Social Media

To tweet or not to tweet? It's a question that may occasionally nag at the minds of the thousands of American CEOs who aren't on social media yet—but suspect they probably should be.

Marketers and event management strategists have been telling CEOs for some time that they need to get used to the new era of social media and embrace it. Some high-profile business leaders have finally started to take their advice.

Hundreds of CEOs today use social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. However, social-media use by mid-market companies often can be a tougher path for CEOs and owners than it is for their counterparts at other companies, because larger firms have more marketing resources, while startups tend to be founded by young and typically tech-savvier individuals and have much less management hierarchy.

The chief executive officer of the United States of America now has a Twitter handle. Should every CEO and company chief have the same? Many CEOs already do, but are you using it effectively, in a way that benefits the company and builds the brand?

You might prefer to defer publicity and communications tasks to your communications director or VP, but there is tangible value to having your own web presence. Here are 4 ways building your reputation online can help your company.

Recently, the owner of a New York hotel decided to fine wedding couples $500 of their deposit funds for each negative review posted online by any of their guests. The policy produced a firestorm of complaints and nearly 700 reviews eviscerating the hotel. The bad press only spread from there.

What can the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr do for your company?

If you’re not speaking for yourself, others will speak for you.

CEO are under pressure these days to appear “authentic,” reports The Wall Street Journal’s Leslie Kwoh and Melissa Korn, but using social media—with its demands for quick, unscripted messages—poses risks for the unsuspecting boss.

Social media involvement is deepening quickly at most companies. Ford already is spending about 25 percent of its mammoth marketing budget to leverage its early auto-industry leadership in social media. And the overall trend is clear: Social media investments are gaining an average of 5 percent this year while companies are typically cutting at least 5 percent from print, television and outdoor advertising budgets.