I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to see a corporate "news" account that wasn't run by a fast food brand respond so brazenly to a sitting U.S. senator. Over the past few days, the Amazon corporate news account has suffered from an identity crisis that we all can probably relate to, one’s boss saying: “type this into tweeter.” I think we all know who is doing the talking here for Amazon News.
by Kathy Kyle Bonomini
Here we have a high-profile, public figure interacting with a brand persona. And upon review of the brand persona’s tweets, which have taken a turn recently, it looks like someone else is in the driver’s seat, perhaps the brand's leadership team, or members of it, have hijacked the platform because the corporation is embroiled in a legal or government relations battle. This is one of those situations where it would behoove the company to develop a CEO thought leadership programme that parallels and complements the official corporate news channel. This won’t happen for Amazon, but it is a good lesson in leadership, branding, and how we can once again learn how not to do it. The abrupt shift in tone actually triggered a security review by the company itself and upon further review, resulted in no further action.
The platform and its audience deserve a brand identity and voice that is consistent and not combative.
Inculcating a strong, consistent CEO social media presence increases trust among employees, shareholders, and your audience. Around 65% of US and 73% of UK employees feel it is important for our senior execs to actively communicate about their companies on social media, especially during times of crisis. It would bode well for tech giants - and all companies - to be transparent in times of crisis instead of anonymously hiding behind a twitter handle and lashing out at their critics.
By engaging in a regular cadence of posting thought leadership, CEOs who share their wins, their losses, and demonstrate their resilience on social media create trust, establish relationships that can assist the company in managing a PR crisis. They can humanise their brand and ultimately grow their business. Not that this brand in particular needs to line their pockets; perhaps they could invest in more humane solutions for delivery drivers. (I’m just sayin.)
Here are some effective ways any organisation or company can complement their existing marketing efforts with a CEO thought leadership approach:
Publish and promote online biographies and spotlights on your website, in an organised press release campaign and in a social media campaign.
The PR and marketing team can send the CEO or Chief Exec related content to proactively respond to, as aligned to the marketing editorial calendar. This will provide the leadership team with regular content to provide an opinion on in their social media feeds.
Develop and execute a social media program on one (or more, as time permits and as relevant to the brand and audience) chosen channel for the CEO and the leadership team - LinkedIn can be used to complement overarching marketing campaigns as it is often overlooked. CEOs should work to actively engage shareholders, employees, and the public on a channel they feel comfortable with and do it authentically and consistently. Be sure to use visual assets like video, vlogs and photos to cultivate a genuine, engaging presence on social media.
Connected leaders post twice as frequently on digital channels. Content must be valuable, relatable and authentic. At DigiKind, we follow a rule of three: curate content that is relevant to your brand, post original content about your brand, and engage with followers. Easy!
Engage with your audience. Posting content is not enough; relatable, connected leaders also respond to and are in touch with their audience, engaging regularly to cultivate trust with shareholders, employees, clients, the media and prospects.
By experimenting with these strategies, an organisation or business can maintain a consistent brand identity for their audience and be more prepared for potential PR crises.
However, I would tell this particular reseller that Diane Von Furstenburg is definitely not a "small to mid-sized" women's brand - but that is advice for another day.
Kathy Kyle Bonomini is an award-winning communications consultant who helps businesses, non-profits, BIDs and Councils reimagine the high street through community building and digital transformation. Get in touch at kathy@digikind.uk or @iamkathykyle.
