CEOs Leveraging Social Media: Who, Why, & What They Want
Posted on January 11th, 2011
Like diplomacy, social media has become the refined, sharp-edge of a sword that executives and CEOs prefer to leave for mid-management. Some business leaders, however, have realized that the subtle art of human interaction is one that they can benefit from, and that their business needs to survive.
Below you can learn who has leveraged social media, and what they are hoping to gain from their experiences. From Google to Toyota, BlendTee to Digg, discover what marketing puppeteers are really trying to get from the public.
1. WHO: COO Jim Lentz
COMPANY: Toyota
WHERE: Twitter @ Toyota
WHY: To introduce the plural of Prius
WHAT: Frank conversation with Toyota fans
Using Twitter and user-selected questions, the team at Toyota decided to engage his customers in open, honest conversation about the future of green energy, the Toyota company itself, and how the auto industry is helping the economy in the process of recovery.
2. WHO: CEO Reeta Roy
COMPANY: MasterCard Foundation
WHERE: Twitter @MCFoundation
WHY: To build a presence online
WHAT: To share her Uganda-based reports on where donations are going
With more than 760 followers on Twitter, Reeta Roy is able to spread the word about what MasterCard is doing with the $2 billion foundation during her field work in Uganda and Kenya. Her intention, utilizing social media, is to build-up the brand by tweeting.
3. WHO: CEO Kevin Rose
COMPANY: Digg
WHERE: Vimeo; YouTube; Diggnation
WHY: To access over 3.3 million viewers
WHAT: To share site news via weekly podcasts called “Diggnation”
Accessing a huge viewership during his weekly, scheduled podcast, Kevin Rose also posts frequently on YouTube and Vimeo. His online presence is large enough that his own name is often trending as a popular search term. Rose, like others, is using social media to build his authority and brand recognition.
4. WHO: CEO Aaron Patzer
COMPANY: Mint.com
WHERE: Mint’s YouTube channel
WHY: To educate customers on company products
WHAT: To provide basic information, which has been viewed 700,000 times
Founder of Mint.com, VP of Intuit’s Personal Finance Group, and cutest accountant on the planet Aaron Patzer knows how to engage viewers implementing social media. From the Mint.com YouTube channel, he educates people on products, general information, and special features. While their videos and image is low-maintenance, their quality and branding is exceptional.
5. WHO: CEO John Pozadzides
COMPANY: iFusion Labs
WHERE: OneMansBlog.com; Woopra
WHY: To develop new approaches to web analytics
WHAT: To quiz viewers via Viddler and his blog about their experiences
An insightful man, John Pozadzides understands that people love nothing more than talking about themselves. Using OneMangsBlog.com to question his huge fan base, Pozadzides fine-tunes his web analytics services, Woopra. With nearly 500,000 page views, this CEO shows no signs of stopping.
6. WHO: CEO Bob Parsons
COMPANY: GoDaddy Group
WHERE: BobParsons.me
WHY: To share success tips, in order to build a readership
WHAT: To implement quirky tactics to amuse viewers
Gimmicks, shenanigans, corny ploys, and coy attempts to be in earnest, are all featured in the vlog, which provides success tips and hot girls in skimpy clothes. Why did Parsons make the list, then? His Super Bowl ad from 2010, “Too Hot for TV,” was just the tip of his whirlwind romance with social media: his viewership is off the charts, and people seem to dig his fun-loving antics.
7. WHO: CEO Tony Hsieh
COMPANY: Zappos
WHERE: Twitter @Zappos
WHY: “To waste time together.”
WHAT: He claims his goal is, “Let’s entertain each other. And not try to sell each other anything.”
Sky-rocketing from 600,000 followers to nearly 1.8 million in a brief period of time, Hsieh has proven that his laid-back approach to social media is endearing for fans. His tweets are innocent and playful, making no brand promises, thus succeeding in leaving a positive brand image.
CONCLUSION
Whether upper-management industry insiders are leveraging social media simply to answer questions and build brand recognition, or to pick the brains of readers and forge new bases for analytics, they all have a fervent desire to understand social media users. Search YouTube, Twitter, and other networks for your favorite brands, and you might just find a CEO or executive willing to answer your most pressing questions.
Similar Posts:
- The Small Business Guide to Social Media Marketing
- Keeping Your Friends and Followers
- 7 of the Best Website Analytics Tools Available
- Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? Finding the Right Fit for Your Small Business
- Putting the “Social” into Social Media Marketing – 3 Tips for Interacting with your Customers
Tags: Media, Social Media
Filed under Business News |