Earlier this week www.uberceo.com released a study on the use of social media by Fortune 100s chief executive officers. The presentation has been included with this article.

From my discussions with IROs whose companies have not yet taken the plunge with social media, the likely reasons for CEOs abstaining are concerns about disclosure risk, lack of time and quite frankly a discomfort with technology beyond email and browsing. This is not a slag but rather a reflection of the feedback we’ve been given with respect to senior executives adopting new technologies – oftentimes they simply prioritize other things.  Their social networks happen in other arenas and they may have other senior executives within their organizations actively involved in social media.

The topline results taken from UberCEO’s blog post reveal that:

• Only two CEOs have Twitter accounts.
• 13 CEOs have LinkedIn profiles, and of those only three have more than 10 connections.
• 81% of CEOs don’t have a personal Facebook page.
• Three quarters of the CEOs have some kind of Wikipedia entry, but nearly a third of those have limited or outdated information.
• Not one Fortune 100 CEO has a blog.

In reading the Uber post, be sure to scroll down to the comments. There are references to some interesting articles there as well, such as Doug Cornelius’ of  Compliance Building who shares his compliance risk perspective in ‘Corporate Blogs and Tweets Must Keep SEC in Mind’ and another by Dan Haugen of the Minneapolis Post on Best Buy’s new CEO, “Is Best Buy’s Brian Dunn the Most Socially Networked CEO?”

Should CEO’s get involved in social media? Those that do send a very clear message in terms of their transparency and their personal interest in listening to their stakeholders. Where there’s a willingness to get involved even a busy CEO will find the time with the support of a good team and the use of mobile devices. But the answer to the question in my opinion is really, “it depends”. Most organizations can benefit from involvement in social media but whether it happens with the CEO or other senior level executives really comes down to corporate strategy, division of labour and who would be most effective and committed to continuing the conversation.

Related posts:

1. Latest UMass study of Fortune 500 companies and Social Media : 23% blog, 60% use Twitter, 56% Facebook
2. 2011 UMass study of Fortune 500 companies and Social Media: 23% blog, 62% use Twitter, 58% Facebook
3. How Polycom’s Social Media Strategy has evolved to incorporate Investor Relations
4. My Top 3 “How to” Q&A for Social Media and Investor Relations
5. Case Study: How NovaGold Uses Social Media to Augment Their Quarterly Reporting

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