Communication as a leadership skill is becoming more important than ever before. As we have seen in the case of Elon Musk, how CEOs signal their leadership on social media can make or break a company's reputation. Social is making PR a more critical corporate function, and now leadership communication by executives online is the key to public relations success for senior leaders.

1. Leadership
Communication
Creating image
Protecting reputation
Dealing with disruption
2018.09.12 Limestone Leaders Link at Kingston

3. Communicate your signal through noise
§ Telling your story...
§ To all the people who need to hear it...
§ So that those people will do and think...
§ What you want them to do or think!
§ Know who you are
§ Understand what you do
§ Think highly of you, agree with you
§ Be educated, be persuaded, be motivated to take action

4. Signal Leadership Communication Inc.
§ A public relations consultancy for c-level
executives dealing with digital disruption
§ Exclusively serving leaders with PR counsel that is
senior, strategic – and social
§ Focused on image creation, issues management,
relationship building, and reputation protection
§ Serving clients in Asia, Europe and North America
§ Partnered with the Nanos Research Group

6. Social media seen as most damaging
A large majority believe that social media has the capacity to do
the greatest damage to an individual or organization’s image.
84% 71% 71%
Social Media Online News Broadcast
Television
52% 48%
Print
Newspapers
Radio
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, March 31st to
April 4th 2016, n=1000, accurate to 3.1 percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.

7. Image vs. Reputation
IMAGE
§ What you frame
§ The picture today
§ What people see
§ Superficial
§ Controlled
§ Disposable
REPUTATION
§ The public decides
§ Builds over time
§ How folks feel
§ Deeper
§ Earned
§ Durable

8. 1. Lust I want this
2. Greed I must get it
3. Gluttony I must have more
4. Sloth I haven’t thought about it
5. Wrath I am extremely angry about this
6. Envy I want what s/he’s got; I’m worth it
7. Pride I’m better; I deserve this; look at me
The seven deadly digital sins

9. Good things social media can do
§ crowd-source ideas
§ share experiences
§ sign-up volunteers
§ channel opinion
§ motivate activists
§ induce direct action
§ alert the public
Educate the people and
inspire positive change!

10. Bad things social media can do
§ deny the honest truth
§ spread rumours
§ traffic vicious gossip
§ deflect attention
§ smear opponents
§ ‘rabble rouse’
Manipulate the masses
and exploit anger!

11. Source: Citrix, 2014
Social media is visual media

12. Social media throughout the day

13. The algorithm dynamic
§ Your posts are successful or not based on what the
algorithm thinks will keep eyeballs on their social
network to sell more advertising
§ AI-enabled weaponized social media
§ Tapping into political polarities puts up big numbers
but then you end up fishing in the same pond
§ Thought leadership performs well, with long form
‘signal’ content doing better than short form
§ Programming content into SEO strategy is key

14. Media cloverleaf with search @ centre
Source: Edelman, 2013

15. The way PR works has changed
§ Nowadays people know you and think
about you based on what they find
through searching on Google
§ Mainstream media links massively improve
your ‘signal’ on search
§ Amplification via social networks helps
improve your SEO clout even more
§ Often more people see your ‘coverage’
via Google and social media than from
source
§ Studies show that 90% of people only
search as far as page 1, so page 1
‘above the fold’ remains the right place to
be
§ Much of this occurs during ‘micro-moments’
on a mobile device

16. These lines will never cross again

17. Social media tells
the story of your life

18. Framing
How much of who
you truly are do
you wish to share
in public?

20. Drivers of ‘publicity’
Colour Contrast Content
+ Eyebrow raising
+ Vivid audio, visual or
text imagery
+ Pure novelty
+ Contrapuntal: x versus y
+ Black and white, not grey
+ The correction of the past
with the present
+ More than brazen assertion
+ Burden of proof and evidence
+ Third party legitimacy

22. People are wired think visually

25. The public relations
imperative

26. Social media is making PR more important
When asked about the importance of PR today compared to 10 years ago, more than three-
quarters (76%) feel that PR is more important, 16 percent (16%) say that it is as important
while five percent (5%) say it is less important and three percent (3%) are unsure.
Do you think that with the rise of social media, public relations, also known as PR, is becoming
more important, less important or as important for organizations today compared to 10 years ago?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, May 24th to
25th 2017, n=1000, accurate to 3.1 percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
76
16
5 3 More important
As important
Less important
Unsure

27. But ‘classic PR’ no longer works
§ Endemic ‘PR speak’ is fast becoming unfashionable
We take these allegations seriously….
What I can tell you is…
§ You have to walk the talk, not just talk the walk
§ Plastic personas are ‘out’ – the real person is ‘in’
§ Lead with flaws, communicate ups and downs
§ Communication perfection breeds resentment
§ Authenticity trumps almost everything

28. 2001

31. Trump’s PR impact on leaders
§ Many leaders took note of how Trump got elected
by communicating every day on Twitter – for the
first time ever, they really felt the power of social
§ Some were repelled and horrified and others were
captivated and (privately) inspired to imitate him
§ Many executives now think they had better be on
social, although not to communicate like Trump
§ Nowadays the risk of being absent on social is seen
to be greater than the risk of being present

32. The importance of
communication skills for
leaders continues to increase

33. “The art of communication is
the language of leadership”

35. EU SME Centre (2014)

36. Social media is now the most
powerful communication
platform

38. Digital disruption in marketing

39. Social media seen driving PR disasters
More than half of Canadians (54%) say that social media is a major contributor to PR disasters
for companies. Roughly a third of (35%) feel that social media is a minor contributor and five
percent (5%) say that social media is not a contributor to PR disasters. Six percent are unsure.
Would you say that social media like Twitter and Facebook are major contributors,
minor contributors or not contributors to public relations disasters for companies?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, May 24th
to 25th 2017, n=1000, accurate to 3.1 percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
5435
5 6
Major contributor
Minor contributor
Not contributor
Unsure

40. But many leaders are
struggling on social media

42. Authentic and actual
Refreshing candor
The devil may care!
Attack and apologize
Demagoguery
Because he can!

44. Social sentiment = Public sentiment?
DATACONOMY (2017)

45. Leadership
communication
dimensions and drivers

46. Spheres of social CEO PR influence
DATACONOMY (2017)

48. Risk-averse leaders are
extremely cautious
about social media

49. “Despite the fact that
Twitter has become the
‘go-to’ social network
for journalists and
breaking news, only
7% of the Canadian
CEOs researched have
Twitter accounts.”

52. Celebrities seem to be
relatively uninhibited…

53. Kylie Tweets…

54. …then SNAP stock plummets

55. When something goes
wrong (and it always
does), all eyes go online
looking for the leader

56. Best way to respond in a PR disaster
Just over seven in ten (70%) say that the best way for a troubled organization to respond is
to “acknowledge the problem and communicate on social media.” Twenty-three percent
(23%) say organizations should “acknowledge the problem but not communicate on social
media.” Two percent (2%) said they should “communicate nothing” and five percent (5%) are
unsure.
When an organization has a PR disaster on social media like Twitter or Facebook,
what would you say is the best way for the troubled organization to respond?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, May 24th to
25th 2017, n=1000, accurate to 3.1 percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.
70
23
2 5 Acknowledge and communicate
Acknowledge but don't communicate
Communicate nothing
Unsure

57. Importance of social media use by
CEOs for crisis communication
Six out of ten (61%) feel that it is important (28%) or somewhat important (33%) for
CEOs to use social media to “directly communicate with the public” when a company
has a crisis.
When a company has a crisis and something major goes wrong, are the following important,
somewhat important, somewhat unimportant or unimportant as things to do to communicate
about the problem [ROTATE]: that the CEO use social media like Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn to directly communicate with the public?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, June 26-28th 2018, n=1000,
accurate to ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
28
33
15
18
6 Important
Somewhat important
Somewhat unimportant
Unimportant
Unsure

58. Importance of CEO social media use
for communicating crisis updates
Almost two in three Canadians (65%) feel that it is important (33%) or somewhat
important (32%) for CEOs to use social media to “share updates about the problem”
when a company has a crisis.
When a company has a crisis and something major goes wrong, are the following
important, somewhat important, somewhat unimportant or unimportant as things to do
to communicate about the problem [ROTATE]: that the CEO use social media like
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn share updates about the problem?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, June 26-28th 2018, n=1000,
accurate to ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
33
32
15
15
5 Important
Somewhat important
Somewhat unimportant
Unimportant
Unsure

59. Starbucks Philadelphia case study

60. Importance of CEO social media use
for explaining feelings about crisis problem
More than half of Canadians (53%) think that it is unimportant (30%) or somewhat
unimportant (23%) for CEOs to use social media to “explain how he or she feels
about the problem” when a company has a crisis.
When a company has a crisis and something major goes wrong, are the following
important, somewhat important, somewhat unimportant or unimportant as things to do
to communicate about the problem [ROTATE]: That the CEO use social networks like
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to explain how he or she feels about the problem?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, June 26-28th 2018, n=1000,
accurate to ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
16
25
23
30
7
Important
Somewhat important
Somewhat unimportant
Unimportant
Unsure

61. Oh really !?

63. The absence of leaders creates
an information vacuum filled
by critics and naysayers

68. Meanwhile, inside many
organizations, digital has been
taken over by marketers who
see social as a way to sell
stuff, not build relationships

70. Companies are now
expected to communicate
like real people, not like
machines or things

72. The leader is the ultimate
personification of the brand

77. For leaders, social media
should be about real
relationships, custom
connectivity with real
people

78. “Make the other
person feel
important – and
do it sincerely”

79. Mass customized comms at scale?
“We can really only
maintain about 150
meaningful relationships at
any time. Study after study
confirms that most people
have about five intimate
friends, 15 close
friends, 50 general friends
and 150 acquaintances”

80. In 2016, Ryerson’s Infoscape Research Lab found
that Canadian CEOs share several different types of
content on social media, including: thought leadership
(20%), business promotion and philanthropy (tied
at 13%), mentorship (11%), and governance
(9%). Strikingly, though, only 2.5% of posts
promoted or lauded the employees of a CEO’s
company. Fewer than 1% of tweets were directed at
– or spoke to – the experience of individual
consumers or clients of a company.

82. Tuning into people’s emotions,
channeling their ideas, sensing
their sentiments, rallying them
to shared purposes

83. Communication that prevents PR disaster

85. “Providing information as we get it”

86. “This is my worse nightmare”

87. If they fail to ‘feel,’ leaders
will magnify mistakes
when inevitable crisis
situations occur…

88. Communication that causes PR disaster

89. The next generation of
leaders will be social CEOs

90. CEO headhunters seek social savvy

91. The six dimensions
of social-media-literate leadership
McKinsey Quarterly (2013)

92. Social leadership comms keys
Personal
§ speaks to the experience of the
communicator, aligns it to target audience
sensibility
Polite
§ never hurts feelings of others on purpose
Direct
§ cuts to the chase and transmits ‘signal’
Clear
§ there should be no doubt about the message
Timely
§ ‘now’ is more narrow and fleeting than ever
Careful
§ consider the angles and audiences
beforehand
Compelling
§ persuasive and leading
Framed
§ well in advance, there should be a deliberate
decision to share within specific content
spheres and personality attributes
Image conscious
§ but not vain
Other oriented
§ not ‘me’ and ‘I’ but ‘we’ and ‘us’

93. Social leadership comms keys
Visual
§ 80% of our 100 billion neurons are for visual processing (University of Rochester 2004)
Fluent
§ free-flowing, smooth, seemingly effortless, easy, natural, fluid
Imperfect
§ perfection = too slick = not credible
Inspiring
§ Communication designed to strike a chord, lay down a pattern, show the way
Complementary
§ Leadership communication should build on and not replace the corporate PR of the
company – the two streams should be in concert and well coordinated

94. Amid all the cool digital hype,
remember the warmth of
analog communication

95. Preferred method of public relations
for CEO crisis communication
A majority (53%) say that when a company has a crisis, CEOs should “communicate
primarily through their public relations team communicating with journalists in the
media” while about a third (34%) say CEOs should “communicate with the public
directly on social networks.”
When a company has a crisis because something major goes wrong, should a CEO:
communicate with the public directly on social networks or communicate
primarily through their PR team communicating with journalists in the media?
Nanos Research, RDD dual frame hybrid telephone and online random survey, June 26-28th 2018, n=1000,
accurate to ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Charts may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
53
34
13 Communicate through their PR team
with journalists in the media
Communicate with the public
directly on social networks
Unsure

97. “We think we know someone,
but the truth is that we only
know the version of them that
they have chosen to show us”
— Taylor Swift

98. The looking glass self

99. Thank you !
@bobpickard
@signaleadership
2018.09.12 Limestone Leaders Link at Kingston