Web 2.0 for CEOs

Posted by Katie Noonan

President Obama is the first president in the PDA age to keep his trusty BlackBerry by his side. During the campaign, he and his staff were known for their ability to leverage social media to garner support and recruit volunteers. I would argue that it was this ability coupled with his eloquent rhetoric that really won him the election.

He has continued to leverage both his oratorical skill and Web 2.0 savvy during the first month of his presidency. The administration continues to send out frequent E-mails informing Americans of decisions he’s made, but more importantly, asking to hear their personal stories. Even whitehouse.gov, the administration’s Web site, has received a shake-up, featuring a blog, videos and an rss feed. It now has the look and feel of his campaign page, which was inspired by social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

I share all of this as an example of a solid communications strategy in the Web 2.0 age. President Obama is a CEO, so to speak, so why shouldn’t other CEOs employ similar tactics to better communicate with their employees and the public? Consider setting up weekly e-mail blasts to communicate news, and as you do so, encourage employees to share their feedback with you. Honest two-way communication is what employees really need and want from management right now as the economy and their job security are uncertain.

Placing a Web 2.0 spin on your Web site by adding video, blogs, and rss feed, or borrowing from social networking site layouts to make your company’s Web site more current, is an effective way to communicate with both internal and external audiences and stay relevant in the Web 2.0 age.

Like the president, CEOs are now becoming increasingly more responsible and accountable to the public as they begin to take taxpayer money to bail themselves out. Open communication on the public’s terms, through the vehicles with which they are most comfortable and familiar, will undoubtedly lead to some good PR.