues for approval. Analytics can show the impact of sent messages, while compliance tools automatically filter out problem posts.
Social media, used right, can be an executive productivity tool, a global broadcast channel, a source of consumer and competitor intelligence and a public relations vehicle. It costs little to nothing to set up and use and requires minimal training and time commitment. With a reward- t o- effort ratio like that, it may be time for more CEOs to take the plunge.
GLOBALLY, MORE THAN TWO BILLION PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA. ULTIMATELY, THE GREATEST
MOTIVATOR MAY BE SIMPLE
NECESSITY.