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By now you have heard about this report that was just released. You really should check it out and it will show you a lot. 2013 Social CEO Report
Influence outside of social media trumps engagement on social media
I guess one point here is if you look at only the data, you would come to the conclusion that CEOs are not very social but they are very influential. Warren Buffet has a Klout rating of 87 and he has sent out 3 tweets. Is Warren engaging transparent? The numbers on social media would say yes. I think the piece that is missing here is that social isn’t everything, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison and others had real clout and influence way before social media came along.
The report does show some growth in the area of CEOs getting on social media but it really isn’t anything to base future decisions on.
Also, the report also shows that many of the companies that these CEOs represent have their own company presence on social media which is quite strong. Coca-cola has a strong presence on Twitter and Facebook, will Warren Buffet ever be the face of Coca-Cola?
The takeaway for me are the following
As a Marketing Executive, it is my duty to create influence for my company brand. My name or company brand name is not a household name. It is for this reason that social media is a good platform to create that influence and I go at it with a double-punch by creating a business presence and a professional presence, (This Blog Site).
I could take this information and make the conclusion that if social media isn’t important for the top ceos than it isn’t important for me. I could also wait for CEOs to become more active on social media. (Some advice: CEOs are not going to be active on social media anytime soon.
What makes me excited about this information is that I have tools, resources and other marketing channels to really make a difference. The choice is really up to me, and I am going to keep building my influence, (Both Professionally and Company Brand) online and through other means.
You can continue to be like other CEOs or you can be part of a “New Group of Executives” that is using a mix of technology, engagement and other initiatives to build influence in a way that has never been done before.
Image courtesy of photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
