Blog #10 Our Chief Executive Refusal To Use Social Media

   The article I am blogging about is titled Our Chief Executive's Refusal to Use Social Media is Holding The Charity Back  written by The Guardian. The article begins with a statistic, "Eight out of 10 people are more likely to trust and buy from an organization whose chief executive and leadership team use social media" (Page 1). It then goes into saying that Charity leaders on social media are considered digital pioneers and are praised for their social media efforts. In today's primarily digital world a charity CEO needs to be accessible to the charity's supporters. They need to be in constant contact to not only hear the voice of their followers but to see if any of their charity efforts have a negative impact. However, even with all of the good social media presence can do for organizations, some CEO's of charitable organizations won't touch social media, which can severely hold back a company's growth. The author of this article, who wishes to remain anonymous described that he has worked in charity marketing and communications for more than 15 years and understands how important it is to make yourself different and raise your presence in such a crowded environment. Stakeholders expect that leaders of such strong organizations to act as an ambassador and be easily contacted on social media platforms such as Twitter. It can be an effective tool to communicate with your stakeholders and it is virtually free. Unless you are promoting advertisements, having a company account is completely free for the organization. 
   
   The author's CEO is still adamant about not joining social media, he states that he will never, ever use social media. Senior leaders need to face the growing demands of technology regardless of their personal beliefs. To stay ahead in this crazy economical world one needs to not only understand advances in technology, but embrace it with open arms. If customers see that you are willing to "go with the flow" and create something that everyone else has, they will relate more to your product and you will have better buyer potential. 

   This relates to our social media marketing class because it is important to understand that you need to follow the path that your consumers and followers take. You need to adapt to their demands and wants if you want to stay successful. In this case the CEO needs to join social media not only because it is extremely beneficial to consumers by giving them an outlet to talk to senior management but because the employees are requesting it as well. Without a happy and stable work environment, the company will crumble as a hole regardless of their good intentions. 

http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2015/apr/05/our-chief-executives-refusal-to-use-social-media-holding-charity-back