More CEOs Than Ever Are Active On Social Media. Here's Why

• 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company if its CEO is active on social media (Source: Edelman, 2024).

Are you a CEO? Are you an entrepreneur? Are you running your own business? How are your sales going? Are you wondering - how can I boost my brand presence? How can I boost my sales? How can I create a more successful company? How can I create more sustained, long-term growth for my business?

The answer is YOU. And this is not me being cheesy. You are literally the answer; your personal brand is the answer to a more successful business, a more successful brand, and more loyal customers. Well, one of the answers at least.

Research by Edelman from 2024 states that 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company if its CEO is active on social media. What a shocker, right? Except, not really.

We humans tend to have a thing for fellow humans. So it makes sense that the easiest way to emotionally connect and resonate with something will be if that "something" is a fellow human being.

Now let's look at how that translates into the world of business and branding.

If, as a business, you sell products, you are dealing with something that is inanimate, and if you've ever read anything on marketing or branding, you've probably come across the importance of emotional resonance between the consumer and the product and its brand.

So when it comes to making a product appeal to the customers, brands often opt for visual storytelling. You've probably seen TV commercials and all sorts of online ads that tell a story which makes us feel a certain set of emotions towards the topic, which then, as a consequence, drives a reaction that results in us buying the advertised product.

An easy example would be a commercial from a pharmaceutical company, showing you a few clips of people with aches and pains, and once you've been emotionally triggered and feel like you need to make sure to stay healthy, they serve you a nice full-screen picture of the solution, a.k.a. their products. At this point, you are very inclined to make a purchase, to, of course, keep yourself and your loved ones healthy. Very emotionally powered actions.

But let's look at this from another angle now, which is, why are consumers more likely to buy from a company if its CEO is active on social media?

First, keep in mind that we are multifaceted beings, and it's worth taking into account the fact that each of us will have a plethora of different reasons and emotional drivers that make us act, think, and feel in a certain way. However, there are certain overarching similarities when it comes to our behaviours and reasons as to why we are more inclined towards certain brands than others. So let's talk about it:

1 - When the CEO is active on social media, it gives a consumer a sense of transparency and trust. If the CEO has the courage to show up, and stand behind the work that the company does, and speak loudly and proudly about it, then what the company is doing and saying must be true.

2 - Every company is a product of its people and their culture. Think of Richard Branson's Virgin brand. If you look into each business established within it, you will see a lot of overarching values, behaviours, communications, and culture that are shared among everything with the Virgin stamp on it. And so the CEO, being out and about, active on social media, becomes the first "representative" of the brand's values. He or she is the first "point of contact" through which a consumer can really FEEL the company's brand, and understand their essence. And so, an entity like a business, all of a sudden, becomes more humanised because the consumer can see the people behind the brand and form a connection with them. Again, building a lot of trust here.

3 - Social media is just a norm these days, and so with it we've adopted a whole set of new behaviours, one of them being channel-hopping. Well, this one really isn't new; we just managed to transfer it from TV into the online world. But anyway, channel-hopping allows us to gather a lot of information about an individual or a business really fast. But it's not only that; AI these days can deliver a set of information, articles, pros and cons, summaries and sets of values from just about any business in a matter of moments. So, as a business and as an individual, you are competing with time here. You only have a few moments to deliver as much of the positive hook information as you can to a potential customer as they surf through all possible outlets, gathering information. So the question is, in what ways can you establish the most amount of trust with a person who has never heard of you/your business, hook them long enough to keep reading, and finally be "likeable" enough to make them stay? Again, showing up as a human can help tremendously. Being out there, running the show, and making yourself visible can be a big game-changer.

4 - When you were a kid, did you have a role model, an idol? Did you want to be just like someone else you've seen on TV? Like the majority of my male peers, who wanted to be Rocky Balboa growing up. You've probably had people in your life who inspired you, and you wanted to adopt their behaviours. Well, that part of you that aspires to be like the people you admire is still very alive within you, most likely. You can come across an individual whose values, way of being, and achievements inspire you to change and to reach the next level of your own life. Now, don't you think when it comes to CEOs, stepping out there, being on social media, wouldn't it have a similar effect? As CEOs become active on social media, show up in interviews, articles, online, they appear more human, more real, and they seem as if they are more like us, just another human being, approachable, reachable. And as an add-on, we see their values, and those of a company, embodied within them, which makes us more prone to react to it and form a connection, a sense of trust.

So, if you are someone who is building a brand, a business, a company, I do recommend going out there, making yourself visible. Make an effort to show up in a variety of ways and bring your authentic self forward. It will help you build more trust with your customers, and as a consequence of sustained efforts, you will garner more and more consumer loyalty over time.

And as usual, if you are asking yourself the following questions, like:

• How can I build a successful brand?

• How can I amplify my reach?

• How can I expand and grow my brand, company, or business?

• How can I take my brand, business, or company to the next level of success?

• How can I build an impactful brand with a loyal customer base?

• How can I become a person of authority and influence?

Well, I can help you with that via my Brand Evolution Strategy method, where we dive deep into your brand discovery, re-strategise the crucial parts, make an action-oriented master plan, and help you evolve your brand to the next level of success. If this sparks your interest, make yourself known to me!

Till the next read!

Teja Jereb