Are You A Social CEO?

In the age of social networking, is it enough that only your company and its brands have a social presence? Or is it essential for the top leadership of the company also to be active and engaging on the social media?

Weber Shandwick, a digital communications agency released a research report in May this year titled The Social CEO: Executives Tell All which explored the question- are socially active CEOs beneficial for an organisation and its executives. Here is what the report revealed:

76% of executives (surveyed worldwide) wanted their CEOs to be active and engaging on social media. 

The benefits (according to the executives) of a social CEO were many, like being able to share company news, impart thought, leadership information, build company (and employees) reputation and initiate one-to-one communication with employees and customers alike.

52% of executives said that social CEOs were a source of inspiration.

46% of the executives felt that having social CEOs made them feel technologically advanced.

So you see, as consumers seek interesting but authentic and authoritative communication from brands, the onus falls on the CEOs to step on the social bandwagon and lead from the front in listening to and engaging with their customers.

One such social CEO is Peter Aceto of ING Direct Canada. One of his admirers, Carmine Galloa a communications guru and also a Forbes contributor, describes Aceto as “active, authentic and very transparent bank executive and a “student of leadership who shares case studies and best practices from leaders in other fields”. In fact, Aceto was named Toronto’s Communicator of the Year in 2010.

According to Carmine Gallo, Aceto’s social media efforts are very open and direct. He openly communicates with his customers and employees like you would do with your friends and family members. He uses his Twitter handle @CEO_INGDIRECT to talk to his customers and stakeholders about finance related issues. 

In fact Aceto (in conversation with Gallo) seconds the Weber Shandwick study finding when he stresses that it is essential for CEOs to be engaging on social media because this increases the credibility of the organisation and motivates employees. Also, in the wake turbulent markets and global financial crisis, consumers are cautious about receiving information from third parties (read random news articles and blog posts). Therefore, CEO’s blogs, tweets, posts, webinars etc go a long way in restoring the customers’ faith and trust in organisations.

Do you know want CEOs to be active and engaging on the social media? Share your thoughts in the comments. 

Social Media for Artists and Fans, Social Media Analytics for Films and Production Houses

Friday is just round the corner and that means a slew of films are slated for release. As film buffs around the world get ready to savour the performances of their favourite actors and works of their favourite directors, they, do not realise how important a role they are playing in this age of social media analytics.

As social media gets accepted and endorsed as a vital technological assistance in film distribution and marketing, entertainment houses are slowly discovering the Predictive Analysis capabilities of social media analytics tools with regard to opening day sales and box-office performance based on the sentiments and vibe surrounding their film on the social channels.

While social channels allows actors, producers, script-writers, lyricists to connect and engage with their loyal fan base, it also helps fans turn into critics and reviewers by allowing them to give their instantaneous verdict for every film they watch through real-time tweets and Face book posts. Review forums, discussion boards and YouTube comments are also other social spaces that movie goers use excessively to tell the world how much they liked or disliked a movie, its actors, storyline, music, dialogues and everything else. 

So you see, in the wake of such heightened usage of social media by the consumers of films and motion pictures, it becomes imperative even for production houses to rely on social media analytics in order to explore, understand and extract the right piece of useful information from tons of social media data and further use that useful information to make the right business impacting decisions. 

Advanced and big data competent social media analytic tool like Shout Analytics helps entertainment houses to predict trends, activities and behaviors using cutting edge predictive analysis and sentiment analysis techniques. Shout Analytics makes possible precise social media monitoring and management, gathers actionable insights from the film and entertainment industry to equip you with critical business intelligence to reduce financial risks, discover newer avenues for investment and multiply profits across production, distribution, promotion and marketing.  

If you are a motion picture company or a production house and are looking for social media Analytics solutions for your organization, then write in to us at info@shoutanalytics.com

The Social Media Effect on Banks and Financial Institutions

Banks and financial institutions have felt the social media effect in a big way. With the advent of social media, the banking and finance industry has seen a sea change in the way it conducts business. From being a conservative industry, it has changed into social media backed enterprise. Today because of the critical business benefits that it offers, banks and financial institutions have made social media an inevitable part of their marketing strategy.

Take a look at how social media has transformed banks and financial institutions in India and around the world.

Citi Bank’s official Twitter page for Customer Service

Yes Bank promoting its Money Monitor on Facebook

HSBC’s YouTube Channel. Note the different sections for advertising, sponsorship and ideas exchange.

Aviva India launched its Customer Centre on Facebook on May 1, 2013.

HDFC Bank’s Pinterest page

What next?

With growing data streams both structured and unstructured, increasing customers’ expectations and their seeking never like before engagement, the need of the hour for banks and financial institutions is to leverage social media for gathering actionable insights to make informed decisions. BFSIs must explore social media analytics to tap greater business intelligence.

 Using social media analytics tools, banks and financial institutions can take their social engagement to the next level; understand their customers’ exact needs and service/product/brand affinities to drive customer-driven product innovation. Social media analytics tools also aid and simplify online brand reputation and market research

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Put simply, banks and financial institutions can use social media analytics tools to not just ENGAGE but also to LISTEN, MANAGE AND MONITOR.

Have cases of social media transforming banks or financial institutions in your area? Please share with me. How do you think social media analytics tools can benefit BFSIs?  Send in your comments I’d love to hear from you.