You Are All Competent, but Can You Be Nice? Leveraging Social Media for Leadership Communication

摘要

What should CEOs broadcast on social media to communicate desired leadership traits? How would CEOs' content strategies influence perceived organization personalities? Social media has empowered CEOs to engage with stakeholders online. Their personal branding on social media is suggested to diminish the psychological distance and enhance the reputation. The current consensus seems to imply that the mere presence of leaders on social media can automatically create an enhanced personal and corporate image. However, it is inadequate when active and purposeful participation is expected. Though creative content strategies have been well established for brands, content strategies for c-suite executives to communicate their leadership have been overlooked. Based on prior empirical findings, this research typifies CEOs' content strategy into four categories: professional-, personal-, societal-oriented and mixed profiles. The impact of different profiles is evaluated with perceived competence, empathy, and authenticity, all of which are pertinent traits in establishing positive leadership. Moreover, prior research postulates that there are strong stereotypic perceptual differences regarding the perceived traits of male versus female CEOs. The effect of gender is also examined. This study aims to understand the impact of CEOs' social media content strategies on CEOs' and organizations' perceived leadership traits.