Here’s where they are and the reasons why
Today, regardless of industry, social media plays a huge role in how brands and businesses disseminate their messages and craft their public perception. In many cases, business leaders and C-Level people are having a social media presence which plays a key role in their company’s success.
Social media has become a place where industry thought leaders can offer their opinions, discuss trends in their industry, and share their expertise with the community at large as well as other executives.
In a recent Forbes article about approaches for executives on social media, it was stated that a Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of Americans use social media. As a company leader, if you don’t use social media, you risk losing market share to executives who do. Studies have found that consumers are more likely to trust a company whose leaders engage in social media.
Let’s take a closer look at these business leaders’ involvement on social media, where they “hang out” and why they are spending time on these platforms.
Most Popular Platforms
In the context of business (not personal), there are a handful of platforms that are most popular among many corporate communicators.
- LinkedIn is perhaps one of the most popular, having become THE online meeting place for professionals across a variety of industries. As a matter of fact, LinkedIn was where 68% of Fortune 500 CEOs on the recent 2022 list have a presence.
- Another popular platform among executives is Twitter, which was created as a way for people to share thoughts in real time, and has become one of the most popular ways people get their news and pop culture updates.
- On Instagram, business professionals have the opportunity to show their more personal side, but within the context of business. That is share a photo of your office, a local restaurant on a business trip out of town, or some other comment that shows leadership has a “human side”.
- Facebook functions similarly and is often used in tandem with other platforms. Surprisingly, Facebook is still very popular even with business owners and people in the C-Suite.
- The newest of the social platforms is Tik Tok, which can be utilized in a variety of ways depending on the business/industry and the person using it. But whether a CEO is using it to post formal information or a company president is using it to post humorous videos to bring lightheartedness to their brand, this app has proven to be essential for reaching new audiences.
How Much Time do They Dedicate to Posting
In a recent article on Inc.com, the author’s company surveyed 462 small businesses to find out where and if leadership is spending time on social media. Two-thirds of CEOS and owners of companies said they’re spending more time on social media than last year. This implies they’re seeing enough ROI to keep posting regularly.
The amount of time spent weekly on social media by business leaders can vary greatly. Executives using social media as a part of their daily business practice are on various platforms anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours a day.
Biggest Reasons for Using Social Media
The point of view, marketing strategy, and tone of social posts executives share may differ across industries, but the reasons business leaders use social platforms often remain the same; to create connections, to build additional brand awareness, to engage with their followers, to listen to comments of their followers and the broader base, and to communicate to their customers and prospects news, trends, updates, changes, etc., about their companies.
Business leaders utilizing these social media platforms have a significant impact on their target markets and can often increase company growth – proving that their time on social media is well-spent.
