The Social CEO - How to steer a brand in the digital age

@larsv

The Social CEO
How to steer a brand in the digital age

Lars Voedisch
Communications Strategist
lars@preciouscomms.com

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The Social CEO
How to steer a brand in the digital age

Human- • Personalizing your
izing brand
Your • Why CEO’s have to
brand learn how to say
‘sorry’
• Building relationships
• Thought leadership
needs an edge

@larsv
Your reputation is precious…
• Communications Strategy
• Traditional & Social Media
Our services, Relations
Your value! • Crisis Preparedness
• Internal Communications
• Media Training
• Analysis, Measurement,
Research
Lars Voedisch

Social Media affecting our lifes…

© 2012 by PRecious Communications 4

5
Source: What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds - Rosa Golijan

It’s not about technology,

It’s about relationships!

6
Source: What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds - Rosa Golijan

The BIG Cultural Dilemma

• Be (Seen) Innovative –
But Please Don’t Take Any Risk, Use Only Proven Methods


Online Engagement? Customers are very demanding!

[Brands] have to surprise me, not only meet
my needs, but anticipate my needs.
By using social media exclusively, I think the
company has to
answer me whenever I have a question,
enlighten me whenever I complain,
and thank me whenever I compliment
them.
Source: The Language of Love in Social Media - Firefly Millward Brown


The BIG Cultural Dilemma #2
• From natural respect to suspicion
• Are you approachable?
• Why would people want to connect
with you?


How to Humanize Your Brand
1. Think Like a Social Network
• Facebook: “We don’t draw a distinction between your mom and a bar
of soap”
2. Start With Staff
• Your employees are the most authentic expression of your brand
3. Create Access
11%
• TaylorMade. “We are, first and foremost, golfers”
4. Treat Customers as Partners
13% 32%
• Levi’s co-creating content, even products,
5. Reach Out To Key Individuals
• Ford’s CEO calling influential SMB owner
6. Own Your Mistakes
7. Put Your Fans to Work
• Cisco’s Networking Academy giving fans moderator privileges
8. Be Open to Debate 45%
• Eloqua openly asking online community
9. Be Present
• Don’t break the promise of engagement

Source: 10 Ways to Humanize Your Brand On Social Media - Mashable © 2012 by PRecious Communications 10

How to Humanize Your Brand
1. Think Like a Social Network
• Facebook: “We don’t draw a distinction between your mom and a bar
of soap”
2. Start With Staff
• Your employees are the most authentic expression of your brand
3. Create Access
11%
• TaylorMade. “We are, first and foremost, golfers”
4. Treat Customers as Partners
13% 32%
• Levi’s co-creating content, even products,
5. Reach Out To Key Individuals
• Ford’s CEO calling influential SMB owner
6. Own Your Mistakes
7. Put Your Fans to Work
• Cisco’s Networking Academy giving fans moderator privileges
8. Be Open to Debate 45%
• Eloqua openly asking online community
9. Be Present
• Don’t break the promise of engagement

Source: 10 Ways to Humanize Your Brand On Social Media - Mashable © 2012 by PRecious Communications 11

Social Media to be leveraged across a company:
Different functions, uses and values

Source: Socialize your organization – Richard Binhammer / Dell © 2012 by PRecious Communications 12

Social Media to be leveraged across a company:
Different functions, uses and values

Source: Socialize your organization – Richard Binhammer / Dell © 2012 by PRecious Communications 13

Social Media’s Internal Impact
CEOs Who Tweet Held in High Regard

82% of
employees trust
a company 11%
more when the
13% 32%
CEO and
leadership team
communicate
via social
media. 45%

Source: CEOs Who Tweet Held in High Regard - eMarketer © 2012 by PRecious Communications 14

Social CEO Index

11%

13% 32%

45%


Social Media is about Content
What Should We Be Talking About?

Industry…
trends, news,
E.g. Technology, data, advice
Legislation,
Competition

Your… products, offers, service,
people

Source: Developing your conversation sphere - CommsCorner 16

Showing Off Your CEO?
Get to Know Their Personal Story First

• Learn their story: How do you distinguish your CEO from the
pack? Get to know the CEO as an individual, and discover what his or her
personal story is. How did this CEO rise to one of the highest job titles in
the business world?

• Make them human: Humanizing the CEO and relating the
individual’s background to the vision of the company is a proven formula
for success.

• Expand the range of your CEO: In other words, have
your CEO be comfortable with speaking about macro-trends, whether it
relates to the Chinese economy, job growth or issues of the day. Thought
leadership should be about more than just a company’s specific market.
Source: Showing off your CEO – PR News © 2012 by PRecious Communications 17


the business world?

for success.


How CEOs are engaging with social media –
today and in the future


What are the most used customer interaction
methods?


What are the most used customer interaction
methods?

CEOs are changing the
nature of work by adding a
powerful dose of
openness, transparency
and employee
empowerment


Haven’t we heard
similar things when
EMAILs became
mainstream?!


Stand up and be proud
After I became CEO, the former head of the Bundesbank one
day took me aside and gave me some valuable advice: “From
now on, you must remember that you
are two people.
You are the person whom you and your
friends know, but you are also a symbol for
something. Never confuse the two. Don’t take
criticism of the symbol as criticism of the person.”
Josef Ackermann, Former CEO, Deutsche Bank

Source: Leading in the 21st century – McKinsey © 2012 by PRecious Communications 26

Are we too proud?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word…

• Don't RE-act right away
• Acknowledge - Don't be angry
• Admit the mistake and apologize
• Take ownership
• Ask for forgiveness and make the needed changes – use
the magic words: “I’m sorry” and “thank you”

Source: When You're Wrong, Say You're Sorry - SOLUTIONS: Social Media © 2012 by PRecious Communications 28

Key Learnings

1) Speed is critical (on Twitter)
2) Honesty is a virtue
3) Make your CEO visible (in the right way)
4) Brands have to be on alert in order to
correct any false assumptions before
they reach critical mass
5) Track it
Source: Not So SMRT: A Case Study of Communications Failure - Skribe © 2012 by PRecious Communications 29

Importance of Employee Engagement
What drives perceptions within
a company
•Management is approachable, easy to talk to
•I am given the resources an equipment
necessary to do my job
•Management keeps me informed about
important issues and changes
Trust in executives
How to engage employees – can have more than
Executive level twice the impact on
•Trust: Speak with passion engagement levels
•Communication: Priority in frequency, than trust in
appropriateness and depth (what and why)
•Culture: Hold themselves and peers immediate
accountable in building the right culture that managers!
fuels high performance and engagement
Source: The importance of employee engagement – NBRI © 2012 by PRecious Communications 30

Effective Communication: Skills that make
leaders stand out
Effective Communication should
pulse like a heartbeat
•It’s not solely the responsibility of
communication functions, but must rest with
management at all levels
•Leadership communications are a skill set
that can (and should be) learnt
•What’s the desired (behavioural) change of
your communications efforts?
It triggers down to a
Leading, Involving, Listening, fundamental
Informing question:
•Traditionally over-emphasis on Informing
•Nothing beats Walk-the-talk
Whose responsibility
is communication?
Source: Effective Communication – Mercer © 2012 by PRecious Communications 31

Thought Leadership Needs To Be Leading!
Some Ingredients Do you want to
•Closeness to the customer have a point of
•Understanding your customers’ needs for view or mainly
communication and technology access aim for
•A strong editorial voice agreement?


Some Examples: Mahindra


Some Examples: Forrester


Must-Does for CEOs in Social Media
1. Realize you shine bright in
social mediums
2. Recognize your role as Chief
Narrator
3. Anticipate social remarks
being a part of a permanent
public record
4. Don’t court controversy if
you can’t take the heat
5. Despite the inherent risks
embrace your humanity

Source: The Five Must-Dos for CEOs In Social Media – Forbes © 2012 by PRecious Communications 35

@larsv

Lars Voedisch

About us…
• Independent, boutique communications consultancy
• Based out of Singapore, at home in Asia and Europe
• Globally connected via affiliation with

+65 - 9170 2470 lars@preciouscomms.com

larsvoed Facebook.com/PReciousComms

229 Mountbatten Road Twitter.com/PReciousComms
#02-41 Mountbatten Square
Singapore 398007

Who is… Lars Voedisch?
International Communications Strategist

• Lars is an experienced global communications and business professional with 15
years expertise in growing, managing and defending leading global brands’
reputation across industry sectors.

Background & Expertise

• Clients include: AT&T, Citi, Coca Cola, DBS, GIC, Honda, ING, Macquarie,
Motorola, Panasonic, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, Yahoo!, VMware
• Companies he worked for: Hitradio Antenne, AIESEC, DHL, Fleishman-Hillard,
Dow Jones, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Experience in public relations, internal communications, marketing,
journalism, as well as M&A, crisis and change management
• International working, training and team leadership experience on five
continents
• Sought-after moderator and speaker on social media, public relations and
communications thought leadership

Personal Background

• German by birth; living in Asia (Hong Kong / Singapore) for 9 years

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The Social CEO - How to steer a brand in the digital age

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