5WAYS CEOS CAN BE interesting ON TWITTER

5WAYS CEOS CAN BE interesting ON TWITTER

yes, really.

Thanks to Jessica Hagy, we’re sharing 5 ways CEOS can break the mold on Twitter.

See more tips from Jessica here, and follow her @jessicahagy

#1AVOID THE STODGY STEREOTYPE.

A little personality goes a long way toward humanizing and improving your personal brand. You have to be more than a talking head in a suit if you want to be known as anything other than your 3-letter title (if your PR is fair) or a 4-letter word (if your PR is suspect).

Illustration by Jessica Hagy

Avoid the stodgy stereotype, like... Mikkel Svane, CEO of ZenDesk

#2STAND FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN MONEY.

Money, shockingly, is boring stuff. Competence, stability, and functionality are all boring (but yes, important) unless they’re in service to a greater, grander goal. It’s what you do with money that matters—define that purpose, and you go from ordinary to amazing.

Illustration by Jessica Hagy

Stand for something other than money, like... Tory Burch, CEO of Tory Burch

MAKE YOURSELFTHE MASCOT.  #3

Are you an interchangeable cog in your company’s machine (the top cog, actually)? Are you and the company you steward seen as one and the same or as completely separate entities? If not, it’s time to speak up, and say something worth both listening to, and buying into.

Illustration by Jessica Hagy

Make yourself the mascot, like... Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote

#4GET YOURSELF OUT OF WORK MORE OFTEN.

Beyond your day-to-day duties, your board seats, your philanthropic roles—what does your off-the-resume life look like? Do you even have one? Cultivate a personal project or a deeper family connection. The depth it adds to your character (and to your life) will benefit you more than any golden parachute. Illustration by Jessica Hagy

Get yourself out of work more often, like… Mark Shapiro, President of the Cleveland Indians

Out of guesses? Mark was at the Taylor Swift concert.

SPEAK REAL WORDS IN PUBLIC.  #5

Teleprompters. Talking points. Approved questions. They’re all great ways to stay on-topic and on-brand, and also great ways to sound inauthentic and robotic. Don’t be afraid to sound sincere, emotional, or enthusiastic. Speak your mind (you know, that thing that got you into the C-suite in the first place) and your audience just might listen—and even remember what you said. Illustration by Jessica Hagy

Speak real words in public, like… Scott Harrison, CEO of charity:water

KNOW A CEO WHO'S SUPER INTERESTING ON TWITTER?

We do. If you're not following @bhalligan you're missing out. Tell us who else should be on our list in the comments below.