Social media has taken control of society over the past twelve years. The new platforms created, beginning in 2006 with Twitter, moving to Instagram in 2010, and Snapchat in 2011, have influenced engagement and interactions between leaders and followers. According to a recent survey from CMO, marketers plan to double their spending on social media in the next five years. Marketers are doing this in order to increase their skills and expand their brand to attract followers. People are realizing that skills in social media are necessary to excel in leadership, business, market place and many more areas. Social media is known as a form of computer-mediated technology that allows for the creation, exchange, and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression through virtual networks and communities. Social media initiates engagement between people whether it is one on one or a group of people. Some common examples of social media are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Tumblr, Google, and Pinterest. Leaders must learn to navigate these various platforms in order to take advantage of the best way to reach their followers (Voorveld et al., 2018).
“The original dreams of social media- producing healthy discussions, unlocking new forms of creativity, connecting people to others, with similar interest” (Roose, 2018).
Social media is capable of performing various tasks that are necessary to improve leadership communication. People are likely to engage in social media based on specific characteristics they are looking for within the platform and what it offers such as functionality, content, and interface (Voorveld et al., 2018).
What is leadership? Leadership takes on several different definitions because people develop their own perspectives and understandings. Leadership is known as having specific qualities and characteristics that someone can possess. Leadership can be both studied and practiced, as certain skills must be learned and experienced over time. Leaders are not necessarily famous or rich people; it can be a CEO, a student, or a friend. A leader is someone that possesses self confidence, open-mindedness, skills at deflecting criticism or questioning, a strong listener, proactive, respected and more. Leaders are defined by their followers and the support they earn from their followers. There are different forms of leadership which include different approaches such as the classical approach, contemporary approach, competency approach and communication approach. Leadership can be found in person, position, processes or results.
- “Creativity” from Pixhere, CC image https://pxhere.com/en/photo/917393
Categories of social media Social media is categorized into four separate categories. The first category is relationship, this refers to platforms that are profile based, where people can send customized messages. An example in this category would be Facebook. Leaders might use Facebook in order to be more personable and relateable to their followers because followers need to feel comfortable and like the leader in order for the leader to be successful. The next category is self media, this gives people the ability to build their own profile by managing their communication channels, such as Twitter. Many leaders use Twitter because it is a good way to reach a large group of people. Also Twitter is simple to navigate and for followers to stay up to date with the leader’s actions. The third category is creative outlet; this would be where users can share their content in their own personalized, creative, and interesting ways. An example of this is Instagram. Frequently, leaders use Instagram to send a message by organizing their photos to send a message in a unique way. The last category of social media is collaboration platforms, these are where people engage in conversations, ask questions, get advice, find news and more. An example of a collaboration platforms is LinkedIn. This platform is very popular for leaders because it initiates engagement and feedback. Feedback is extremely important to leaders because it allows them to alter their leadership styles to be most appealing and fitting to their followers (Voorveld et al., 2018).
“Social Media is the ultimate equalizer. It gives a voice and platform to anyone willing to engage” (Martin, 2018).
Is social media harmful to leaders? Social media can be harmful for leaders for various reasons. It can hurt a leader if it is used improperly. This means that the leader is not being attentive to their followers, not creative, and not innovative. Another way social media is harmful is if the leader limits themselves to one particular channel. Followers have different needs. Some people may prefer Twitter, while others prefer Snapchat, so it is important to be diverse and optimize all channels of social media (Quesenberry, 2018). Different channels appeal to different demographics!
Is social media helpful to leaders? Social media can be helpful to leaders if they know how to use it properly. Some ways that leaders can take advantage of social media is by engaging with their followers at least one time a day on at least one form of social media. Social media offers different channels, so a leader can choose to reach their followers in various ways. According to a report from Siliconrepublic, “82 % of people believe that executive-level engagement on social media demonstrates industry expertise and leadership” (6 Reasons, 2017). Another way that social media promotes leadership in a healthy way is because it creates trust. It creates trust because it shows that these people want to be a part of your life and can relate to you. Social media can provide a steady example for followers/ If followers see a leader promoting a cause and they believe in it as well, they will feel more compelled and comfortable to do the same thing. Finally, social media can add value to leadership. Social media adds value to leadership because it shows there are no limits to what the leader they can do with their engagement. The value enhances the leader’s attitudes and beleifs (6 Reasons, 2017).
“More than 80% of customers are more likely to trust a company whose CEO and leadership team are active on these channels” (6 Reasons, 2017).
Social media promotes leadership. It is important for leaders to be able to successfully use social media for many different reasons. People are constantly checking their social media throughout the day by scrolling quickly to stay updated with the latest trends. People are busy throughout the day and do not always have time to read everything they missed in the news from what can add up to over five hours of content and conversation. Therefore, a leader needs to stand out so that people want to hear what they have to say and remain engaged. Leaders already have knowledge and are well liked, which is why they have followers. Being able to use social media as a leader is beneficial and can maintain relationships and the leader’s reputation. Although there are a few costs to the usage of social media, the rewards outweigh them! Therefore, social media has the potential to be both harmful and beneficial!
Check out the other articles on this blog to find out more information about the downsides of social media, fails of social media, and social media and activism!
References
Amy Jo Martin Quotes. (2001). Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/amy_jo_martin
Quesenberry, K. A. (2016, November 01). Fix Your Social Media Strategy by Taking It Back to Basics. Retrieved March 23, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2016/07/fix-your-social-media-strategy-by-taking-it-back-to-basics
Quesenberry, K. A. (2018, January 03). The Basic Social Media Mistakes Companies Still Make. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-basic-social-media-mistakes-companies-still-make
Roose, K. (2018, March 28). Can Social Media Be Saved? Retrieved April 09, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/28/technology/social-media-privacy.html
Voorveld, H. M., van Noort, G., Muntinga, D. G., & Bronner, F. (2018). Engagement with Social Media and Social Media Advertising: The Differentiating Role of Platform Type. Journal Of Advertising, 47(1), 38-54. doi:10.1080/00913367.2017.1405754
6 reasons leaders need to raise their social media game. (2017, October 18). Retrieved April 09, 2018, from https://www.siliconrepublic.com/advice/leaders-social-media-tips-hays
Leaders in Social Media 
