Do you think a CEO engaging in social media has any impact on the business? For a long time I have been telling anyone who will listen that more CEOs should be on social media. And now I have the evidence to back it up!
A recent survey by BRANDfog highlighted that executive engagement in social media raises the brand profile and instills confidence in a company’s leadership team. It builds greater trust, brand loyalty and purchase intent.
Respondents overwhelmingly confirmed their belief that C-Suite executives who engage in social media are better equipped to lead a company, communicate values and shape a company’s reputation in today’s changing world.
Some results:
- 82% of respondents were more likely or much more likely to trust a company whose CEO and leadership team engage with social media.
- Respondents believe that CEOs who engage in social media are better equipped than their peers to lead companies in a web 2.0 world.
- 86% of respondents rated CEO social media engagement as either; somewhat important, very important or mission critical.
- 77% of respondents were more likely or much more likely to buy from a company whose values and mission are defined through CEO and executive leadership participation on social media.
- 78% of respondents would prefer to work for a company whose leadership is active on social media
The most important:
- 93% of respondents believe that CEO engagement in social media helps communicate company values, shape a company’s reputation, and grow and evolve corporate leadership in times of crisis.
- 94% said that CEOs and an organisation’s executive leadership team enhance the brand image by participating on social media.
Customers, influencers, shareholders and employees expect to hear from the executive leadership on social media as a direct way to connect and engage. It’s a mission critical communication channel that CEOs and C-Suite’s can no longer ignore.
Putting ME in Social Media: Practical Skills for your Career Advancement – I will be leading a workshop at Macquarie University’s Women, Management and Work Conference on 12 July. The workshop is on how to use your social media to enhance your career opportunities and help you build a network of professional connections. The conference will assist women to reach their full potential. Register here.
Million Paws Walk
We had a great time walking the Million Paws Walk on Sunday 20th May 2012 and saw so many cute dogs walking around Olympic Park. Minty and Leiah, the dogs we walked, had fun and made lots of friends.
Thank you to everyone who donated and supported our team. We surpassed our fundraising target of $250 by raising a total of $330!
This money is donated to the RSPCA to help them protect neglected and mistreated animals in Australia. Each year the RSPCA rescues 160,000 animals and we hope that by supporting them they can continue their great work.
Have a look at our CP Communications Facebook page or Pinterest to see photos from the day.
I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.
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How to create the perfect pitch
CP Communications went to a half day training course to learn about the perfect pitch. The team heard from four journalists who talked about how they prefer PR professionals to pitch stories to them and how they feel about creating relationships with PR professionals.
Here are some of the top tips the journalists suggested for creating the perfect pitch.
Do your research: You need to research the publication and the journalist that you are pitching to. When you contact a journalist demonstrate your knowledge of the publication or discuss some of the articles previously written by the journalist. Journalists will be more likely to use your pitch when it is specifically tailored to their publication.
Make is easy to set up interviews: You need to be able to arrange an interview between a journalist and your client quickly, so that the journalist can meet their strict deadlines. Journalists will be more likely to interview your clients in the future if you make it easy for them now.
Return a journalist’s call within 30 minutes: Journalists are very busy and may be calling you to ask to interview one of your clients. If you don’t call them back straight away you may miss out on a media opportunity.
Become an expert on your client: A journalist may need to ask you basic questions about your client that they wouldn’t waste time asking in an interview. You need to be able to answer these basic questions quickly. For example they might ask how many employees does the company have or when was it founded?
Email your pitch: All four journalists said they prefer PR professionals to email them a pitch first then conduct a follow-up phone call two days later.
Create a relationship with a journalist: Journalists receive hundreds of emails a day and don’t have time to look at every email. If you have a relationship with a journalist then they are more likely to read your emails because they already know you.
Deliver on your pitch: If your client can no longer take part in an interview with a journalist you must find a replacement person. Never leave a journalist without someone to interview when they are close to their deadline.
Be friendly but not overly familiar: For example never call a journalist ‘honey’ or give them a nickname if you don’t have a great relationship with them.
Read what you should never do and more tips in the full article on the CP Communications website.
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What is social TV and how is it changing the way we communicate?
Ever sat on the couch and facebooked your way through The Voice? Or shared a tweet about ABC1s Q&A?
If you have, then you are participating in a new trend called Social TV. This is the process of enhancing a viewer’s social experience of watching TV by connecting them with other viewers in real time.
Social TV enables viewers to increase their interaction with TV programs by using different channels of communication to share the content that they’re watching.
Social media has provided a new way of connecting people using social TV, even when they are not in the same location. Programs such as The Voice on Channel 9 are a great example of Social TV.
If you live under a rock (or don’t watch TV!), The Voice is a reality TV show that is holding a competition to find the singer with the ‘best’ voice in Australia.
The Voice has been able to use social media effectively to attract a large audience of fans to the program. Viewers of the show are able to vote for their favourite singer by sending an SMS, voting on Facebook, over the phone or buying one of their songs on iTunes (which counts for two votes).
The show broadcasts live tweets posted by viewers using the hashtag #TheVoiceAU. This is a great strategy because many people are eager to see their comments on TV. It also uses the viewer’s Twitter network to publicise the show to a larger audience. This may even attract new viewers to the show who want to participate in the conversation on Twitter.
The Voice has successfully connected viewers into a wider conversation about the program and created a community around the show. This is a great marketing tool to enhance viewer loyalty to the program and attract new viewers.
Read about how social TV is it changing the way we communicate on our Public Relations Sydney blog.
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Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
Social media down under 2012
At this event you will learn about how social media is impacting the business world now and in the future. You will also discuss how social media has an impact on the law, publishing, recruiting and big corporations. Hear from a range of influential speakers performing short 18 minute TED-style presentations followed by questions and a thought provoking discussion.
13 June – Sydney, NSW
Integrating social and email marketing seminar
Learn how to combine email marketing and social media to increase engagement, click through rates and ROI to create a fully integrated communications strategy. Learn how to improve your bottom line with targeted and engaging social media campaigns. Practical case studies will be discussed to help you build stronger relationships with your customers.
14 June – Brisbane, QLD
How to make Twitter work for business with Andrea Culligan
At this event Andrea Culligan of Unimail will show you how to use Twitter to benefit your business. You will learn about how Twitter can grow your professional and personal profile, how to develop a business strategy for Twitter and how to use scheduling tools. This event is hosted by Sheinspires. Friends of CP Communications will receive 25% off the price when you book using this discount code: CP06smws.
20 June – Sydney, NSW
Selling with social media
At this event you will learn how to convert social media likes and followers into purchases. You will be provided with strategies and guidelines on how to use social media to increase sales, and generate leads and referrals. You will hear advice from Dan Goodswen, strategist at We Are Social Australia, on how to gain more customers using social media.
21 June – Sydney, NSW
Women, Management and Work Conference – Women & Leadership: Inspiration and Empowerment
Macquarie University’s annual conference will empower women to take control of their career by building on, and embracing, their full potential to become influential leaders in their field. Inspirational leaders in business and government will share their practical advice on empowerment, negotiation, workplace diversity networking, mentoring, and career development. This is a must attend event for any woman in the corporate or business world.
12 – 13 July – Sydney, NSW
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