CXOs very clearly need to leverage the
social media opportunity. Listed below is a ready-reckoner for them to engage
on this medium.
(1) Include social media in your daily business diet
It’s high time social media is
included in the daily business diet for CXOs. Ideally, CXOs need to allocate a few
hours every week to learning and engaging on social media. Pre-planning the
messaging for a particular week would be a good idea, but there will be times
when CXOs need to be spontaneous with their responses. To begin with, time and
content management are the key to a creating a good social media strategy.
(2) Reverse mentoring
To put it simply, when your seven-year-old
child tells you how to use Facebook, it is reverse mentoring -- a concept that was
introduced by former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch more than a decade ago.
Young executives joining corporations can add value by sharing their social
media knowledge. Reverse mentoring is a two-way street that can bridge the gap
between two generations. So, while industry veterans can share their immense experience
with the younger lot, they could also find social media mentors in them.
(3) Using Twitter and blogs
Many CXOs are familiar with Facebook
and LinkedIn, but that familiarity needs to be extended to Twitter as well. Twitter
offers a great solution for CXOs short on time. Also, the convenience offered
in terms of planning and scheduling messages enables them to control the
conversation. It is important to start off with a clear positioning strategy
for CXOs after identifying needs and creating messaging that showcases their thought
leadership, as well as reveals the lighter side of their personality.
Maintaining an active blog is another winner.
Well-written CXO blogs instill confidence in stakeholders. Blogs provide an
opportunity to connect with people without being very restrictive. The tone of
the blog should reflect the CXO’s personality.
(4) Add a personal touch
To strike a chord with the audience,
CXO blogs need to have a personal touch. Messaging pertaining to the company
and industry are important, but should not be overpowering. The blogs should
bring out a dimension of the CXOs that is not otherwise witnessed in business
meetings and conferences. Striking a balance between the personal and
professional aspects through the blogs could prove to be a differentiator on
social media.
(5) Make your presence felt
CXOs are their company’s brand
ambassadors on social media. It is imperative for them to create a niche in the
social space and keep pace with these platforms. The key is to be proactive rather
than reactive, and if reactive then you must be quick. The nature of the medium
demands that CXOs be engaging, accessible and transparent.
To read more about the opportunities
and challenges of CXO’s, with respect to social media, read this
report from 20:20MSL on ‘The C-Suite Guide To Social Media Adoption’.
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