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. 

5 Easy Steps to Online Reputation Management

Do you monitor and manage your brand’s online reputation? Three cheers to you if you already do. But if you don’t, it’s high time you get started.

Why Do You Need Online Reputation Management?

In this age of social networking where everything happens faster than a tick of the clock, organizations must pay attention to their online reputation management. 

Whatever the scale of your business operations, if you have an online footprint, then it is absolutely vital that you check, monitor and manage your overall online reputation as well because what people (your customers, clients, prospects, stakeholders and even employees) say and think about your brands and products is extremely crucial to the success of your business.

5 Easy Steps to Start Online Reputation Management:

Study Your Current Standing:

Right now, how well do you fare on Google and other search engines’ rank list for your services/products/brands? What are the common and not-so-common key words that brings up (defines) your brand and products on the search engines?

Getting answers to the above question will give you a fair idea of how good or bad your online reputation is at present. List your findings, review your position and then add your thoughts or comments for the next steps.

List Changes Needed:

Based on the list of your findings of current position, identify what changes needs to be implemented and where, circle the positives and the negatives and comprehend the vibes on the social channels. Identify these crucial aspects and work on them.

Pick Your Optimal Channel:

Depending on which social channel your brand finds the most positive and favorable mentions, exploit the same further. Make it your mouthpiece for brand communication and for customer engagement.

Draft a Solid Plan:

Now that you have an idea of what you are on the digital space and also know what you specifically want, go ahead and work on a feasible, flexible, impaction strategy. Customer engagement, brand communication and information on the web, all need interesting content. So, decide what type of content you will need for improving and increasing your brand’s online reputation.

Implement It:

Starts developing the content required for your brand communication, and do it well. Chart an editorial calendar and stick to it. Let there be variety in topics but maintain consistency in periodicity.

Competitor Analysis: Social Media Analytics can be a Path Breaking Tool to Venture Upon

You have a social media strategy in place and have an active presence on your social channels. Your social engagement is also much appreciated and liked by your target audience. Good going so far. You have played your cards right in your consumers’ case, but what about your competitor? Have you studied their social media strategy? What is their Facebook campaign like? What content do they post on Twitter? Who are their key influence rs  What topic is doing the rounds in their message boards? How much of their social content is liked and shared? What are their consumers’ conversations centered upon? Are their social engagement methods and means better than yours? What does it mean for your brand?

While these questions may sound simple, they are actually very critical for your organization/ brand’s competition management. And finding accurate answers to these questions is equally important if you want to stay ahead of your competitors. But where and how can you find these answers? According to me, conducting Competitor Analysis using a social media Analytics tools is the best way to find out what your competitors are faring on the social platform.

Shout Analytics is a sophisticated new age social media Analytics application that comes with a high end Competitor Analysis module.

Benefits of Shout Analytics’ Competitor Analysis Module:

a) Monitor your Competitors

Using Shout Analytics’ Competitor Analysis Module, you can monitor and get detailed reports your competitors’ social engagement initiatives and understand their marketing strategies. Use the insights derived to formulate a new or sharpen your existing marketing strategy.

b) Get Insights into the Conversation of your Competitors’ Target Market

The Competitor Analysis module of Shout Analytics allows you to seamlessly keep track of all the conversations surrounding your competitors’ brands. Find out what are the specific key words and trending topics in these conversations. Use this value-rich data to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and build your marketing strategies.

                               

c) Understand the Vibe around Your Competition

Shout Analytics’ Competitor Analysis module ensures that you effortlessly understand the primary sentiments prevailing among the target audience of your competitor’s products/ brands. Use the negative, positive and even the neutral sentiments there to your benefit – understand what your potential target audience wants or predict future trends.

d) Explore Untapped Markets

While analyzing and studying your competitors’ market reach, you also get an insight into the demographics of their target markets. With better understanding of who wants a product/ brand like yours, you will be able to discover newer markets and expand your product reach.

To summarize, Shout Analytics’ Competitor Analysis Module helps you to easily monitor, gather, analyze and report on all your competitors. It provides you with priceless actionable insights to develop strong, powerful capabilities that will outsmart your competition.  

To know more about Shout Analytics, write to info@shoutanalytics.com