1.
Presidents &
Social Media
29 August 2012: CASE Europe
Contents of this presentation © mStoner, Inc., 2012; all rights reserved.
Wednesday, 29 August 2012 1

2.
Contact me
Michael Stoner
Michael.Stoner@mStoner.com
@mstonerblog
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Join the #highered all-stars on edUniverse: edUniverse.org
mStoner
Wednesday, 29 August 2012 2

3.
I.
Social CEOs
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4.
“Gentlemen, our social media strategy is simple:
the more time our president spends on Twitter,
the less harm he can do elsewhere.”
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5.
Social CEOs
• In July, 2010, none of the Fortune 100 CEOs were
social.
• CEO.com lists 25 “big name” CEOs from Fortune
500s who use Twitter
• Pete Cashmore is #1, with >2.2 M followers
• Richard Branson is #8, with 750,000 followers
• Richard Branson on why he’s social:
“Virgin as a brand is naturally conversational. We like to
chat with our customers to see how things are going and
what we can do better. ... But social media is also beyond
business — people want to know what’s meaningful. So I
use social media to share what philanthropic causes and
campaigns are important to me . . . .”
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Fortune 100 CEOs: George Colony, Forrester Research, http://blogs.forrester.com/george_colony/10-07-06-social_ceo_part_four_ceos_should_be_social_light
CEO.com list of CEOs who tweet: http://www.ceo.com/lists/ceos-that-tweet/
Richard Branson on social media: http://mashable.com/2011/10/04/richard-branson-interview/

6.
CEOs & social channels
47% of respondents said their CEOs were active on:
Twitter 50
LinkedIn 47
Facebook 45
Corporate blog 38
None of these 25
Google+ 12
Other 9
Quora 4
0 12.5 25 37.5 50
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From BRANDfog 2012 CEO, Social Media, & Leadership Survey: http://mstnr.me/brandfog

7.
Why should CEOs use social?
• Public engagement
“Letting consumers have transparency into the company
and the CEO’s daily activities builds trust.”
• Recruitment and scouting
“Finding talent through trusted networks can decrease
turnover rate.”
• Intelligence and market research
“Platforms like Twitter provide easy access to what
customers want.”
• Customer Relationship Management
“Building trust through social media can go a long way to
making and keeping lifelong customers.”
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From infographic, The Future, Social CEO: http://www.ceo.com/media_type/featured_content/infographic-the-future-social-ceo/

8.
Why would CEOs use social?
Better communication 78
Improved brand image 71
More transparency 64
Improved company morale 45
Better leadership 45
None of the above 5
0 20 40 60 80
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From BRANDfog 2012 CEO, Social Media, & Leadership Survey: http://mstnr.me/brandfog

9.
source: CEO.com, mstnr.me/HZhzY9
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From infographic, The Future, Social CEO: http://www.ceo.com/media_type/featured_content/infographic-the-future-social-ceo/

10.
And furthermore . . .
• When asked about connection between
executives on social media and trust in a brand
“82% of respondents were more likely or much more
likely to trust a company who CEO and leadership team
engage with social media.”
• 93% of respondents believe CEO engagement in
social media helps communicate company
values, shape a company’s reputation, and grow
and evolve corporate leadership in times of crisis
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From BRANDfog 2012 CEO, Social Media, & Leadership Survey: http://mstnr.me/brandfog

11.
II.
Presidents &
social media in
#highered
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12.
Challenges for the CEO in .edu
“To be effective in this environment, a president needs the
skills and experience to provide the integral leadership an
institution requires—as an academic leader, CEO of a
complex organization, spokesperson and fundraiser of an
institution, and public advocate for higher education. At the
same time, a president needs the stamina and resolve to
address divergent, often competing expectations of different
constituencies. As signs of financial recovery emerge and
recede, the diminished fiscal climate continues to be a major
challenge to many higher education institutions, both public
and private. A president must lead the institution in
addressing these challenges, combining a vision of the
institution’s strengths and potential with a candid
understanding of the serious issues it may face.”
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From: Gregory R. Wegner, from "The Character of Leadership: A Conversation among Prominent Educational Leaders, "AGB & Winter Park Institute, March 2010 (http://
fiatdev.rollins.edu/wpi/agb/full-text.html)

13.
Reasons why presidents aren’t social
• Time: Where will I find the time?
• Control: I can’t control the conversation.
• Risk: I might say something that’s misinterpreted or off-
message. Legal counsel says don’t do it.
• Unproven channel: It’s too early to “prove” social works.
• ROI: There’s no data to “prove” it works. Donors & board
members don’t use it.
• Social pressure: My peers don’t do it.
• Age: My peers don’t do it. It’s for young people.
• Performance anxiety: Mistakes are public. Sheesh!
related blog post: mstnr.me/I8SgmK
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14.
Here’s what’s scary ...
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15.
Here’s what’s scary ...
mstnr.me/JOfJqi
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16.
Leadership 2012
• Listening: Insights into what constituents think.
• Customer service: No food in the dining hall? We
can fix that!
• Cheerleading: Sharing campus news.
• Crisis communications: Putting rumors to rest.
• Educating: Helping students & staff learn.
• Making connections: News media and others.
• Staying informed: Wow: I should read that!
• Informing: Here’s what I’m reading.
• Self-revelation: Here’s the real me.
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17.
Advice to presidents about being social
• Don’t participate if you don’t feel comfortable.
• But if you do: choose channels that you feel
comfortable with.
• Ask for help if you need it.
• Don’t do it if you can’t commit to it.
• Don’t have your PR staff write your tweets or
posts!
• Don’t be afraid to use self-deprecating humor.
• Be yourself: you need to convey authenticity in
your social presence.
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Barbara Couture, president of New Mexico State University:
“Facebook was selected as my primary tool for social media communication for a number of reasons. Facebook has the largest reach of the social media platforms (with
more than 850 million users). It also provides a more dynamic interface, with the ability to post photo albums, videos, links to other important information and the ability
to instantly “like” or comment on posts.”

18.
The board’s view
• Board members don’t ask about social media:
They expect results.
• Social media is part of a candidate’s record: They
use it in vetting candidates.
• In five years, no one will ask the question about
whether a president uses social media: It will just
be assumed that she does.
related blog post: mstnr.me/OIIEBU
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19.
www.facebook.com/nmsupresident
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20.
IV. Resources
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21.
Followup reading/thinking
Walter Kimbrough, “How One President Uses Social Media”:
mstnr.me/IPXuGU
Patrick Powers, "College Presidents who lead 140 characters at a
time": mstnr.me/PPprez
Andy Shaindlin (@alumnifutures) : “Edleaders: Vice-Chancellors,
Presidents, Rectors and Heads of Schools on Twitter”: https://
twitter.com/#!/alumnifutures/edleaders
Look for article on presidents and social media in Nov/Dec CASE
Currents
Follow mStoner.com/blog for interviews with various presidents on
how they use social media....
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