CEOs Are Finally Warming Up to Social Media

CEO’s are finally embracing social media’s role in engaging business and customers, according to a recent IBM Global CEO Study.

For businesses, social media is currently the least-utilized method for connecting with their audiences. The hierarchy of connecting is as follows: face-to-face interactions, websites, channel partners, call centers, traditional media, advisory groups, and then, finally, social media.

However, social media is expected to jump to the number two spot within three to five years — and traditional media will plummet to the bottom of the list — according to IBM’s report of their findings.

Out of the 1,709 CEOs interviewed for the study — hailing from 64 countries and 18 industries — only 16% currently participate in social media. However, that percentage is expected to grow to 57% within the next five years, according to the IBM analysis.

As Mashable previously reported, these numbers coincide with the “conservative optimism” regarding social media engagement for businesses. More than half of business owners (64%) believe in social media as a useful tactic for marketing — they just aren’t willing to jump into it full-force yet.

Despite that hesitation, more and more CEOs are recognizing the potential for social media to change how their companies and organizations can communicate with the world.

“One of the most compelling findings [of the survey] is how in tune CEOs are about the implications and impact of social media,” stated Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of IBM Global Business Services, in the press release of the study. “Rather than repeating the familiar lament about de-personalizing human relationships, this view leans heavily in favor of deepening them, and using dynamic social networks to harness collective intelligence to unlock new models of collaboration.”

Personalizing these relationships with customers is the top priority for these CEOs. Nearly three-quarters of those polled (73%) are investing significantly in ways to better gain meaningful insights from their customers. Openness and interaction — not just advertising — on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter just might be at the heart of this more individualized interaction.

As one CEO interviewee put it, the idea is to use social media as a crowd-sourcing mechanism and means of collaboration:

“We use social media less as a marketing or distribution channel and more as a knowledge platform to obtain information about customers,” said an insurance CEO from Switzerland.

The takeaway? With a stronger presence on social media sites and more personalized interactions with customers on these channels, “control is shifting from institutions to individuals,” the report stated.

If you’re a CEO or leader in business, do these findings agree with your experience? How else are you looking to engage with customers? Let us know in the comments.