I recently had a conversation with “two 50-somethings who don’t like social media”. Funnily enough, they had some great advice I wanted to share.
Why?
Because they’re the two former communications leads at the Reserve Bank of Australia and Australian Stock Exchange: when they talk about leadership comms, strategy and risk, their advice is worth hearing.
In a pleasant surprise for me, it turns out they in fact do like social media.
But what they don’t like – and where we are in fierce agreement – is posting without a purpose, messages without an audience, and doing anything where ‘popularity’ is the ultimate goal.
Forget the medium – the mindset, here, is the real risk.
In this edition, I’ve distilled their advice into five simple questions that will help you greatly reduce risk, and set you up for success on social media. Let’s dive in.
Meet Matthew and Vanessa.
They’ve seen their fair share of issues both on and offline; Matthew Gibbs as the former GM of Comms & Media at the ASX, and Vanessa Puli as the former Head of Communications at the RBA. I reckon they can spot a risk better than my kids can spot the ‘golden arches’…
Here are the five key questions they think every leader – and their trusted advisers – should ask to greatly reduce risk on social media.
WHERE DOES YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLANNING START?
“Think about this in the same way you would think about any other type of communication. Think about the who, what, why, when, and the risk management exactly the same. It doesn’t matter what the communications channel is. The questions are still the same. Why the hell would you do it? What are you going to get out of it?” – Vanessa Puli |
“Leaders probably shouldn’t avoid much at all, as long as the checklist of what, why, how, what’s the purpose, what’s the intended outcome etc. are answered satisfactorily. And then the answer is probably going to be, well, yes, let’s do it under these terms and conditions.” – Matthew Gibbs Want to limit risk? When starting any strategic planning process, surface social media insights and conversations to validate your thinking, define where and how best to reach key audiences, and identify who within your organisation are the right people to help you reach the right outcome (and the role social media can play in helping them). It’s worth asking: when does social media enter your planning process right now – the start or the end? |
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR USING SOCIAL MEDIA?
“When it comes to social media we almost talk about it as if it’s a popularity contest. Reputation is not a popularity contest. It’s not a central bank’s governor’s job or a senior executive’s job to be popular. If there is a reason to do any type of communication to get to a particular audience, then you do it.” – Vanessa Puli |
“Certainly at ASX we used social media as everything from an early warning device, to a feedback channel, and everything in between.” – Matthew Gibbs
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WHEN SHOULD YOU SPEAK & WHEN SHOULD YOU STAY SILENT?
“Should leaders avoid social media? Yes. Sometimes they should. Sometimes silence is also the best type of leadership depending on the circumstances.” – Matthew Gibbs |
Despite external pressures, it’s 100% ok not to have a view on something. If that issue is outside your sphere of relevance or influence, leave it alone. In Deb Jenkins’ words: “If I don’t feel it, I don’t post it.” Simple. A clear purpose absolutely helps to avoid issues. But I’d recommend one other consideration: will your key stakeholders expect you to have a view? Are they looking to you for leadership? If so, it’s important to recognise their needs over your personal preferences. |
ARE YOU THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE MESSAGE?
“Even if I have a view on a subject, am I the right person to be talking on this? … [T]he middle aged white person, fuddy duddy in a suit at the top of the organisation. Are they the right person to be doing that communication in that channel anyway? Are they the right voice? You would ask those questions regardless of the channel.” – Vanessa Puli |
Too often we see the most senior leader used as a mouthpiece for every issue online. Sometimes that means the impact of the message is lost or seen as tone deaf. At worst, it can even be offensive. Social media presents a wonderful opportunity for organisations to address a variety of issues through the views and voices of relevant leaders. For this reason, it pays to have the right people empowered to use social media at the right time to help reach the right outcome – very often, that’s not just ‘the top dog’. |
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR STAKEHOLDERS & THEIR NEEDS?
“There is a huge proportion of the population whose only consumption of media in a traditional sense is now through social media. If you’re talking to the SMH, you’re not talking to a vast proportion of the population.” – Vanessa Puli |
In early COVID, the University of Canberra conducted a fascinating study that showed the contrast between the desires of government and the realities of human behaviour (p13, Figure 5 if you’re interested). People were anxious and looking for information that helped bring calm to the chaos. Did they go to the key authorities and their official websites? Nope. They went to social media first. They chose accessibility over authority. Effective communications strategy doesn’t start by having a clear message – it starts by having a clear audience. |
As trusted communications advisers themselves, both Matthew and Vanessa had some fairly strong advice for their peers. If you’re an adviser reading this and wondering where to next, here are three extra tips.
- Seek opinions that challenge your own. Social media has changed the way people access information, build relationships and make decisions. To stay in line with audience expectations (and remain relevant), listen to sources that stress test your preconceptions and legacy ways of working.
- Build trust through questions, not answers. If you’re keen to change the tone of current social media conversations with leaders, don’t bombard them with facts and examples. Ask them their key priorities or pain points, then use facts and examples to show the merits of a different approach that will meet their needs.
- Know where your support is most needed (and valued). Learning how to use social media effectively and with confidence can be tricky for time-poor leaders. Build the scaffolding around them to make the transition manageable (even enjoyable) by finding out what they love doing and where they’d love help. They’ll love you for it.
Please drop me a note with any thoughts or your experience. I love hearing from anyone working through these ideas themselves (thanks those who have already!).
And if you get stuck, please do reach out – we do this every other day with leaders and I’d love to help.
Until next time, take care.
Roge
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