Bank CEOs: Your Battle can be Won Online

In a report by global PR firm Weber Shandwick says that while CEOs are certainly talking (97% CEOs communicated externally during the period of the study), they’re strangely silent online.  Twitter, used by 8%, is the most popular online forum among polled CEOs! But here’s an interesting, and not so surprising finding: the top bosses at the most admired companies in the world are more visible in online media than their counterparts at less admired firms.  Before you throw the Murdochs back at me, let me clarify that we are talking about voluntary media presence – the kind that is initiated by the CEOs or their organizations to communicate with the world at large.

An interesting conclusion that can be drawn is that CEOs must lose no opportunity to tell their company story in both traditional and new age media. Why? Because this improves their reputation as well as that of the organizations they lead; also because stakeholders want to hear more often from those at the top. Why both media? Because while interviews, press releases and keynote addresses are great for corporate messaging, they do nothing to humanize those who are delivering them. CEOs need to let their personality shine through, to differentiate the brand they lead…they represent… by welcoming online and social media into the corner office.

Think of the banking industry, under the cosh, ever since the last crisis broke.  According to the CEO study, leaders from less admired firms – which happen to be from the beleaguered financial services space – are quoted more than others in news articles, usually defending their position. So I’m wondering… had they employed a more credible tactic of damage control over online media as well, would it have improved their image? Wouldn’t it help their banks’ reputation if senior executives were to let down their guard a bit in an open online chat with customers? Or use a blog to tell them that they know of their pain and are doing all they can to lessen it. Heck, even an interview on YouTube is a start!