According to one report, less than 5% of CEOs are participating on a social platform on behalf of their brands. Some are online but under aliases as they engage in personal discussions, but keep professional interactions out of the mix. And then there’s the fact that they just don’t fit the demographic. They tend to be older, male, and conservative – not exactly a Pinterest posterchild.

I believe part of the challenge in getting executives online is distinguishing between personal and professional engagement online. Executives who neglect social on behalf of their brands because they don’t understand how to manage this split risk missing out on a rich and rewarding experience for their customers. It is important to be clear about when you are speaking on behalf of your brand, and when you are making a personal comment. In the case of executive leaders, if their names are associated with the brands, delineation becomes more challenging but not impossible.  An account associated with your brand is absolutely held to a different standard than an account from which you can feel free to let your thoughts fly.  Common sense and a dose of training can go a long way in this regard.

Rupert Murdoch recently made news with his Twitter interaction with a customer in Kentucky who was missing his home delivery (see the story). Whether this was ‘really’ Rupert or a person assigned to the account doesn’t really matter – the customer got a personalized and fast reply and resolution that had a touch to it that couldn’t be replicated in a call to a call center, an e-mail sent into a pit of customer despair, or even worse a form filled out on the so called ‘customer service page’ on the website.

The Wall Street Journal recently had a great article about executives online – it is nice to see that Murdoch (who’s company owns the WSJ) is testing the waters himself.