Despite the media hoopla surrounding Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networking options these days, social media is not the solution for every one and every business situation. That fact is very eloquently expressed in today's Ad Age Digital by Judy Shapiro's excellent post "Not Every CEO Needs to Be a Social Media Star". Read the full article at http://tinyurl.com/m47tut.
Ms. Shapiro addressed the recent media headlines that denounced Fortune 100 CEO's as "social media slackers" based on their low participation on Twitter, Facebook, and personal blogs. She, in turn, chastises the media for their lack of understanding and empathy with the tasks and responsibilities of a senior executive with a major corporation. Her article points out that CEO participation in social media is "fraught with practical, business and strategic risks".
Many CEO's don't have the luxury of being able to express their personal opinions or expose their personal lives for practical as well as business reasons. If a CEO mentions that he particularly likes or dislikes a company or product, his statements can be misinterpreted by the business community or the blogosphere as stock manipulation. In 2007, there was a major web scandal when the CEO of Whole Foods Markets wrote anonymous blog posts about Wild Oats Markets in an effort to drive down their stock price before buying the company.
Fastlane, a blog by General Motors CEO, Bob Lutz, has been lauded by the press as a great example of social media from a major company (I suppose we can still call GM a major company). But the truth is that most of the Fastlane posts that I read are nothing more than a disguised advertisement for their cars.
There is also the practical side to using social media that CEO's must consider. To effectively use social media as a business tool requires time and commitment. Anyone who has run a company knows that time is a valuable commodity that must be carefully monitored and utilized. As Ms. Shapiro points out "not every communication challenge is a nail to be whacked by the social media hammer".
So how does this relate to new business development? Simply put, don't try to apply a social media solution to every new business selling opportunity. As I have said in previous posts, social media can be a valuable new business tool for ad agencies. And social media can be valuable as a topic for starting a discussion with prospects, since many clients are overwhelmed by the fast pace of change and need help in deciphering how to employ social media as a marketing tool.
But social media is not the solution for every business situation. And I'm willing to bet there are CEO's who would appreciate your empathy and understanding of their reluctance to use social media tools.
Use social media as part of your new business arsenal, but use it wisely!
