Social CEOs?

In a new study, global public relations firm Weber Shandwick found that the majority of CEOs from the world’s largest companies—64 percent—are not using social media to engage online with external stakeholders.

“Strong evidence exists that CEOs are not silent in these turbulent times. They are extensively quoted in the business press, frequently deliver keynote speeches at conferences and participate in business school forums. But when it comes to digital engagement externally, CEOs are not yet fully socialized, often with good reason,” said Leslie Gaines-Ross, Weber Shandwick’s chief reputation strategist and online reputation expert.

That probably makes sense. If you are the CEO of one of the world's largest 50 companies, you have lots of people who can handle those sorts of duties, while at the same time avoiding the risk of infringing some regulatory rule or another, or going "off message."

64 Percent of the World’s Largest Company CEOs are Not Social Online