How to Get CEOs to Love Social Media

One of the adoption hurdles facing some companies when it comes to social media is getting the CEO to buy in. Aside from the fact the current generation of CEOs aren’t enthusiastic social media users, there are many questions about why social media needs to happen and the benefits it will generate.

So how do you convince the CEO to give the green light to social media? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Be clear about why the company has to embrace social media, avoiding the suggestion it needs to be done because everyone else is doing it. Instead, focus on the benefits it will offer such as building a stronger brand, better customer service, more leads or revenue, or matching competitors.

2. Have a strategic and tactical plan that provides details on what is going to happen, the goals, the required resources (people, money) and how the program will be measured or assessed. This will provide the CEO with enough information to approve a social media plan and, as important, address any concerns or issues.

3. Take a walk before you run approach, which means being pragmatic rather than aggressive, and building on success. Too many companies jump into social media, launch multiple services, and then watch as their efforts fail to resonate. Not surprisingly, the CEO looks at the time and money spent as a waste, which makes it difficult to get social media resuscitated or given another chance.

4. Don’t make social media a big financial investment out of the gate. This could easily be point 3B but it has to do with not blowing your brains out right away. The downside to spending lots of money is if social media gets off to a slow start, it could lead to finger-pointing and questions about why social media is happening. Instead, spend wisely at first, and then attract more money based on success and confidence that social media is meeting its objectives.

5. Make sure the senior management team, including the CEO, is educated about what social media can do, its benefits and why it needs to happen. CEOs need to feel comfortable with any new initiative so providing them with knowledge and insight into social media will go a long way in making them climb on the bandwagon. In an ideal world, a CEO becomes a social media champion or evangelist who leads the charge so social media becomes baked into the corporate DNA.

6. Don’t avoid the ROI question. The reality is whatever resources are allocated to social media has to be taken away from another corporate activity. It means explaining and justifying what’s happening with social media, and how it’s performing.

Article:http://blog.sysomos.com/