The latest annual research from the ECCO network found that global business leaders’ social media use has gone down during the pandemic.
ECCO president Christian Kollmann said the findings were contrary to best practice which dictates that corporate communications – via social media and otherwise – during a crisis is paramount. He said: “Only those already active on social media before the crisis have been using these channels to interact with stakeholders during the last two months. Generally speaking, they are still very reluctant to communicate via Twitter and LinkedIn.”
Countries covered for the study include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, UK and the US.
The study found that CEOs in the United Arab Emirates are the most active on social media: they are almost twice as likely to appear on LinkedIn and Twitter than British bosses, where only four of the top 20 CEOs are active on Twitter and nine on LinkedIn.
Oliver Foster, chief executive of UK agency Pagefield, a member of the ECCO network, said: “More than ever customers are looking for reassurance that their brands are behaving ethically and treating their employees well, so it’s perhaps surprising that more CEOs haven’t taken to social media in the past few months.
“The decline in business leaders on Twitter and LinkedIn over the past year therefore perhaps speaks to a wider suspicion of these platforms and how, without very delicate management, a few choice words can be easily taken out of context and see stocks and shares plunge.
“It’s important that companies are communicating regularly with stakeholders, but that they’re doing so with the support of a proper communications strategy and framework, rather than on a whim.”
