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March 5, 2013 Transcript of #CommsChat on corporate social media strategy

Last week, the @Pontifex account deleted all of the pope’s existing tweets, stating that it reflects the fact that the papacy is currently vacant.

On #CommsChat, we explored the impact of leadership on corporate social media strategy and what role the CEO should take in shaping that strategy.

Some of our choice tweets:

@AndrewGirdwood After Pope Celestine V resigned he fled, was captured, arrested and mysteriously died. I think archived tweets aren’t so bad.
@mattlawrence The majority of tweeting shoudl come from PR folks, but the occasional tweet from CEO is great for company image.
 ‏@ruthseeley If a CEO isn’t required to write all his/her own speeches, just deliver them, why do they have to write all their own tweets?
@steve_murg Hate it when senior leaders show apathy and lack of interest, you immediately lose other people as they don’t believe
@ShulaGillam CEO’s should tweet about industry issues too to reinforce rep as strong, knowledgeable, finger-on-the-pulse leader.
And the full hour:


  1. 16 hrs

      great discussion – interesting views from some! 

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  2. 16 hrs

     I think some senior managers take themselves too seriously and aren’t willing to let guard down in public platform

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  3. 16 hrs

    RT : take a look at our Facebook pg, &help us decide which cover to go for  ->crowdsourcing 

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  4. 16 hrs

      Do you think it could be for lack of time, experience, both? 

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  5. 16 hrs

     No, I guess Bieber just doesn’t fit! .

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  6. 16 hrs

      and Moneysupermarket

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  7. 16 hrs

    Incidentally CommsChatters, take a look at our Facebook pg, &help us decide which front cover to go with 

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  8. 16 hrs

    Thanks so much for the thought-provoking tweets, tips, etc. Really enjoyable this one. 

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  9. 16 hrs

      Completely, the ability to interact is probably the biggest weakness I see from senior leaders on SM

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  10. 16 hrs

    +1 RT : How can you be an effective, modern, forward looking CEO if you can’t even handle tweeting?

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  11. 16 hrs

    RT :   there are studies/articles around e.g.  

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  12. 16 hrs

     Content and ability to interact, I’d say. 

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  13. 16 hrs

    Night all, thanks  and hello to newbies – do come back again 

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  14. 16 hrs

    Really enjoyable  – got ideas, reading material and a few things to ponder! Thanks everyone. 

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  15. 16 hrs

     Plus, they might not be the right person to be CEO!

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  16. 16 hrs

     Depends on the content they’re tweeting. If it’s all Beiber and 1D then you know why they have the high numbers

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  17. 16 hrs

    Great  tonight – some very interesting points and opinions

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  18. 16 hrs

      Thank you for that. I’ll take a look.

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  19. 16 hrs

    Thanks  et all. Interesting debate, good topics.

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  20. 16 hrs

     Thanks so much to you for hosting & to all the smart & thought-provoking tweeps who participated. 

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  21. 16 hrs

     Hmm, that might be true. Something like followers on LinkedIn. 

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  22. 16 hrs

    Good  tonight, always love a good debate!

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  23. 16 hrs

    I’m off now, but if yrenjoying yourself feel free to carry on. As always, the transcript will be up on CommsChat site tomorrow. 

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  24. 16 hrs

    Shared link 2: +  

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  25. 16 hrs

    Shared link 1:  

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  26. 16 hrs

      Perhaps comes back to quality/level profile and image developed through SM, rather than just raw numbers? 

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  27. 16 hrs

     Demonstrates relevance and competence. My criteria, of course. 

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  28. 16 hrs

    There we have it, the big hand is at the top of the hour, which means we’re through fr tonight. A big thanks to all who took part

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  29. 16 hrs

     Which says… 

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  30. 16 hrs

    RT  I think both can tweet but different styles needed. Broadly speaking, B2C about engagement, B2B about positioning.

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  31. 16 hrs

     If we’re talking in the hundreds of thousands and you’re a CEO then you are doing something right. 

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  32. 16 hrs

    Will be interesting to see how many brands survive without social media. Can traditional still cut it? 

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  33. 16 hrs

      there are studies/articles around e.g. 

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  34. 16 hrs

     depends why you want to find them there and what they’re doing with LinkedIn. Needs to be purpose

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  35. 16 hrs

     Savvy CEOs should create fake social media accounts to test & challenge their own social channels & customer service! 

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  36. 16 hrs

      Still, that’d be silly. It’s not the quantity, it’s the quality? 

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  37. 16 hrs

    MT  CEOs should have their own identity on Twitter, yet represent core values & corporate style of their company.

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  38. 16 hrs

      Agreed. I doubt there will be many more Tony Hayward-style CEOs. 

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  39. 16 hrs

     I think both can tweet but different styles needed. Broadly speaking, B2C about engagement, B2B about positioning.

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  40. 16 hrs

    …No hard sell – just take a look at the reviews and ratings on Newsstand or the App Store. 

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  41. 16 hrs

     We might find some soon if not now. Might do a little search. Guys, any case studies available? 

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  42. 16 hrs

     What better than a bio that shows the ability to connect with people. Go Linkedin. 

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  43. 16 hrs

    Wishing all my tweets had verbs. 

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  44. 16 hrs

     Think there will be a strong case. If you have huge followers on twitter you’ll be more attractive prospect than none

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  45. 16 hrs

     true! My point was re: choosing what’s right for their style 🙂 

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  46. 16 hrs

     CEO’s should tweet about industry issues too to reinforce rep as strong, knowledgeable, finger-on-the-pulse leader.

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  47. 16 hrs

    With 5 minutes to go – a quick word from Communicate magazine, tonight’s sponsors, on their iPad edition…. 

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  48. 16 hrs

     depends how 45 mins is used. could be really valuable. You wouldn’t ask that about 45 mins spent on the shop floor 

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  49. 16 hrs

     Will be interesting to see if next generation of CEOs move into roles at least partly based on their SM profiles….

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  50. 16 hrs

    RT : Subset of Q5: is there a difference between a B2B CEO shld tweet vs a B2C CEO? Silly to have duelling corp. accts

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  51. 16 hrs

     I look forward to reading the transcript, sounds juicy!

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  52. 16 hrs

     Agreed! However CEO’s should be able to devise 140 character tweets if they can sign off on million pound budgets!

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  53. 16 hrs

     I’d expect CEO’s of the future to be SM experts so will have a bigger interest and more influence. 

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  54. 16 hrs

     I would – most of the time, depending on the company/industry. 

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  55. 16 hrs

    Subset of Q5: is there a difference between a B2B CEO should tweet vs a B2C CEO? Would be silly to have duelling corp. accts.

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  56. 16 hrs

     Evening, you missed all the pope chat. We didn’t get started on any religious debates thankfully 

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  57. 16 hrs

     right platform, right message for right audience – 3 in the recipe – conversation works both ways

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  58. 16 hrs

    Other sectors e.g. finance require more discrete image, with customers seeking reassurance rather than affinity. 

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  59. 16 hrs

     no 

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  60. 16 hrs

     For the next few years they need to be included, onboard + supportive. Not necessarily part of it, if not appropriate

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  61. 16 hrs

     They could be. I’d still ask my question, though. There’s nothing to Twitter that a CEO who gets Facebook can’t do

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  62. 16 hrs

    Erm – absence. See – that’s a tweet I should delete to correct a typo. But I won’t. 

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  63. 16 hrs

     also that many brands use twitter as part if their customer service offering

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  64. 16 hrs

    Evening  🙂 

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  65. 16 hrs

     maybe depending on their style but also allows staff access to them which can be good for engagement 

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  66. 16 hrs

    How a CEO tweets can be linked to sector. Some e.g. gambling, mean CEO can tweet same experiences as customers, build affinity.

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  67. 16 hrs

     Ha – I hadn’t even noticed absent of guest. 😉 And I promised to be quiet and mostly observe this time around – oops.

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  68. 16 hrs

     I wondered where he was…poor show! Thank god we’re such a chatty bunch! 

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  69. 16 hrs

    Topic 5 What role should CEOs take in their company’s social media strategy in the future? 

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  70. 16 hrs

     They could be dire at Twitter but awesome at Facebook – key is to choose what suits their natural comm style

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  71. 16 hrs

    . yes. If the cheekiness is a conceit to get attention for a dry subject (case I am thinking of is public sector) 

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  72. 16 hrs

    But we are into the last ten minutes. so let’s go for our final topic.

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  73. 16 hrs

     I ask myself that Q all the time as it relates to politicians – mayors are the CEOs of their cities. 

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  74. 16 hrs

      That’s what I meant. 

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  75. 16 hrs

      definitely – learning curve,helps focus on the real issues, sometimes hidden or too scared to be told to CEO

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  76. 16 hrs

    Our guest hasnt turned up, but I’m loving it tonight – you folks are more than making up for it. You’re all such great value.

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  77. 16 hrs

    Great topic today over  – How much of a role should top-level leadership play in social media? 

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  78. 16 hrs

    A4) Not one size fits all approach as depends on CEO + nature of the org. Worst idea is to shoehorn them. Channel choice is key

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  79. 16 hrs

      brands need to be humanised for people to engage with them 

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  80. 16 hrs

    RT : How can you be an effective, modern, forward looking CEO if you cant even handle tweeting?

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  81. 16 hrs

     there are plenty of examples of corporate accounts doing that too 

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  82. 16 hrs

    How can you be an effective, modern, forward looking CEO if you can’t even handle tweeting? 

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  83. 16 hrs

    (I’m thinking of cos like  (?) that have 24-hour, ID’d service accounts and are doing a great job at that aspect of SM.)

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  84. 16 hrs

    A4) Would encourage personal account for CEO (in case they leave). Should be authentic, reflect their style + orgs values

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  85. 16 hrs

      I think that show is a great example of the gap often found between CEOs and front line staff

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  86. 16 hrs

     they should do what works best for them/org. There’s merit in both, social media doesn’t conform to set rules

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  87. 16 hrs

    Let’s say CEO has account but only does some tweets. Corp tweeters can use acct to direct service inquiries to service acct.

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  88. 16 hrs

      Plus there is the ‘bonding’ nature.

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  89. 16 hrs

       likely. 

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  90. 16 hrs

     If the brand is ‘cheeky’ and the CEO isn’t comfortable with that is he the right CEO? 

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  91. 16 hrs

    RT : Interested to see CEO tweet from personal a/c from two competitive brands (following role change) –> any examples

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  92. 16 hrs

    We’re concentrating on CEOs sending first tweet, how active are they expected tobe in replying?Thinking in terms of time/resource

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  93. 16 hrs

      I’d be more concerned of turrets….

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  94. 16 hrs

     so think that the messages come from the top down, being transparent and open to engagement 

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  95. 16 hrs

       Is that why Michael O’Leary isn’t on twitter? 

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  96. 16 hrs

    .  e.g if brand is “cheeky”, audience expect certain way of talking to boss which boss may not be comfortable with. 2/2

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  97. 16 hrs

     evening 

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  98. 17 hrs

     they should be encouraged to take part – it’s like ‘undercover boss’ – they learn from the experience 

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  99. 17 hrs

    Interested to see a CEO tweet from a personal a/c from two competitive brands (following role change) and how conflicted it was

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  100. 17 hrs

     I believe it’s more about profile, image where that value would lie. 

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  101. 17 hrs

    RT : They should have their own identity on Twitter, yet represent core values & corporate style of their company.

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  102. 17 hrs

     I think I’d start getting quite worried if my CEO started showing signs of schizophrenia. Or even mild sock puppetry!

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  103. 17 hrs

    I’m now in . Come and join in using the hashtag for the last 20 mins. Full info:  

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  104. 17 hrs

      agree, personal account shld mirror message of corporate.Humanizes cei, but shldn’t create controversy. 

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  105. 17 hrs

    RT : CEO should have their own identity on Twitter, yet represent the core values & corporate style company.

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  106. 17 hrs

      Paid to write 140 characters? What would the pay per word be for that! 

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  107. 17 hrs

     both for full transparency but the 2 must align.

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  108. 17 hrs

    RT : CEOs should tweet in support of org initiatives/strategy in their own words. Quality not quantity

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  109. 17 hrs

    .  If there are accounts for both CEO and brand, there is also an interesting dynamic when they talk to each other. 1/2

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  110. 17 hrs

    Evening all, will read transcript tomorrow but here for the final 20 minutes. Great topic from what I can see so far… 

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  111. 17 hrs

    CEOs should tweet in support of org initiatives/strategy in their own words. Quality not quantity 

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  112. 17 hrs

     I know, I think I posed a question I don’t have an answer to. One that fascinates/worries me in equal measure!

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  113. 17 hrs

     They should have their own identity on Twitter, yet represent the core values & corporate style of their company.

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  114. 17 hrs

    Another saying to a senior journalist, ‘So who watches this show anyway, housewives?’ You can’t hit CEOs, you can only cringe.

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  115. 17 hrs

     Hate it when senior leaders show apathy and lack of interest, you immediately lose other people as they don’t believe

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  116. 17 hrs

     I take it from all the references to ‘they’ it’s assumed CEOs don’t pay attention to ?

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  117. 17 hrs

     Yep, totally agree. 

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  118. 17 hrs

     shld do it from both. Company Acct is for company news, personal for own views but w some supervision from comms

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  119. 17 hrs

     God SEO rankings is just a tiny bit of the whole thing…

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  120. 17 hrs

    I remember new CEO saying sarcastically after end of last-minute telecon, ‘Thanks to all 5 of you who bothered to dial in.’ Eek!

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  121. 17 hrs

     If that’s the case, then just don’t have them on Twitter. Don’t have to be, use a senior leader who is more natural

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  122. 17 hrs

      I guess youcould argue that in future it’ll be required skill of CEOs-otherwise they’re not right for job

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  123. 17 hrs

      People employ speech writers. Tweet writers just seems wrong 

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  124. 17 hrs

     Sometimes it’s worth sticking up for minority opinions 🙂 

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  125. 17 hrs

     Twitter is too short and immediate to do that

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  126. 17 hrs

      most companies that have CEOs/Execs tweet do so with comms ppl in the room  

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  127. 17 hrs

     Because if I write a speech for the CEO, s/he sees it makes suggestions and amends to their style. 

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  128. 17 hrs

    Topic 4 Should CEOs tweet from their companies accounts? From their own? Have both? etc 

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  129. 17 hrs

    We’ve semi-covered Topic 4 already. But let’s put it out there anyway. 

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  130. 17 hrs

     I’d prefer to work w/a CEO who gets comms too, but one isn


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