{"id":46272,"date":"2013-10-23T10:02:20","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T09:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=46272"},"modified":"2013-10-23T10:02:20","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T10:02:20","slug":"should-ceos-tweet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/should-ceos-tweet\/","title":{"rendered":"Should CEOs tweet?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MOL\"

Image source: Twitter<\/p><\/div>\n

The current economic climate has required chief executives and senior management within businesses to take on more responsibilities and get involved in the daily running of a company, in and out of the boardroom. Even communicating directly with customers and clients, which has traditionally been the duty of the PR and marketing department, is now often undertaken by senior leaders on social media networks.<\/p>\n

However, with the unprecedented growth in digital media, online reputation management has become a vital part of any brands\u2019 long term PR strategy. As executives continue to initiate dialogue with customers, it is important to question if direct and unmanned interaction between clients and company top bosses improves brand transparency or has the potential to backfire on the brand all together?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at two examples in recent news:<\/p>\n

Low cost carrier Ryanair\u2019s chief executive Michael O\u2019Leary, (for some) a disliked personality<\/a> for a disliked brand<\/a> took to micro-blogging site Twitter on Monday for a Q&A session with the public. It was an attempt to rectify the carrier\u2019s reputation for poor customer service and address (as O\u2019Leary admitted in a stakeholders meeting last month) an \u2018image problem’.<\/p>\n

By no means however was this a formal CEO-versus-disgruntled-customers exchange. O\u2019Leary had on a green hat and leprechaun beard with his thumbs up, set against a backdrop of bikini clad women standing in front of a plane. His answers were cheeky, flirty and even offensive.\u00a0 For example, one questioner alluding to the book The Tipping Point, asked him: \u2018Would you agree you’ve reached the point where customers no longer trust you?\u2019 <\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary responded: ‘Sorry, can’t read, can barely write. 81m customers would disagree with you.\u2019<\/p>\n

Other questions<\/a> O\u2019Leary answered with similar cool brazenness included: \u2018how is it appropriate for an airline CEO to be a sexist pig?\u2019 and \u2018what type of people do you enjoy mistreating most? I\u2019m guessing elderly and disabled?\u2019 followed by \u2018is it company policy for your staff to be rude and unhelpful as possible?\u2019
O\u2019Leary’s riposte can be well summed up with his tweet: \u2018call me genius, Jesus, Superman, or odious little s**t, whatever takes your fancy as long as you fly Ryanair!\u2019<\/p>\n

Did it work for Ryanair? It may have pushed the airline further down the customer satisfaction league, but if Twitter reactions are to go by, the exercise has been successful in fuelling more buzz and (bad) publicity for the brand than perhaps a traditional marketing campaign would.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few examples of how the public and media responded to O’Leary’s \u00a0hashtagged ‘#GrillMOL’ session:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Outspoken @Ryanair<\/a> CEO Michael O’Leary’s Twitter Live Chat Was Fascinating, Inappropriate and Helpful http:\/\/t.co\/v5ay7DduP7<\/a> by @brianeha<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Entrepreneur (@EntMagazine) October 21, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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