We’ve long touted the importance of CEOs and other executives being active on social media, so it comes as no surprise to us that the number of CEOs who regularly use social has doubled over the past two years.
But did you know that leadership not posting on social and engaging with employees, customers, and prospects online can actually hurt the company?
Yikes. 😮
That’s why we’ve pulled together some compelling evidence you can share with your C-Suite — and hopefully get them sharing already. 👇
CEOs Are Responsible for 45% of Company Reputation — and 44% of Market Value
According to Harvard Business Review, nearly half of a company’s reputation, also known as its employer brand, is attributable to the CEO’s reputation.
In other words, nearly half of people think of the company and its CEO as one and the same.
In fact, after the company website, consumers and potential employees say they look to the CEO’s social media presence to inform their opinions on the company.
While 93% of consumers believe that CEO engagement on social media shapes corporate reputation, it’s not just consumers who put so much stock in the CEO.
Seventy-six percent of senior executives say that a socially active CEO gives the company — and the entire brand — more credibility. And 43% of them say their CEO is inspiring, compared with only 26% of execs whose CEOs don’t use social media.
That’s not all: Nearly half of a company’s market value is also attributable to its CEO’s reputation. No pressure, right? 😅
Related: Here’s the complete guide to getting execs active on social.
Social CEOs Attract Top Talent
Clearly, the CEO’s reputation is a big part of employer brand, so it’s no surprise that companies with social CEOs attract great employees.
A 2022 report from Brunswick found that 80% of employees prefer working for a CEO who engages with people on social media.
Engaging with those employees online is a big draw for CEOs too, with 73% of them saying that communicating with their people is one of the top benefits of social media.
Related: Ready to improve your company’s reputation? Here’s where to start.
CEOs on Social Media Are Seen as More Trustworthy
Trust in businesses is more important than ever, as evidenced by the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer Report.
But while 84% of executives think that customers highly trust their organizations, only 23% of customers say the same.
Want to increase trust in your company? Get your CEO on social.
Transparency is key to building trust and 92% of people are more likely to trust a company whose CEO actively uses social media.
A Weber Shandwick study found that 86% of executives with a social CEO leading the company describe that CEO as “open and honest.”
Plus, financial readers trust CEOs who post and engage on social media up to nine times more than those who don’t, according to the Brunswick report.
CEOs’ Social Interactions Affect the Bottom Line
All that trust CEOs accrue by sharing their thoughts and engaging in transparent conversations on social media really pays off.
Seventy-seven percent of consumers prefer to make purchases from a company whose executives are active online.
And a recent study reveals that such trusted companies outperform their peers by 400%!
CEOs and Their Employees Are The Most Effective Means of Distribution
We know that traditional content marketing doesn’t work. And we know that brand pages aren’t effective at getting eyes on your content — unless you’re forking over those ad dollars. 🤑
Why? Because social networks prioritize content shared by real people, including your execs.
In fact, leadership content receives twice the engagement and tripe the comments of brand accounts. Just take a look.
If your C-Suite isn’t active on social media, now’s the time to change that. EveryoneSocial makes it easy.
Our advocacy solution allows execs to create and post content in whatever tool they want. Or they can easily have a comms resource do it on their behalf.
Plus, EveryoneSocial allows you to enable not only CEOs, but also your entire organization — and even those outside of it — for one price.
