Twitter and Your C-Suite Executives

• Leadership
• January 28, 2016
• by Merrie Spaeth

Scores of C-Suite executives are watching the presidential campaigns with an attitude of amused detachment.

Surely the primary sniping, posturing and preening doesn’t affect them, does it? Yes, it does. USA Today summed it up nicely:  “Though not a single vote has been cast, it appears thus far that the rules of political engagement have changed.” Adam Sharp, Head of Government and Non-Profits at Twitter, added that what is important now is “the ability to deliver a compelling message directly to the voter base. We live in a new age of retail politics where the one-to-one intimacy and authenticity of the handshake and ask for the vote can be executed at scale as candidates turn to Twitter and other tools.”

Note the powerful concepts about the importance of delivering a compelling message directly to each individual person in the target group. Just as voters expect this personalized touch from candidates, they want the same from their corporate leadership.

“One-to-one intimacy” is becoming the standard expectation of a company’s employees, and straight-to-camera video is the key delivery mechanism for internal engagement and communication. This requires a new range of skills and approaches. It isn’t enough to talk at the camera; executives need to learn to talk through it, to each listener individually. Material has to be conversational and authentic because listeners instantly ignore canned corporate speak.

Whereas most companies can reach everyone with some sort of email or text distribution, distributing material via mobile devices presents new challenges, but also new opportunities.

So, what is the takeaway message for your C-Suite today? The same thing people are learning to expect from the candidates, they will soon demand from you–and the time to get ready–is now.