A tweet and you may miss it, a Facebook post and you may forget to see it, send an email and you by by-pass it! So what is a busy executive to do when he/she was raised and educated in an era when social media did not exist, you remember carrying a ‘box of punched cards’ to the computer room down the hall and then returning the next day to get your results! Indeed the access to, and speed of information is on a racetrack to destinies unknown and you may be feeling a little ‘out of shape’ or not even sure where to start in a meaningful way — after all you are the boss, the owner, the General Manager.
Take a quick read at this great blogpost that came out titled “Top 5 Social Media Tips for C-Suite Execs”. If you don’t know what a C-suite exec is, that’s okay, they may not know how to tweet! In summary they provide 5 tips, but I have a few more to frame your thinking.
1. First, accept social media is here to stay, will continue to evolve faster than you can catch on unless you are committed to perpetual learning.
2. Second, appreciate like old fashion communications (TV, radio, print) you only need to invest-in and commit to those that are relevant to your target market.
3. Thirdly, social media represents a new opportunity to connect, listen and learn about your customer. If you are a manager who believe this is a priority – then you need to carve time out to engage. If you are an executive who ‘has people to do this’ then ensure your policies and practices support it, and ensure you high the right skills onto the team – communicators and relationship builders — and allow them hassle free time on the job to do just that!
So what are the 5 tips – and note the common thread — PEOPLE!!!!
1. Go where the people are; 2. Invest in people; 3. Be a subject matter expert; 4. Make it personal ; 5. Dont’ forget ‘internal social media’
Enjoy transforming your people and communictions!
