ceos-must-join-the-rest-of-us-on-social-media-01It may not surprise you that today more than 74% of adults are engaging on social media sites today. However, what should surprise you is that only 32% of today’s Fortune 500 CEOs engage on social media. The remaining 68% have zero presence on social media at all, including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

There are, however, age factors and busy schedules that may poses a challenge for many top executives. Social media requires a time commitment and may not come as easy to the generation many of these CEOs are currently from. Many CEOs may also worry about the publicity of social media and worry about ruining their company image. It may even come down to ego, as many CEOs use power over their organizations, gaining influence on social media requires these CEOs to start from scratch.

As these are all sufficient reasons for a CEO not to join social media, building a competitive business with prestigious teams and resilient brands, social media engagement is necessary.

Market intelligence, employee engagement, recruitment, corporate culture and brand are all excellent reasons for CEOs to join social media.

Market Intelligence

Staying up to date on news, trends and leaders in your market is vital to all areas in business. Twitter has taken over the paper copy of news and turned it into a fast and direct publication. While initially it takes time to find the right publications, journalists and influencers to follow, it ultimately gives you a tailored stream of headlines that your can read and share to your network.

Employee Engagement

For leaders of large organizations, it can be difficult to devote time to getting to know each employee and establish strong relationship with those outside of your immediate team. Social Media platforms allow employees to follow each other to gain insights about how they collaborate, what issues they care about and how they support one another.

Recruitment

LinkedIn give CEOs the world’s best recruitment tool at their fingertips. LinkedIn gives you the chance to reconnect with old colleagues, classmates and friends. If you are in the process of evaluating a candidate, you can visit his or her LinkedIn profile and see if you have any connections in common, if so reach out to them as an unofficial reference.

Corporate Culture and Brand

CEOs with strong social presence can help establish positive company culture and build dynamic brands. Social media can be used to support the company’s overall social engagement, customer loyalty and sales efforts. As the CEO you are the voice of your company. If you’re not on social media, the entire brand suffers.

With great risk comes great reward. Though taking the social media plunge has its risks, the benefits are too big to ignore. Company leaders must understand that social media is about extending your leadership onto new platforms so your company can earn the benefits.


Based on Original Article: For a Company to Rise Above the Rest, the CEO Must Engage On Social Media @ http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239877