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Research over the last few years has shown that there is a huge gulf in understanding by senior leaders about the implications of the huge changes going on in society – what some are calling the Social Age. These changes, enabling anyone with a smartphone to sign up to a social network and to comment on anything and everything, are revolutionary.
Despite this quiet revolution, which has been embraced by the masses, it is the people at the top of organisations who have been slowest to understand and adapt to it. Many are still seemingly unaware that it is a revolution.
In the meantime, a small number of leaders have understood the implications of the Social Age and are embracing it wholeheartedly. These leaders, who will contribute the section at the heart of my book with their own experiences and observations of the value of social media, are the vanguard.
We’ve now reached a point where interest in social leadership is at an all-time high. Almost daily there is a new article published, espousing the need for CEOs to ‘get social’.
The Social CEO was written to educate and inspire senior leaders to embrace the Social Age and learn to utilise social media to make them better leaders.
It has contributions from almost 30 writers from across the globe, including industry-recognised experts in social business and practicing ‘social CEOs’. It breaks down the many aspects of leading in the Social Age into bite-sized chapters, with topics such as personal branding, socila selling, managing risk and public relations. It also includes chapters written by CEOs from many different sectors, from healthcare to sport, who share their experience and offer advice about utilising social media in their sectors.
Here we share some of the highlights:
“The good thing about social media is that it gave everyone a voice. The unfortunate thing about social media is that it gave everyone a voice.” – Brian Solis
“Being a Social CEO is not just about having a presence on social media or sending branded or corporate approved messages. It’s leadership in public view.”
“Those leaders who have embraced social media have metaphorically moved from the corner office to the lobby. By relocating they can see their customers, partners, supporters, employees, and competitors come and go; hear their conversations, gripes, needs and aspirations. You don’t get that kind of exposure if you’re locked away with an executive assistant guarding your door and email.”
Sarah Goodall
“Social media is at the heart of the technological changes that are driving this modern more collaborative style of leadership.”
“It is the unpredictable nature of social media that deters leaders from engaging online…These digital conversations are happening whether the organization is involved or even aware of them.”
“Embracing a social culture across the organization enables new leaders to rise…Leaders who attract a following through what they say and do…leaders who gain the respect of the community for their experience and the value they give back to the community…Leaders with passion and purpose become influential both inside and outside the organization.”
“The Social Age has changed our relationship with learning. It’s enabling communities to learn with and from each other, when and how they wish to.”
“In the era of fake news, we learn towards our trusted networks to provide clarity…Trusted authenticity is critical to social leadership”
“Branding can no longer be managed via press relations and orchestrated media engagements but with agile responses and authentic voices.”
Your choice: Choose to be disrupted or disrupt through social leadership.
Andrea Edwards
“In 2013 McKinsey published a report entitled “6 social media skills every leader needs” They stated any business that develops a critical mass of leaders who master the skills of social media will experience significant business benefits.”
“You can’t be internally focused when you’re social. You’ll be connected to the global conversation taking place in your industry. This external focus is the pillar to transform your business into a people-focused culture. It is the core tool of transformation because it is about communication.”
“It’s not just in leading the conversation where CEOs can success. It is also in listening to your audience and participating in conversations. Social is fundamentally two-way”
“We are living in a world inundated with noise – often referred to as infobesity. `A large part of this noise is content created for content’s sake.”
“One of the challenges with social media is that too many people are talking about themselves, their successes, their products or services. This turns people off.”
“Social CEOs have a huge passion for their community, they relish the opportunity to share their views and participate in conversations online…This speaks to us. We know they are doing it because they care.”
“A Social CEO is active on social media regularly, if not every day at least a few times a week.
Here are 7 things they could be doing:
1) Praising an employee for a job well done
2) Sharing or commenting on a blog a colleague has written
3) Interacting with a customer, perhaps by sharing valuable insights relevant to their industry, demonstrating they know the customer and understand their challenges
4) Promoting an article published by a partner aligned to their business
5) Sharing a piece an influencer has published that they agree with, commenting on why they think the information has value
6) Interacting with a journalist and praising them for articles they are writing/thanking them for a piece they did together
7) Commenting on a friend’s post to elevate that person’s brand
7 benefits they would get in return:
1) High employee retention and recruitment
2) Loyalty from colleagues
3) Increased customer/supporter retention
4) Better integration with partners
5) Less flak from influencers
6) More media opportunities
7) Deeper friendships and respect
Tammy Gordon
“As busy executive you need to have a response plan for customer service, media requests and other incoming queries…a shared monitoring system with your communications team so that they can respond to any asks of you is advised.”
“Often a personal approach can be capturing a spontaneous moment with your team and sharing it.”
“Study CEOs and leaders of brands/organizations you care about. See how they blend the personal with professional and engage with followers.”
“Think of social media as a cocktail party. If you read your post and it doesn’t sound like something you would say, or how you would say it, tweak it to match your personal style and speak conversationally. You know it’s working when people start talking back to you.”
“It’s not about having a million followers; it’s about building a direct connection with the right people – the ones who care about the things you care about and who can share your message further.”
Bob Pickard
“Looming ever larger is the business challenge posed by digital transformation in the marketplace. Many organizations are afraid of being disrupted by AI and emerging technologies. Unfortunately, many leaders are struggling with this at a time when their organization’s very survival may depend on how well they deal with digital imperatives. There is no better PR medium than social media for a leader to dramatically demonstrate a command of digital disruption.”
“When something goes badly wrong for a company in public, all eyes look to its leader. When the CEO is absent from social media then an information vacuum occurs, instantly filled with naysayers whose voices become a chorus of condemnation. If companies let that happen, they cede the centre stage of PR to critics whose collective censure suddenly becomes new conventional wisdom.”
“All crisis situations can be intercepted and successful addressed with 5 elements of social leadership communication.”
1) The CEO is present on social media with an active account
2) When the CEO becomes aware of a trending corporate issue they proactively and transparently disclose what’s happening so people here it from them first
3) The CEO clearly describes what the company is doing about the crisis
4) If the company has done something wrong, the CEO apologizes
5) The CEO provides updates at regular intervals, asks for feedback, sets realistic expectations and points people towards resources offering information or assistance.”
Chris Bartley
3 steps to more effective social selling:
1) Social media is a way for salespeople to build credibility and visibility on relevant topics. They should focus on building a network of connections who are also connected to sales prospects and who share content that helps position the company’s representatives as visible, credible, and well informed
2) Understanding salespeople with a greater level of recognition and trust benefit from increased access and share of voice
3) Strong personal brands create a halo effect for a company’s products resulting in happier customers, greater brand advocacy, better reviews and accelerate movement of potential customers from awareness to purchase.”
Nicola Brentnall
“I have to be seen to be leading by example. Connecting with people around the world in an accessible way…showing up is everything”
“Social media closes the gap; joins the dots…But for this to work you have to be there.”
Euan Semple
“When people talk of digital transformation, they are often unclear about the meaning of the word digital and rarely consider the scope of true transformation…it is as much about culture and managerial behaviour as it is about technology”
“When asked for my view on what digital transformation means I say, ‘it is our response to the fact that your staff and customers are finding their voices online.’”
“This is a drive towards decentralization, distributed trust and collective responsibility, the results of this can be increased speed and reduced costs, but it takes courage and skill to know how to do so.”
“Senior leadership using social tools confidently and to good effect signals their effectiveness and encourages widespread adoption. The real benefits of social networks in a business comes when they represent the broad scope of types of people and roles that it takes to make a modern organization function.”
David Taylor
“Staying abreast of latest trends, monitoring your competitors, keeping in touch with your clients can all be very time consuming yet are all important elements in building useful business intelligence. Through Twitter lists or connecting with the right people on LinkedIn it is perfectly possible to gain the necessary insights you need quickly and simply.”
Zoe Amar
“Before you post think about what reaction you want. How do you want people to feel? Outraged, saddened, reassured? What do you want people to do after that and how are you going to encourage them to do it?”
Martin Thomas
“The risks associated with the use of Social Media in a C-Suite glass house in which senior leaders are subject to internal compliance and external scrutiny are real and potentially significant. The vast majority of risks can be avoided or minimized by adhering to 5 simple principles:
1) Understand and observe the regulations
2) Stick to lower risk topics.
3) Put in place a support system
4) Start with lower risk channels like LinkedIn
5) Don’t be too adversarial”
Brian Gosper
5 tips
1) Be yourself
2) Your view is the organization’s view
3) Don’t react too fast
4) Get your facts right
5) Demand content. Put pressure on your organization to provide these for you and don’t just send out corporate content as is – give more meaning and content to it from a leadership point of view.
Julia Hanigsberg
“I use social media as a rapid and omnipresent content delivery system that helps me identify and consume information.”
5 tips
1) Be prepared to learn as you go
2) Neither be intimidated by or focused on the number of followers, likes and so on
3) Don’t think you’re too busy for social (you can be a social CEO in just fifteen minutes a day!)
4) Share what other people are posting
5) Use social media to connect with your team and prospective employees
Chris Mason
“The industry in which I have worked for over 30 years is a rapidly changing technological world creating the safe, sustainable and affordable transport solutions of the future. This change will bring about a different business model and consumer behaviour to our industry.
We’re already seeing big brands redefining and restructuring their businesses as they prepare to morph from volume manufacturers to service providers. As they do the value chain changes, new ecosystems emerge, signalling a new and vastly different set of relationships where engagement with consumers will be increasingly direct. We will all expect to be connected as a matter of course…Leaders will need to be visible, contributing and actively engaged with their community.”
“Any leader’s personal engagement with social media is relevant and tangible leadership currency.”
David Barker
“It is quite stunning and a bit scary just how much you can find out about people, issues, and organizations through social media. Whether it’s a quick piece of social research in advance of meeting someone or trying to reach out and connect with relevant and useful individuals/opinion formers as part of a networking and influencing programme, they are all tremendously valuable…I am constantly surprised about how helpful this research and insight can be.”
“A quick comment or view on a pertinent issue or post, a heart-felt thank you, and answer to a question can all serve a useful purpose in developing engagement and relationships.”
“My own experience of some of the negative sides of social media played out a few years ago when I was the target of a troll. I dealt with it as follows:
1) I tweeted one early response saying I was interested in their view and very happy to meet and discuss and then had no further public interaction
2) I informed my chair and kept them up to date on further posts
3) I asked my digital manager to keep a watching brief in social media spaces and update me on further posts
4) It was important to remember that this was nothing other than an unhelpful distraction. Eventually it just went away
Jack Salzwedel
“American Family Insurance has been nimble and thriving in an ultra-competitive industry in part because of our approach to social media. It has bolstered employee engagement, customer outreach, helped us recruit better and helped me find my leadership niche. It’s helped me to be a better leader while connecting with a wider audience than any other communication tool available to me.”
“One thing that has really surprised me about social media is that it’s easier than I imagined.”
“Every day using social media gives me confidence that I’m involved with what’s going on in my company, the community and the world.”
“You can’t do this alone so find someone who can help you launch (or perhaps relaunch) your social media presence. This person or people can make a huge difference to the way you approach social media.”
“A quick comment or view on a pertinent issue or post, a heart-felt thank you, and answer to a question can all serve a useful purpose in developing engagement and relationships.”
“My own experience of some of the negative sides of social media played out a few years ago when I was the target of a troll. I dealt with it as follows:
1) I tweeted one early response saying I was interested in their view and very happy to meet and discuss and then had no further public interaction
2) I informed my chair and kept them up to date on further posts
3) I asked my digital manager to keep a watching brief in social media spaces and update me on further posts
4) It was important to remember that this was nothing other than an unhelpful distraction. Eventually it just went away
Jan Owen
“A monthly blog and responsive opinion pieces shared across my professional channels has been a mechanism for raising issues, flagging solutions and testing new ideas that demonstrate the organization’s understanding of the broader context in which we operate.”
5 tips:
- Put the audience at the centre of your journey
- Choose your channels carefully
- Be present, responsive and authentic
- Be consistent
- Watch and learn from others and be willing to test different approaches.
Mark Tercek
5 tips
- Don’t engage with trolls online
- Be positive
- Be wary of humour
- Support lesser-known causes and don’t pile on
- Grab attention – ask for feedback from colleagues on what would work best
5 tips:
- Put the audience at the centre of your journey
- Choose your channels carefully
- Be present, responsive and authentic
- Be consistent
- Watch and learn from others and be willing to test different approaches.
Katie Elizabeth
“A company’s brand presence is dependent on the social presence of the CEO. Research suggest 80% of customers are more likely to trust a company if the CEO has a strong social media presence.”
“80% of employees feel more engaged at work and consider the CEO to be a better leader if they are socially active.”
“I met my lead investor and a key advisor via Twitter. I’ve met countless amazing professionals through LinkedIn. All have helped my start-up grow.”
“When time is tight, for my most important relationships, I am always sure to still like, comment, retweet and otherwise engage with them.”
Mary Curnock Cook
“It’s good sometimes to show some personality and be prepared to reveal something of the real you behind the professional image. I change my profile picture reasonably frequently too.”
“There is a circular relationship between the time I am able to give to reading articles and reports and the quality of my tweeting. The two go hand-in-hand – you have to have something to say.”
Oliver Lawal
5 tips
1) Patience
2) Quality over quantity
3) Make sure customers, investors, employees, supply chain, distribution channel has a crystal-clear understanding of what you’re doing but don’t paint yourself into a corner
4) Leverage your membership/leadership or other organizations
5) Be creative
Paul Frampton Calero
“Culture is one thing that can’t be plagiarized by another company and is the single biggest differentiator between good and brilliant teams.”
“Few have encapsulated what culture is, for me it is the combination of 3 things:
1) How a company behaves when the leadership team is not in the room
2) The invisible glue that bonds departments together as a single team
3) How and what employees share and express externally at events and now increasingly on social media”
5 tips
1) Have an active social presence
2) Start by following others and engaging with their content
3) Define two or three watermarks that you want to stand out for and structure your content around these
4) Tailor your content to the platform
5) Don’t be afraid to show your human side
Charles Pender
5 tips
1) Be honest, kind and positive
2) Take the time to get to know your followers – don’t assume you know what they’re looking for
3) Don’t respond to trolls
4) Research, review and reconsider your comments before posting
5) Don’t overdo it but don’t be afraid to toss out the occasional trial balloon”
Tom Marchant
“Alongside being honest and being human I would add the following 3 tips for any budding leader wanting to embrace the social world:
- Build trust
- Let people under the bonnet
- Keep talking – don’t ever, ever go quiet
Samantha Kelly
5 tips
1) Find out where your customers are
2) Be yourself
3) Keep your branding the same on all platforms
4) Put out great tips and show your expertise
5) “Engage, engage, engage”
Matt Ballantine
“There is no technology more pervasive or persuasive for setting the agenda for exploration and curiosity and change and innovation in business than social media because everyone can see what you’re doing.”
“Understand your work/not work continuum and concepts of formality; don’t create a new and poor customer-service channel; don’t just broadcast, engage; make it a habit – build it into your day or week. The single most important habit I have built is that of the week-note. Every Friday I spend a few minutes to write a short post that sums up the key things I’ve learned in the preceding seven days.”
Theo Priestley
“I don’t expect the social media landscape to alter drastically in the next 5 years or so (written 2019) For the social CEO it’s not a question of wanting to jump onto every new platform over the next decade but to evaluate and use the ones that make the most sense for them and their audiences.”
Michelle Carvill
“In many ways everything has changed and yet nothing has changed. Our inherent desire to connect, communicate and progress remain the same. It’s just the landscape, tools and expectations that have evolved.”
As John Legere told me “any leader that doesn’t make the time for social media is missing a huge opportunity.”
“From my experience key challenges usually focus around 4 areas:”
1) Overwhelm
2) Time
3) Return on Investment
4) Fear
Here are some useful lessons:
1) Listen
2) Master one channel at a time
3) Weave it into your life – being social is something you are rather than something you do. Just like sending an email, checking your social channels should become part of your day-to-day activity
4) Get support
4) Be authentic
Conclusion – Damian Corbet
“The advent of social media has totally revolutionized the way organizations operate or will have to operate in the near future.”
“Directors who don’t understand social media are placing their company at risk of not capitalizing on the business opportunities as well as exposing it to unnecessary risk” (Quoting Walter Adamson).
“Social Leadership isn’t an optional extra it’s a method and mindset for engaging in communities and deploying the power of your organization that liberates innovation and creativity. Organizations that lack this power will feel increasingly less relevant in The Social Age” (Quoting Julian Studd, The Social Leadership Handbook).
“Social leadership is all about mindset. It’s not simply about having LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram accounts. It’s not the tools that make you a social leader, it’s how you use them. What matter is understanding the potential of these tools to change the world.”
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