Brands work hard to build their reputations, engage with stakeholders, and cultivate an online community via social media. However, faceless corporations and brands represent only one piece of the engagement opportunity.
While compensated spokespeople, influencers and employees acting as brand ambassadors can help to move the needle, it should be noted that we are living in an era that demands transparency from corporate leadership. Consumers and shareholders expect CEOs to actively embrace and promote purported corporate values. Simply flying under the radar and turning a profit is no longer sufficient.
Now is the time to prioritize executive positioning on social media. Below, we explore the data that will convince any CEO to start tweeting.
- Companies with executives who are active on social media are “perceived 23% more positively than companies without,” according to Hootsuite. The bulk of your brand value is tied directly back to reputation. A business leader who is active on social media, offering consistent transparency and directly connecting with customers, will positively impact their company’s reputation and value as well.
- 77% of Brandfrog survey respondents stated they were more likely or much more likely to buy from a company whose values and mission are defined through CEO and executive leadership participation on social media. While brands often tell customers what their values and mission are, executives who are active on social media can show it through their own actions and experiences.
- 3 out of 4 consumers say a CEO’s presence on social media makes a brand more trustworthy. According to the same Hootsuite report, “Having the CEO, for example, on the virtual frontlines, well prepared but transparent, supported but leading, social media offers advantages across the organization, helping build trust and loyalty.”
- Content shared by executives and leaders outperforms content shared by companies by over 320%, according to research from Influential Executive. Across all follower tiers, leaders and executives were able to achieve significantly higher engagement rates (defined as engagements per post, per follower) than companies in the same tier. This increased impact is a result of the greater perceived authenticity.
Do you need help convincing your company’s executives to be active on social media? Share this blog post to help start the conversation. The numbers don’t lie!