Should the CEO (and some other members of the C-suite) use social media? Literally hundreds of surveys, blog posts and opinion pieces have been looking at the question. Most of the times the answer is a “yes” and often a “yes, but”.
That “but” often refers to the way the C-suite can/should be involved. There are many people telling you how to sell social to the CEO (and C-suite) and of course there are plenty of tips for the ‘social CEO’. But first things first. Why would/should a CEO use social media (or not)?
The answer is not that simple as some make it appear. There’s a huge difference depending on the nature of the activities of the business, for instance. And getting on board of social media does not equal using the social platforms we typically think of. Finally, what are the benefits and reasons?
The role of the CEO towards the customer and the disconnect with marketing
The question for the CEO (or other C-level executives) to “engage” with customers in the broadest sense often comes from marketing. Active support from the C-suite is seen as an important contribution to branding and other marketing goals. But it’s also perceived as an internal driver for social participation and collaboration of other team members in the overall social media marketing program. Lead/inspire by example, right?
What’s the role of the CEO and who are his customers (in the broadest sense)? Answering that question depends on the business. There is, for instance, a big difference between an organization where the CEO is also a (co)-founder, a business where the CEO has a key role and an organization where the CEO is more a spokesperson of the board and mediator with limited decision power. It’s a key question to answer, especially as the perception of the role of the CEO really depends on the people within and around the organization. And there is a disconnect in that regard, certainly when it boils down to customer interaction, sales, communication and – especially - marketing.
In a 2012 report, the Economist Intelligence Unit, found that 58% of C-level respondents state the CEO has the ultimate responsibility for overseeing how customer communication channels are managed versus 28% of non C-level respondents. The latter see it primarily as a role of the marketing director (38%) but only 16% of C-level respondents agree. A disconnect that needs to be taken into account (and as you'll see in part 2 of this series it's not the only one).
From overseeing customer communication channel management to actively participating in these communication channels, including social media, is of course a big step. And, even if the survey showed social media and blogs are quite often used to communicate with customers, the role of the CEO is not only in communicating with customers in the strict sense.
On the other hand, the role of the CEO and CxO in customer-facing processes and functions is growing. It's not a coincidence that the mentioned report from the Economist Intelligence Unit is called "Getting closer to the customer. A challenge for the C-suite" (click here to open the report in PDF). The C-level is increasingly expected to focus on optimizing the customer experience.
The changing role of the CEO in the age of integration
This shift has much to do with the increasing awareness that organizations, structures and processes need to be optimized around the customer. The customer-centric view has become a necessity instead of a philosophy in the age of integration.
In general, the CEO always had a strong customer-facing role. Look at who often lands and retains the big budgets. Especially in B2B, execs like to do business with their peers. The fact that the CEO generally has a global overview of the business, contributes to that as well.
But the task of the CEO has become ever more challenging. There are more stakeholders watching than ever before (and that's not just because of the 'open social Web'). There are also more performance requirements than ever before. In a global economy, influenced by digital technologies, competition is higher and faster, growth is harder to realize and often structures are more difficult to put in place. The multiple tasks of the CEO (innovation, the board, etc.) seem to make it impossible for him/her to participate in social media.
Yet, the opposite is true because the currency has changed, as have the ways the CEO (and other CxOs) can fulfill many of their goals and tasks. This doesn’t mean that the CEO has to jump on Twitter tomorrow, on the contrary. It’s one of the mistakes that are often made, leading to disappointment and even an aversion.
Speaking a common language
It also doesn’t mean that the CEO always has to “join all those conversations”. That’s another misunderstanding that’s often based on a miscomprehension of the role of social media and even the definition of social media.
Sure, business is more personal, “people-to-people”, about becoming a human, more transparent, authentic and transparent organization with names and faces (including the CxO) on top of logos but you need more than that to 1) get the CEO on board, 2) make his social media participation worthwhile and 3) make it beneficial for all stakeholders. This is about more than what we call social business nowadays nor just about marketing. It's about people-centric business in an increasingly digital world. It's about digital business.
Obviously, you need a strategy and plan, that’s adapted to your business, ecosystem and customers. But as I’ll cover in part two of this series, you’ll notice that in practice this plan revolves a lot less around engagement as social pundits define it.
In the meantime here’s another question to answer: how can you help the CEO in fulfilling his goals, having his different tasks and key audiences (e.g. the board, other execs, investors, shareholders, key customers, etc.)? Or in other words: what does the CEO need you to know and understand? To make him understand and know something, you need to understand what he needs you to know.
This starts with speaking a common language: that of customer insights, multiple stakeholders and business in general, not just marketing. However, there will be an inevitable exercise to close the clear gap between the CMO and CEO to achieve that and we’ll have to stop talking about fuzzy terminology and marketing buzzwords the CEO is not interested in, including social media marketing and content marketing as I’ll explain. We use these terms just among us unless the CEO is taking the initiatives and using them.
We’ll also certainly have to add the real value of a brand, the customer, the staff, sales and one tiny other thing most forget into the equation. It starts with a C.
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